ATLANTA — #22 Notre Dame dominated from start-to-finish in a road sweep (25-21, 25-18, 25-20) of #23 Georgia Tech on Thursday night inside O’Keefe Gymnasium.
With the win, the Irish improve to 13-3 overall and 13-3 in ACC play heading into the final day of the ACC regular season. Notre Dame can earn its first ACC Championship, and 18th regular season conference title in program history, with a win over Duke on Friday and a Louisville loss to North Carolina.
Charley Niego led all players with 17 goals and three service aces while adding five digs and three blocks. Caroline Meuth notched eight kills and hit .500 while Aubrey Hamilton also added eight kills. Zoe Nunez collected 38 assists in the three sets.
Hattie Monson recorded a game-high 11 digs and Lindsey Miller led all players with six total blocks.
As a team, the Irish totaled nine blocks and six service aces in the three sets of play while holding Georgia Tech to zero aces. The loss also marked Georgia Tech’s first at home in the 2020-21 campaign.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
The Irish jumped out to an 8-3 lead before using a 5-0 run, including a pair of aces by Niego, to go up 13-5. The Yellow Jackets answered with a 6-1 stretch to get back within two at 15-13 and force an Irish timeout.
The Irish never gave up the lead, and two straight kills by Hamilton down the stretch put Notre Dame up 22-19 before Niego’s third kill of the frame clinched a 25-21 triumph in set one.
As a team, the Irish racked up 14 kills and hit .344 in the frame.
Second Set
Four kills and an ace by Niego helped Notre Dame jump out to a 10-7 advantage to open the second set.
An Irish 3-0 run, which included two kills by Niego and another from Hamilton, pushed Notre Dame’s lead to 16-11 before four straight Notre Dame points put the Irish up 23-17.
A block by Miller and Meuth clinched a 25-18 victory and as the Irish took a 2-0 lead in the match.
Niego totaled 10 kills in the second stanza while the Irish hit .312 and earned 16 kills as a team.
Third Set
Miller collected a kill and a pair of blocks to help the Irish earn a 7-2 lead to open the third set. Georgia Tech got back within two at 12-10 before the Irish earned six of the next eight points to go up 18-12 in a run that involved two kills and a block by Meuth.
Notre Dame held the lead from there with a kill by Hannah Thompson clinching a 25-20 set win and a match sweep for the Irish.
Up Next
- #22 Notre Dame closes the regular season on Friday (April 2) with a matchup against Duke in Atlanta.
- Friday’s contest against the Blue Devils is set for 4 p.m. ET and will be covered via radio only here.
*NOTE: Notre Dame’s contest against Virginia, originally slated for last Sunday (March 28) has been declared a no contest following Virginia’s cancellation of their spring season. The Irish receive a win for the purposes of ACC Standings, but not an official victory on their record.
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