The Notre Dame volleyball team put together another solid weekend of play to wrap up its non-conference schedule. The Irish split a home-and-home against Indiana, winning 3-0 at Purcell Pavilion Friday before dropping Sunday’s match by a 3-1 score in Bloomington. Notre Dame now heads into Atlantic Coast Conference play with a record of 7-2, its best non-conference mark under third-year head coach Salima Rockwell.
Coming off a 3-0 weekend and a successful two-game swing to Compton Family Ice Arena, the Irish returned to Purcell Friday looking for a fifth consecutive win. Unsurprisingly, they found it due largely to the work of Phyona Schrader. The senior setter and reigning ACC Setter of the Week posted her fourth triple-double of the season, totaling 11 kills, 19 assists and 15 digs in a Notre Dame sweep.
With three kills, six assists and five digs in set one, Schrader helped the Irish to a fast start at home. Hitting .565 in the set, Notre Dame went without an attack error and cruised to a 25-15 victory. The Irish did all of that without a single kill from senior outside hitter and usual lead attacker Sydney Palazzolo. While she remained quiet, junior outside hitter Lucy Trump stepped up with four kills at a .667 hitting percentage. Freshman outside hitter Morgan Gaerte and freshman middle blocker Anna Bjork, who ended the set with a service ace, joined Schrader with three kills each.
Indiana hung a bit closer in set two, pulling into a 12-11 lead at one point. Notre Dame, however, following the lead of a five-kill resurgence from Palazzolo, used another late run to capture the set at 25-20. Schrader kept on with her well-rounded game, outputting four kills, assists and digs.
Despite Notre Dame opening up a 22-15 advantage, set three came down to the wire and required extra points. Thanks to several key blocks, Indiana went on a 9-2 run to tie the score at 24 and stay alive in the match. Ultimately, the Irish would take control with the set on the line and win the match at 30-28 on a tandem block by Bjork, Gaerte and Trump. Gaerte paced the Notre Dame attack with six kills in the set, while Schrader intensified her play with four kills, nine assists and six digs to seal the triple-double.
Two days later, the Irish traveled south to Wilkinson Hall at Indiana University and initially kept their momentum fully intact, claiming set one by a 25-23 score. After Indiana tallied the afternoon’s opening point, Notre Dame tied the score and never trailed again on the set. Bjork, who led the Irish with four first-set kills, guided them out to a strong start before Gaerte closed the set with her third kill.
Indiana would push back in set two, silencing Notre Dame’s attack (-.121 hitting percentage) in a 25-14 second-set victory. The Hoosiers then jumped ahead in the match with their most efficient set of the day, hitting .323 to take set three by a 25-20 score. Candela Alonso-Corcelles and Avry Tatum combined for 11 Indiana kills, while Camryn Haworth produced 14 of her 39 assists in the third set.
Late in the fourth set, it seemed that Notre Dame was bound to answer back and send the match into a fifth set. The Irish broke out of an initially close race to reach a 21-15 lead, only for Indiana to rally. The Hoosiers scored nine consecutive points, blowing right through two Notre Dame timeouts to build a 24-21 advantage. At match point, the Irish earned a point back, but a service error from Bjork ended the set and match at 25-22 Indiana.
Despite her win streak-ending misfire, Bjork still finished with a fine Sunday as Notre Dame’s leading scorer. The freshman totaled 10 kills at a .409 hitting percentage, also contributing a service ace and three blocks. Meanwhile, Schrader walked away with yet another triple-double, contributing 11 kills, 15 assists and 13 digs. Notre Dame struggled to generate offensive consistency outside of those two, though, as Trump, Palazzolo and Gaerte each attacked more than 15 times but wielded a negative hitting percentage.
This weekend, Notre Dame will open ACC play by hosting two of the conference’s newest members. Stanford will visit South Bend for a 6:30 p.m. game on Friday before Cal enters Purcell Pavilion for a 1 p.m. start on Sunday.
