Despite the home court advantage, Notre Dame has now lost four straight ACC matchups to kick off conference play.
The Irish (5-11, 0-4 ACC) started their weekend home stand against Boston College on Friday, and the Eagles (9-7, 1-3 ACC) swept Notre Dame 3-0 (12-25, 19-25, 17-25). Throughout the match, the Irish were only able to collect one ace and allowed seven errors on the serve.
The second set showcased Notre Dame’s best play. The Irish started off with a 4-1 lead after a couple of kills from sophomore outside hitter Sam Fry and two attack errors from Boston College. The Eagles were able to recover quickly and tie the set at eight, at which point they went on a 10 to 4 run to take an 18-12 lead. Notre Dame scored four straight points, but it wasn’t enough to keep the game close as Boston College finished the game on a seven to three run to win the set.
The third set was all Boston College. The Eagles went up by as much as eight points and were led by sophomore outside hitter Sol Calvete, who scored 16 of the team’s 54 total points throughout the three sets.
Despite hitting for a .114 attack percentage , Notre Dame was highlighted by Fry, who had another 10-kill game. She has accumulated at least 10 kills in nine games this season.
Fry said she believes the team needs to show more confidence and play up to the potential of their talent.
“I think we all need to work on being more confident,” Fry said. “Every girl on the team is very talented but sometimes we do not play like we know that. More confidence will come from more practice and winning more games.”
The potential certainly showed in Notre Dame's second game of the weekend against Syracuse. The Irish took the Orange (12-3, ACC 3-1) to a fifth set Sunday at Purcell Pavilion despite eventually losing 3-2 (28-26, 21-25, 25-27, 25-21, 13-15). The first set featured nine lead changes, and the Irish won after capitalizing on an error by the Orange and a couple of kills by sophomore outside hitter Sydney Kuhn to win the set.
In the second set, Notre Dame led for most of the match, fending off Syracuse’s attempt at a comeback. Although Syracuse tied the match on eight occasions, the Irish continued to hold strong offensively. However, the Orange pulled away at the end of the set with the help of three errors committed by Notre Dame to win the set.
The third and fourth sets were also close, but Syracuse took advantage of several key Notre Dame mistakes. The third set ended with three straight errors by the Irish, which allowed Syracuse to pull away and win in a 27-25 thriller. Despite staying within four points throughout the fifth set, Notre Dame fell to the Orange 13-15 to lose in one of the more productive matchups for the Irish in recent history.
Notre Dame had a total of 87 digs, which was the most they have had in the last three years. Freshman libero Ryann DeJarld led the charge on defense, collecting 28 digs on the day.
Despite the recent string of losses, Fry said she thinks the team is only getting better with more exposure to ACC competition.
“I don't think having a young team is a disadvantage at all,” Fry said. “This just means we have more time to develop and get better. Every match is challenging. Playing against the competitive teams in the ACC will only make us that much better.”
Notre Dame will continue to look for its first ACC win of the year with a trip to Clemson on Friday.
