The No. 5 ranked Notre Dame volleyball team is gearing up for their third series of the season against No. 11 Pitt this weekend. The Irish (3-0) have only given up one set through their first three games of the season. They shut out Louisville in their first game of the season, but the second game of the series was postponed due to COVID-19 concerns.
The following weekend proved to be a major test for the Irish, however, as they played host to the then-fifth-ranked Syracuse Orange. Junior outside hitter Charley Niego led the way throughout the weekend with 34 combined kills in the two games. Sophomore outside hitter Caroline Meuth followed closely behind with 32. 
Junior setter Zoe Nunez racked 51 assists and 12 digs in the last game. Nunez’s performance has been consistent this season, as she is currently ranked third in the country averaging 12.6 assists per set with her 126 total assists through ten sets. Trailing behind her is freshman libero Hattie Monson with 12 assists total. The Irish are currently leading the nation in assists per set with 148, thanks to the stable base provided by Nunez.
The Panthers, on the other hand, are led by senior outside hitter Kayla Lund, who has 76 kills on the season and also leads the team with four aces on the year. Pitt ranks sixth in the country in hitting percentage at .277 and is sitting two spots ahead of Notre Dame, who sits at eighth with .261.
Pitt is sitting at 2-2 on the season but both of those losses came to No. 8 Syracuse in their season opener. They were able to respond with two wins over Boston College the next weekend, giwever.
The first game of the series will be on Friday at 7 p.m. at Purcell Pavilion on ESPN2, and the second matchup is scheduled for Sunday at 3:30 p.m., broadcast on ACC Network.
