After a weekend away, the Irish will host their first home tournament, the Golden Dome Invitational, this weekend at Purcell Pavilion.
Notre Dame (1-2) will start off Friday against Bowling Green, then continue Saturday against No. 22 Purdue and finish the weekend with a Sunday matinee against Dabrowa, a team from Poland.
The Irish are coming off a hard weekend, losing two games and winning one, yet Irish head coach Debbie Brown says she believes the Irish can reverse their luck.
Brown said the team made too many un-forced errors last weekend but has gotten into a better rhythm during practices this week.
"Obviously, you learn a lot after the first week you play," Brown said. "We saw several errors we could improve on - our blocking, our defense - and we have been able to address a lot of the little things that we hope will go a long way for us."
Brown said the Irish also worked on alternative lineups during practice this week because Sammie Brown, a senior defensive specialist, is injured.
"We are just trying to get into a better rhythm with Sammie being out," Brown said.
The Irish will continue to change the lineup throughout the weekend in order to play to their full potential, Brown said.
Brown said she does not intend to replace Sammie Brown with one particular player, but rather, with a couple players. Regardless, Brown said the Irish will have an outside hitter they can rely on.
Along with the lineup changes, the Irish hope to improve many aspects of play during their home tournament.
"We are just looking to change things on our side of the net, like reducing un-forced errors," Brown said. "And then we will be in good shape."
But most of all, the Irish are looking forward to their first game on home court.
"It is great to play at home. We are very, very excited to be at home," Brown said. "We know we are going to have a good crowd and I think it is going to make a big difference."
The Irish will kick off the tournament Friday at 7 p.m. in Purcell Pavilion. Their match Saturday starts at 6 p.m., and Sunday's match begins at 2 p.m.
Contact Meredith Kelly at mkelly29@nd.edu
