ND Volleyball
Irish split road series at Pitt and Virginia
Observer Sports Staff | Tuesday, October 23, 2018
The Irish won one and lost one in a two game road series over the weekend. Notre Dame dropped three-straight sets to No. 5 Pittsburgh on Friday but bounced back Sunday, beating conference rival Virginia 3-1 in Charlottesville.
In the first set on Friday against Pitt (22-0, 10-0 ACC), the two sides found themselves at a stalemate halfway through the set, tied at 14 a piece. Notre Dame (12-8, 6-4 ACC) would be the squad to break the tie, going on a four-point run thanks to kills from senior middle blocker Meg Morningstar, freshman right-side hitter Sydney Bent and junior outside hitter Jemma Yeadon. The Irish would go on to gain a 21-17 lead, but they were unable to hold off the Panthers, who would tie the match at 22-22 and clinch the final points to win 25-23, snatching the first set from the hands of Notre Dame.
Anna Mason | The Observer Senior captain Ryann DeJarld dives for the ball during Notre Dame’s victory over Wake Forest on Oct. 5.
The Irish simply were not as sharp in the second set, as Pitt gained an early 5-1 lead and stayed ahead throughout the entire set to win 25-17.
The Irish bounced back in the third set to put up a fight, and both sides found the match tied at 11-11 soon enough. But the Irish failed to bear down through the stalemate, as Pitt went on a 5-1 run and didn’t look back from from there, taking the final set 25-18 to claim the sweep.
The Irish overcame the woes of the loss to the Panthers in the following match Sunday against Virginia (6-14, 2-8 ACC) as they won the match 3-1.
The Irish suffered a devastating loss in the first set. After a 10-10 tie, Virginia took the momentum with a 4-1 run. Although the Irish managed to cut the Cavaliers’ lead to two, the Cavaliers eventually found themselves with a 22-20 lead. From there, the Irish went on a 4-0 run to take a 24-22 lead. With victory in its sight, the Irish crumbled, as the Cavaliers went on a 4-0 run to take the set 26-24.
Despite the heart wrenching loss in the first set, the Irish looked rejuvenated in the second set. The Irish found themselves with a 6-3 lead early on thanks to three kills by Yeadon. That turned into a 12-4 lead thanks to senior libero Ryann DeJarld’s three aces. From there, the Irish ran away with the set to win 25-11.
In the third set, the Irish persisted past a 7-7 tie to take a 12-9 lead, which gave them the momentum to go on a run and take the match 25-17.
After those two-consecutive victories, the Irish found themselves in a 9-9 tie nearly midway through the fourth match. But Notre Dame went on a 9-2 run which ushered them to a 25-15 victory. The win gave Notre Dame the match victory 3-1.
The Irish will return home to take on Syracuse and Boston College this weekend.
