The Notre Dame volleyball team was looking to establish a new identity at the start of this fall in the second year of the Salima Rockwell era. The best way to do that, of course, is to win. And the Irish did a lot of that early in the year, jumping out to an 8-2 start complete with a six-match winning streak.
Since then, the Irish have faced some more adversity. They suffered their first losing streak of the year, dropping three straight matches before rallying from two sets down last Sunday to end the skid at North Carolina. Now, the Irish return home, where they’re 5-1 this season, and they still have to take on the Virginia Cavaliers and Pitt Panthers.
Virginia and Pitt enter this weekend with two very different seasons going. The Cavaliers, who the Irish face first Friday, have struggled. They come into South Bend with a respectable 8-8 record but are just 1-5 in ACC play. Virginia does have a strong block, ranking fourth in the conference with 243 blocks this season. Abby Tadder and Veresia Yon rank eighth and ninth, respectively, in the ACC in the block department. Milan Gomillion is seventh with 3.84 digs per set. Virginia also enters this match on a three-game losing streak that the Irish will look to push to four.
Pitt, on the other hand, has lost just two times all season. The Panthers have been the bridesmaid to Louisville in the ACC the last two years, finishing as regular season runner-up both times. They’re currently one of just two undefeated teams in conference play, tied with Florida State at 6-0. Pitt is outstanding defensively, leading the conference in opponent hitting percentage, assists, digs and kills, while also pacing the conference in blocks.
On an individual basis, Emma Monks is among the best Pitt, and the ACC as a whole, has to offer. Monks is second in the conference in hitting percentage and blocks, only trailing behind teammate Chiamaka Nwokolo in the latter department. Olivia Babcock is also second in the ACC in points per set, and she is currently one of just five players in the conference with an average above four. She’ll have some stiff competition from Irish junior outside hitter Sydney Palazzolo, who leads the ACC by a wide margin. The gap between Palazzolo and Babcock is more than twice the difference between Babcock and 10th place Anna DeBeer of Louisville.
The Irish take on Virginia on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and No. 8 Pitt on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Both matches are available to watch in person at Purcell Pavilion and can also be viewed on ACC Network Extra.
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Irish look to reestablish winning ways in weekend matches
Sophomore outside hitter Lucy Trump swings during Notre Dame’s 3-2 defeat of Milwaukee at Purcell Pavilion on Aug. 28.
