After starting the season 2-0 with a Catholic Challenge title in Santa Clara, California, the Notre Dame volleyball team played in Mississippi at the StarkVegas Classic this weekend. The Irish went 1-1 in Starkville, dropping a 3-1 match to Michigan on Saturday before hanging on for a 3-2 defeat of Mississippi State on Sunday. Heading into a weekend that will feature three games in three days, the Irish carry a record of 3-1.
Michigan erases one-set deficit to clinch first Irish loss
Entering the weekend with momentum, Notre Dame kept rolling in set one against Michigan. With the Wolverines having already faced Mississippi State the night before, the Irish looked fresh en route to a 25-20 victory in the first set. Notre Dame and Michigan played close early on, and the Wolverines held a 15-13 edge at the media timeout. Fueled by their block, the Irish would tally the game’s next five points after that timeout and take a 21-16 lead via an 8-1 run. That five-point Notre Dame advantage would go final on a kill from freshman middle blocker Grace Langer. Easily Notre Dame’s best set of the day, set one featured an Irish hitting percentage of .361 and a combined nine kills between junior outside hitter Sydney Palazzolo and senior setter Phyona Schrader.
Michigan would even the game score with a set two victory of 25-18 despite Notre Dame’s closing of the gap to 21-18. In the second set, the Wolverines upped their hitting percentage from .175 to .303, while Notre Dame’s plummeted to .088. Michigan continued its success in set three, posting yet another 25-18 win to pull ahead in the game score. Four service aces and another elevated hitting percentage of .297 helped the Wolverines turn an 8-8 tie into a 20-13 lead and never look back.
The decisive fourth set unfolded similarly to the third, as Michigan used a 7-1 run to break out of an early deadlock and force Notre Dame into the rearview mirror. Michigan’s attack, which hit efficiently at a .317 clip that cleared Notre Dame’s by more than 100 points, finished strong for a 25-20 set victory. The Wolverines’ Allison Jacobs notched seven of her game-high 19 kills in the fourth set. Just behind her, Ella Demetrician stepped up for Michigan with an 18-kill day at a .368 hitting percentage.
On Notre Dame’s side, Palazzolo doubled her next-closest teammate with 18 kills. That teammate, Phyona Schrader, added a double-double that included 19 assists and 16 digs. She just missed out on a triple-double, totaling nine kills at an impressive hitting clip of .333.
Irish start fast again, outlast Mississippi State in five sets
As it did in the Michigan game, Notre Dame thrived out of the gate Sunday against Mississippi State. The Irish opened up a 2-0 lead and this time, though it became dicey, made it hold up for a happy trip home to South Bend.
Set one, a 25-20 victory for the Irish, opened with Notre Dame in front by an 8-1 score. Mississippi State would move back into contention at 10-8, then 17-15, but the Irish never allowed a closer set score than that. Palazzolo thrived for a Notre Dame squad that hit .302 in set one, posting eight kills on only 15 attacks while adding four digs. On the other side, Kailin Newsome collected eight kills for the Bulldogs, but only seven additional kills piled up from her teammates.
The second set featured 14 different ties, more than in any other single set. Once the Irish pulled within a 16-14 score midway through the set, neither team led again by more than two points. In fact, the only multi-point lead that appeared after that juncture was Notre Dame’s set-clincher at 26-24. Overcoming a less effective set of attacking, Palazzolo picked up the winning kill, her sixth of the set. Schrader helped her out in set two, attacking at a 6-for-10 rate while contributing seven assists. Junior libero Cailey Dockery also pitched in, totaling six digs in the set.
With Notre Dame on the brink of a sweep, Mississippi State battled back in sets of three and four, stymieing Palazzolo and the Irish attack. In set three, Palazzolo swung at a negative hitting percentage, opening the door for the Bulldogs to climb back. They took full advantage, leading from 3-2 onward to comfortably claim the set at 25-20.
In set four, Palazzolo struggled again but Schrader picked up all the slack, tightening the set to the point of a 29-27 Bulldog victory. Schrader posted six kills at a .357 hitting clip, nine assists, two service aces and a block. Her work surged Notre Dame out to a 20-17 lead late in the set, but Mississippi State would not quit. Facing game point two times, Mississippi State remained in the fight and stole the set on a Newsome kill. Set four featured a major step forward from Rebecca Walk, who posted seven kills on only nine total attacks for the Bulldogs.
Heading into set five, Notre Dame apparently grew tired of going down to the wire with Mississippi State. The Irish, rolling at a gaudy hitting percentage of .444, marched out of Starkville with a 15-7 win that opened with a 4-0 scoring run. Palazzolo returned to her typical form with a pair of kills and service aces, while junior outside hitter Lucy Trump emerged with a team-high three kills. Overall, Trump joined Palazzolo (20 kills) and Schrader (18 kills) in double digits with 11 kills. Palazzolo mixed in 16 digs for a double-double, while Schrader totaled 25 assists and 14 digs for a triple-double.
Up next, the Irish will play on three consecutive days for the first time since August 2022. They will make a short trip to Northwestern for an 8 p.m. matchup on Thursday night before hosting Colorado State (Friday, 6 p.m.) and Northwestern (Saturday, 6:30 p.m.) at Compton Family Ice Arena. The game against Colorado State will begin a stretch in which the Irish play seven of eight games at home.
