Irish fall to Miami and Florida State

Notre Dame volleyball traveled to Florida this past weekend to play two games but took two losses. The first was a close, 3-2 loss against the Miami Hurricanes on Friday, and the second was on Sunday, a 3-1 loss against the Seminoles of Florida State. 

Irish battle hard in 3-2 loss to the Miami Hurricanes

The Irish traveled to Miami, Florida to face off against the Hurricanes, battling hard throughout the match and completing a total of five sets.

The first set looked in favor of the Hurricanes as they finished with a 25-22 win over the Irish. Miami pushed ahead early with the Irish tailing behind closely to start the set off at 9-5 in favor of the Hurricanes. After the Irish tallied three more points on the board to make the score 9-8, Miami went on a six-point run to push the score to 15-8 over the Irish. The Irish then went on a four-point run of their own to catch up and make the score 15-12. The two teams stayed close in points until Miami was able to pull through and take the final two points to win 25-22. 

The Irish bounced back and took the second set for themselves with a 25-19 win over Miami. Notre Dame started out strong with a 7-4 lead. But, with a four-point run from the Hurricanes, the two teams were tied up at eight. The Irish were able to close out the set with a three-point run to make the final score 25-19. This win tied the overall match score 1-1. 

As the teams battled back and forth throughout the third set, Notre Dame made it out on top with the same 25-19 win over Miami. Miami started out strong at the beginning of the set as it gained a 13-9 lead. As Miami put two more points on the board to make the score 15-9, Notre Dame responded by going on a six-point run to tie up the score at 15. Only allowing Miami to score one point, Notre Dame kept the momentum going as it added on four more points to make the score 19-16. Notre Dame finished with a three-point run to take the 25-19 win over Miami and bring the overall score to 2-1 in favor of the Irish. 

The fourth set did not go well for the Irish, as Miami took advantage and won the set 25-13. Miami took an early 12-3 lead over Notre Dame. The Irish managed a comeback as they reached a closer, 14-9 score, but Miami kepts its momentum going and took the final 25-13 win. This win for Miami in the fourth set tied the overall match score 2-2. 

In the final set, after being tied at 5-5, Miami gained five more points to make the score 10-7 as the Irish also added two points. Miami added two points to make the score 12-7, Notre Dame responded by adding five points of their own to tie the set score at 12. With this tied score, Miami pushed through at the end, making the final score 15-12 over the Irish. With this win, Miami took the close overall victory over Notre Dame.

Freshman outside hitter Morgan Gaerte led on the court for the Irish as she tallied 16 kills, 10 digs, three service aces and two blocks. Senior outside hitter Sydney Palazzolo contributed by adding on 15 kills and 10 digs of her own. Senior setter Phyona Schrader tallied her seventh triple-double of the season with 13 kills, 15 kills, 35 assists and a team best of four blocks.

Notre Dame volleyball take another tough loss against Florida State

After a close loss against Miami, the Notre Dame volleyball team took another tough 3-1 loss against the Florida State Seminoles. 

Both teams started out strong in the first set as the two teams were consistently changing leads throughout the set. After being tied at five points in the beginning of the set, the Irish were able to pull ahead and take an 11-8 lead over Florida State. Despite this new lead from the Irish, the Seminoles battled back to tie the set at 14. Notre Dame pushed back, taking a new 18-15 lead, but Florida State quickly responded to take a 20-19 lead. As the two teams continued to fight and keep the score close, Florida State pulled through with a 25-22 win over the Irish. This win made the overall match score 1-0 in favor of the Seminoles. 

The Irish did not let that rattle them as they came out strong during the beginning of the second set, gaining a 6-2 lead. Florida State then tied up the score. The two teams battled back and forth throughout the entire set, staying within one point of each other. As the Irish were behind 14-13, they put up a 6-0 point run to gain the 19-14 lead over Florida State. The Seminoles made a comeback around the end of the set to bring the score to 24-22 before the Irish added the winning point on for themselves to take the 25-22 win. This set win for the Irish now tied the overall score 1-1. 

Notre Dame took a head start at the beginning of the third set, gaining a 6-4 lead. The Seminoles responded quickly as they went on a 7-0 run to make the score 11-6. After Notre Dame managed six more points to make the score 12-11, Florida State wasted no time and added nine more points onto the board to make the score 20-12. With this, Florida State kept the momentum going to finish out the match 25-18. This win made the overall match score 2-1 in favor of the Seminoles. 

Florida State started off early with a 9-3 lead in the fourth set, but as the set moved forward, the Irish were able to make a comeback and make the score closer at 14-10. After the Seminoles went on an 8-1 run, they took the 22-11 score over the Irish. While the Irish managed to put up a 4-0 run of their own, Florida State took the final 25-16 win. 

Schrader put up her eighth triple-double of the season as she led on the court with 15 kills, 18 assists and 13 digs. Gaerte also contributed throughout the match as she also finished with 15 kills and contributed to four blocks. Junior outside hitter Lucy Trump, freshman middle blocker Grace Langer and Palazzolo all finished the night with six kills. Freshman middle blocker Anna Bjork finished with an all-team best rounding out the night with a total of six blocks.  

After these two losses, the Notre Dame volleyball team now prepares to host NC State in the annual Pink game on Friday, Oct. 18, beginning at 6:30 p.m.