CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — With 19 kills and 11 digs, Charley Niego powered #18 Notre Dame to a sweep (25-23, 25-23, 25-20) of Wake Forest on Saturday afternoon inside Carmichael Arena.
With the win, Notre Dame improves to 11-2 (10-2 ACC) and picks up its fourth sweep in the last five matches. Saturday also marked Notre Dame’s seventh straight-set victory in the 2020-21 campaign.
Niego’s game-high 19 kills came with a .368 hitting percentage as she earned her fourth double-double in the last six matches.Aubrey Hamilton added 14 kills with a .353 mark while Lindsey Miller added six kills, three of which came in the third set, and hit .364. Zoe Nunez collected 37 assists in the three sets.
Hattie Monson collected a game-high 12 digs and Kiara Schmidt earned 10 digs for the Irish defensively. Miller led all players with five blocks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
Niego powered the Irish with six kills (.556) and four digs in the opening frame as Notre Dame took the first set, 25-23. Hamilton also added four kills while Caroline Meuth notched a pair of kills.
Thompson and Miller each recorded two blocks for the Irish defense.
Second Set
The Irish hit .428 in the second stanza, led by seven kills by Hamilton and another six from Niego. Nunez assisted on 15 of Notre Dame’s 18 kills in the set and Monson recorded six digs.
Four of Notre Dame’s final five points in the frame came via Hamilton kills as the Irish earned a second consecutive 25-23 triumph.
Third Set
Niego notched seven more kills, bringing her total to 19, and earned three consecutive aces to power the Irish attack in the third frame. Nunez notched 11 assists to go with a pair of block assists, while Hamilton and Miller each added a trio of kills.
Back-to-back-to-back kills by Miller got the Irish to match point before Niego’s 19th kill sealed a 25-20 set victory and match sweep for Notre Dame.
Up Next
- #18 Notre Dame gets right back to it on Sunday (March 21) against North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
- Opening serve from Carmichael Arena is set for 1 p.m. ET and the match will be streamed live via ACC Network Extra.
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