The Irish have failed to break their losing streak, which stretched to seven games as they fell 3-2 on Friday against Florida State. Despite the result, this was a promising game for the Irish as it was the first time they made it to five sets since their 3-2 battle against Duke on Oct. 30.
The first set opened up evenly. While the Seminoles were originally up, the Irish were able to take the lead multiple times. Freshman outside hitter Lucy Trump had a kill that would bring the Irish up 10-9. The Irish lead, however, would not last long. The Seminoles were able to quickly regain the lead, pulling away to win the match 25-18.
The Irish would open up the second set hot. A Florida State error granted the Irish with the first point. Trump, with some more Seminole errors, would bring the Irish to a 7-3 lead and force a Florida State time-out. After the break, Florida State scored a point. But a kill from freshman outside hitter Avery Ross kept them from going on a run. After key plays from several sources, Notre Dame took a 20-15 lead before going on a 5-1 run to close the door. Notre Dame had 18 kills to Florida State’s nine kills in the set, with Trump accounting for half of Notre Dame's.
While the Seminoles won the first point in the third set, kills from junior middle blocker Lauren Tarnoff and a Trump ace would bring the Irish briefly gave the Irish the lead. The teams went back and forth for the first 16 points of the set. Eventually, the Seminoles took control, stretching their advantage to 16-10. On the strength of a series of late kills, Florida State took the third set 25-16.
Not willing to lose without a fight, the Irish began the fourth set with a 5-0 run. Three of those points were kills from graduate student outside hitter Clare Delaplane. Florida State was eventually able to get within one point, but would not get closer the entire set. On the strength of a 14-10 edge in kills, the Irish were able to beat the Seminoles 25-16.
The Irish, however, were unable to continue this momentum into the fifth set. The final set of the night saw nine tie scores and two lead changes, the most of any other set of the night. Notre Dame started with a 4-2 lead, but a Seminole run would allow them to steal the lead. With kills from Delaplane and Tarnoff, the Irish were able to tie it at 10-10. However, a 5-0 run from the Seminoles would give them the match.
Even though the Irish fell, this was a major improvement from their previous matches. Once again, Trump led the Irish with 17 kills. Many of these were assisted by sophomore setter Phyona Schrader, who had a total of 39 assists on the night.
The Irish hope to use what they learned against Florida State in their rematch against NC State. The Irish played them last week, losing 3-1 at home.
Notre Dame will face off against the Wolfpack on Saturday in Raleigh, North Carolina, at 5 p.m. EST.
Contact Olivia Schatz at oschatz@nd.edu.
