SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame volleyball week concludes the 2025 season this week when the Irish head to Blacksburg, Virginia tomorrow for a 3:00 p.m. clash with Virginia Tech before closing out the season at home against Wake Forest Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. The Irish will honor its five seniors (Maisie Alexander, Avery Ross, Cailey Dockery, Harmony Sample and Lucy Trump) following the match against Wake Forest.
Notre Dame took down Virginia Tech in four sets earlier this season on October 12; 25-13, 23-25, 26-24, 25-21.
Last weekend, Notre Dame split a road trip at Clemson and Georgia Tech. The Irish took down the Tigers in five sets before dropping a competitive four-set battle against the Yellow Jackets.
Morgan Gaerte continues to get noticed on the national stage. The sophomore has nine games this season with 20 or more kills, which is tied for the most in single-season program history. She is currently 12th in the nation in points per game (5.21) following three-straight games of 20 or more kills (23 vs. Florida State, 33 at Clemson, 23 at Georgia Tech). Her 441 kills this season are the third-most in the ACC and the most by an Irish player since 2017 and tied for ninth most in single-season program history.
Wednesday’s game at Virginia Tech will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra, but there will be no broadcast for Saturday’s season finale. Fans are encourage to catch the match at Purcell Pavilion, where admission is free for all regular season Notre Dame volleyball matches.
HISTORY VS. VIRGINIA TECH
- This is the 19th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Virginia Tech and the second one this season. The Irish won in four sets back on October 12 in South Bend – 25-13, 23-25, 26-24, 25-21
- Notre Dame is 14-4 all-time against Virginia Tech, and have won 12 of the past 13 meetings
- The Irish are 5-4 all-time on the road in Blacksburg
HISTORY VS. WAKE FOREST
- This is the 17th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Wake Forest and the second one this season. The Irish fell in four sets back on November 7th in Winston-Salem – 18-25, 25-23, 23-25, 21-25
- Notre Dame is 9-7 all-time against Wake Forest
- The Irish are 4-3 all-time at home against the Demon Deacons
THE GAERTE PARTY
- The All-ACC Preseason Selection broke the school record for kills in a match against Illinois back on September 5th with 34. Kathy Cunningham’s record of 33 kills had stood for over 37 years. Those 34 kills at the time were tied for the most in a single match so far this season in the country with Racquel Frazier of Hampton. She was named ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week for her performance on September 8th
- She is the just the third player in Irish history to have three consecutive games of 20 or more kills and would be the first to do so on multiple occasions. She has nine total games of 20 or more kills this season after her 23 kills at Georgia Tech, which is tied for the most in a single-season in program history
- Gaerte is third in the conference and 21st nationally with 4.45 kills per set. In points per set, she is third in the ACC and 12th in the country with 5.21
- The sophomore had double-digit kills in 22-straight games to begin the season, the second-longest streak in program history
- Gaerte also leads the team with 34 service aces, including a career-high five at Georgia Tech
FRESH FACES
- The Irish have five freshmen to the team, bringing the Irish to a roster size of 20.
- The freshman class consists of Maya Baker (S), Maya Evens (DS/L), Mae Kordas (OH/O), Chichi Nnaji (OH), Sophia Thornburg (OH).
- Baker, who was a two-time Max Preps All-American, leads the team with 505 assists, is third on the team with 136 digs and has 20 aces. She had a career-high 31 assists (10.33 assists per set) in the sweep over Duke.
- The Irish pair a duo of former high school teammates in the incoming freshman class. Maya Evens and Mae Kordas both played together at Cathedral Catholic High School in Carlsbad, California. The duo was part of two Open State Championships (2022, 2024).
- Evens has played in 90 sets and leads the team with 270 digs on this season. She also has 74 assists.
- Kordas had the best game of her early career at California. In her home state, she had a nine kills, five digs and five blocks in the three set sweep over the Golden Bears. She also had back-to-back games with 10 kills against Virginia and Virginia Tech.
- Chichi Nnaji and Sophia Thornburg were high school teammates in Dallas, Texas at the Ursuline Academy of Dallas. Thornburg was named to the Prep Volleyball Top 100 National List for the Class of 2025 while both spent time working with the USAV National Team Development Program.
- Nnaji has made an impact from game one. She is third on the team with 115 kills and has 57 total blocks for 145.0 points.
- The Irish added one player from the portal, outside hitter Sydney Helmers from Texas. She was a member of the 2023 National Champion team as a freshman for the Longhorns. The junior has 229 kills, 157 digs and is third on the team with 25 service aces this season.
- In the win over NC State, Helmers had 14 kills, a career-high 19 digs, 3 service aces, 3 blocks and was a perfect 50/50 on receptions
KEY RETURNERS
- The Irish return 14 to the roster; 5 outside hitters, 3 defensive specialist/liberos, 3 middle blockers, 2 setters and 1 opposite.
- Senior Lucy Trump has played a crucial all-around role off the bench, giving a spark to the rotation. Trump had 11 kills against Florida State, her second double-digit kill game of the season.
- Trump is second on the team with 31 aces on the season and has 110 in total for her career, just outside of the top-10 in program history.
- Against Syracuse, Trump recorded a career-high 18 digs
- Notre Dame returns all three middle blockers; Mallory Bohl, Anna Bjork and Grace Langer for their sophomore seasons.
- Langer and Bjork have been a dominant presence in the middle for Notre Dame. Bjork leads the team with 112 blocks with Langer behind her at 109. Offensively, Bjork has 95 kills to Langer’s 93.
- In a homecoming match at Colorado State, Langer tallied nine kills on a career-best .600 hitting percentage to go along with 4.0 blocks.
- Junior Lily Fenton has jumped onto the scene for Notre Dame, starting five of the last six matches. She tallied a career-best 27 assists against Florida State and has 22 or more assists in four games this season.