The impressive weekends just continue to pile up for Notre Dame volleyball. To start October, the Irish hosted No. 19 Georgia Tech on Friday and Clemson on Sunday, playing about as well as they could have. Notre Dame came within only three points of beating the highly-touted Yellow Jackets in a five-set loss before turning around and sweeping the Tigers to reach an overall record of 9-4.
With Georgia Tech coming off consecutive 3-0 losses to end September and begin ACC play, Notre Dame might have caught the Yellow Jackets at the right time. Still, the Irish needed to bring their A-game to have a competitive night against a program essentially locked into the national top 25.
Notre Dame’s big performances started with freshman outside hitter Morgan Gaerte, who posted a career-high 18 kills at a comfortable hitting percentage of .260. Senior outside hitter Sydney Palazzolo and senior setter Phyona Schrader also delivered their usual numbers, with the former totaling 15 kills and 14 digs and the latter combining eight kills with 27 assists and 10 digs.
In set one, Notre Dame played with consistency en route to a 25-22 victory that set the tone inside Purcell Pavilion. The Irish essentially held a two to four-point lead across the entire set, overcoming Georgia Tech’s advantages in service and reception with a .333 hitting percentage. After the Yellow Jackets tied the score at 18-18 late in the set, back-to-back Schrader kills gave the Irish a lead they would not surrender. A block split between Gaerte and freshman middle blocker Anna Bjork, who ended set one with four kills on five attempts, earned Notre Dame its 25th point.
Georgia Tech used a similar formula to claim set two by a 25-21 count, getting timely kills from Bianca Bertolino and Tamara Otene to break out of a 10-10 deadlock. The Yellow Jackets also limited Schrader and Gaerte to a combined negative hitting percentage, leaving Palazzolo and her four kills without much help.
In set three, Notre Dame pulled back ahead with a 25-20 win fueled by a .325 hitting percentage and largely error-free volleyball. The Irish marched out to a hefty lead early, forcing a Georgia Tech timeout with the score at 17-10. The Yellow Jackets began to pull back and eventually trimmed the deficit to 20-17, but a big finish from junior outside hitter Lucy Trump denied the comeback bid. Trump, who matched Gaerte with five kills in the third set, registered three of Notre Dame’s final four points with swings.
Unsurprisingly, the Yellow Jackets did not panic down two sets to one. Instead, they played a balanced and complete brand of volleyball in set four, scoring a 25-17 victory to force a fifth set. Five different Yellow Jackets recorded multiple kills for a Georgia Tech squad that hit .346 and finished on a 7-2 run in the fourth set.
The decisive fifth set featured six ties and three lead changes as the Irish and Yellow Jackets battled it out. Notre Dame took the upper hand first at 5-3, only for Georgia Tech to swing momentum and gather a 7-5 lead. Still, the Irish remained focused and built a 12-9 advantage to close in on a huge victory. Georgia Tech wouldn’t have it, going on a 4-0 run with Luanna Emiliano at the service line. Trump tied the score at 13-13 with a kill before the Yellow Jackets answered and ended the match somewhat controversially. As Otene went up for the night’s final swing, Bjork and Trump set a block but made contact with the net. The violation and ensuing review went in Georgia Tech’s favor, allowing the Yellow Jackets to survive on a 3-2 win in South Bend.
Returning to action on Sunday against Clemson, the Irish experienced no letdown from Friday’s disappointing finish. Notre Dame opened the afternoon with back-to-back Palazzolo aces, rapidly constructing a 5-1 lead that would easily hold up. Set one went the way of the Irish by a 25-17 score, as Palazzolo added five efficient kills to her pair of aces. Schrader and Bjork also notched service aces for Notre Dame in the first set.
In the second set, Clemson hung around a bit more but still never led. This time, the Irish built a 9-4 lead before the Tigers stormed back and leveled the score at 13-13. After a timeout, Notre Dame’s offense found a gear, carrying the weight of a 12-4 run to clinch a second straight 25-17 set win. The Irish attacked at a whopping .483 percentage in set two, as all six Notre Dame players who registered a kill hit .500 or better.
Clemson started set three by taking its first lead of the day at 1-0. It would later stake claim to its second and final edge at 7-6, as Notre Dame embarked on an 11-3 march to turn momentum around. However, the Irish crawled to the finish line after going up 22-14. The Tigers tallied six consecutive points, ultimately slashing Notre Dame’s lead down to 24-23. Still, the Irish needed only one more point to sweep and got it on an Audrey Armbruster service error. Both offenses performed poorly in the third set, hitting below .040, but Notre Dame’s block stepped up as the difference maker with five rejections.
Palazzolo finished her Sunday with a team-high 10 kills, while Gaerte followed up her massive night with nine kills at a .292 hitting percentage. Graduate setter Ella Sandt also factored in nicely for Notre Dame, adding three kills to a 10-dig, 11-assist double-double.
This coming weekend, the Irish will hit the road for the first time in ACC play, visiting Miami (Florida) on Friday and No. 16 Florida State on Sunday.
