The Irish fell to Virginia Friday night in Purcell Pavilion, after Virginia came out on top in a 39-37 opening set and finished the sweep with set scores of 25-22 and 25-11.
The first set of the match was one of four sets in ND history to reach a total above 60 points, and the first one since 2007.
Throughout the entire first set, the Irish (12-17, 6-12 ACC) and Virginia (17-13, 10-8) were never more than four points away from each other. The teams found themselves tied 22 times inthroughout the set, and the lead changed seven times.
The Irish picked up speed coming off a timeout when they were down 7-11. Junior middle blocker Toni Alugbue had a kill off an assist from senior setter Maggie Brindock to bring the Irish within three.
More kills from junior outside hitter Meg Vonderhaar and Alugbue brought the Irish to 14-14 after a Virginia timeout. The Irish then gained a lead of 20-16 off three kills from Vonderhaar, senior outside hitter Nicole Smith and Brindock.
Senior right side Sammie Brown delivered several kills to help the Irish tie the score, 35-35, with only minutes left to play.
Virginia finally took the set off a kill from junior outside hitter ToriJanowski and a service ace from freshman outside hitter Jasmine Burton.
The Irish had 24 kills and 52 total attacks in the opening set, with a .346 attack percentage. Comparatively, Virginia had 28 kills and 61 total attacks, with a .361 attack percentage.
The Irish fell behind early in the second round, with Virginia leading 17-13 right before an Irish timeout. Even after kills from Smith, Brindock and Vonderhaar, the Irish failed to catch up. The set ended 25-22 with the win going to Virginia.
In the second set, the Irish had 10 kills and 33 attacks, with a .061 attack percentage. Virginia had 15 kills and 33 attacks with a .333 attack percentage.
Virginia took an early lead in the third set, as it advanced to 5-11 after the first timeout from the Irish. The Irish got momentary momentum near the end of the set after several attack errors from Virginia and a kill from Smith, but Virginia finished out the match with a kill from sophomore outside hitter Natalie Bausback.
In the third set, the Irish had 16 kills and 39 total attacks, with a .282 attack percentage. Virginia had 14 kills and 38 total attacks with a .263 attack percentage.
In total, the Irish had 50 kills, 124 total attacks, and 59 points.
The Irish will next play Boston College at Purcell Pavilion on Friday at 4 p.m.
