After dropping its first two ACC contests last week, Notre Dame will return home Friday to host Miami and No. 21 Florida State.
The Irish (10-3, 0-2 ACC) faced Louisville and North Carolina State on the road last Friday and Sunday, taking each squad to five sets, before ultimately falling in each match. Notre Dame sophomore outside hitter Jemma Yeadon led the Irish attack against the Cardinals (7-5, 1-1) with 13 kills. Irish senior outside hitter Sydney Kuhn picked up a double-double with 12 kills and 16 digs. Irish senior setter Caroline Holt tallied a team-high 34 assists and junior libero Ryann DeJarld, who currently ranks second nationwide in digs per set, picked up 28 digs in the loss to the Cardinals. The Irish bounced back from dropping the first set to draw the match at 1-1. They won the next game as well, giving them a 2-1 lead. However, Louisville was able to rebound and grab the next two games, giving it the match.
Notre Dame looked to bounce back against North Carolina State (7-6, 2-0) on Sunday, but was unsuccessful. Yeadon once again led the way for Notre Dame, this time picking up a double-double with 17 kills and 13 digs. Irish senior middle blocker Sam Fry also notched a double-double with 10 kills and 10 blocks, while five different Notre Dame players hit double-digits in the digs column, with DeJarld leading the way with 23.
The Wolfpack jumped out to the 1-0 lead, but Notre Dame drew even after two sets. North Carolina State won the third set again, but the Irish prevented them from winning in four sets by taking a 25-21 win in the fourth set. The Wolfpack took down the Irish in the fifth set, however, 15-7, giving them the win.
Friday, Miami will travel to Purcell Pavilion to face the Irish for Notre Dame’s first home ACC match of the season. The undefeated Hurricanes (8-0, 2-0) currently sit atop the conference, led by senior outside hitter Olga Stranzali, who is averaging 4.91 kills per set, with a 0.304 hitting percentage.
The Irish will then face the Seminoles (8-2, 2-0) at home Sunday. The nationally-ranked squad is led by the duo of Milica Kubura and Natasha Calkins. Kubura is hitting 0.330 with 151 kills and 3.92 kills per set and is also one of the Seminoles’ top blockers. Calkins is hitting 0.259 with 125 kills, giving her 3.12 kills per set.
The Irish will face off against the Hurricanes on Friday at Purcell Pavilion at 7 p.m.
