After defeating Virginia Tech 3-1 on Wednesday, the Irish will try to continue their momentum against Virginia today at 4:30 p.m. at Purcell Pavilion.
With only one day between matches, Irish coach Debbie Brown said the transition would be a tough one for the Irish.
"I think you just ride the good feeling," Brown said. "It's going to be a lot of mental things, looking at film from how they played last weekend and seeing the adjustments we can make and hopefully there 's some momentum to carry us into [tonight]."
Though Virginia Tech (21-10, 9-8 ACC) and Virginia (15-13, 8-8) have different strengths, Brown said she thinks the level of competition between the two teams will be very similar.
"I think they're pretty close," Brown said. "It's going to be a high level and it's going to be fun."
Against Virginia Tech, the Irish (12-16, 6-11) fought hard for their victory. After dropping the first set 25-20, Notre Dame was able to rally and take the win.
"I think we just knew it was time to fight," freshman middle blocker Simmone Collins said. "We wanted this home court win, we knew that we deserved it and we practiced hard for it. I think it was just something that we owed ourselves and we just went out there and got it."
In the final three sets, the Irish won only one by a margin greater than three points. The Irish used much of their bench and gave several players a chance to contribute to earn the win, and Brown said having so many people participate drives the team forward.
"You get more people involved and they feel good about their contribution to the team," Brown said. "We did have good contribution really from everybody [Wednesday]."
The last time they faced Virginia on Oct. 27, the Irish took the first set 25-23 before dropping the next two by eight and 10 points, respectively. Notre Dame battled in the fourth set but couldn't pull through, taking a 25-23 hit and losing the match 3-1.
The Cavaliers have split their contests with three wins and three losses, all against conference opponents, since their first meeting with Notre Dame. Entering today, they are on a two-match losing streak after falling to both NC State and North Carolina last weekend.
Contact Katie Heit at kheit@nd.edu
