After taking the first 3-0 loss against the Louisville Cardinals on the road Wednesday night, the Irish traveled back home but took a second sweep loss against the Cardinals on Saturday. The Irish have now dropped to 9-12 overall on the season and 2-10 in ACC play.
The two teams battled back and forth during the first set of the afternoon, as the teams stayed within a point of each other early on. Senior outside hitter Sydney Palazzolo added a kill to bring the Irish ahead and make the score 7-6. The Cardinals did not let that rattle them as they went on a 9-1 run to make the score then 16-8. As the Irish attempted to push back, the Cardinals went on a 9-4 march to make the final score of the first set 25-12 in their favor.
The second set looked similar to the first at the start as the two teams battled back and forth for the lead. The Cardinals then went on a run to make the score 16-8, but a block made by senior setter Phyona Schrader and freshman middle blocker Mallory Bohl helped the Irish make the score closer as they went on a 5-0 run making the score 16-13. The Cardinals made a comeback, scoring two more points for themselves to make the score 18-13, but blocks from Schrader and freshman middle blocker Anna Bjork forced errors on the Cardinals to make the score 18-14. The Irish then brought the score back to a two-point difference of 18-16, but the Cardinals pulled away, going on a 7-0 run over the Irish to finish the set 25-16 and make the score now 2-0 in their favor.
In the final set of the afternoon, the Cardinals took a quick start as they went on a 6-0 run against the Irish. The Irish managed to add a point for themselves to make the score 6-1, but the Cardinals kept forcing errors. The Cardinals finished out the day with a 25-12 win over the Irish to make the overall score 3-0.
Schrader led on the court for the Irish as she had a total of six kills, seven digs, 13 assists and two blocks. Alongside her, Palazzolo added on five kills for herself, Bjork added four kills, Bohl tacked on three kills, junior outside hitter Lucy Trump put up two kills for herself and freshman outside hitter Mia Radeff added on one of her own for the Irish. Bjork and Bohl also added on a block for themselves throughout the match. Trump added on two service aces for herself alongside Palazzolo, who also contributed one for herself.
With this, the Irish are now going back on the road heading to Massachusetts as they prepare to face off against the Boston College Eagles. The game is set for Nov. 8, and the match is set to begin at 7 p.m.
Boston College is currently 11-13 on the season so far and 4-8 in conference play. Halle Schroder leads the Eagles on the court as she has a total of 285 kills on the season so far. Right behind her is Audrey Ross who has a total of 246 kills on the season to this point.
