CHAPEL HILL, NC – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-5, 3-3) took down the North Carolina Tar Heels (7-8, 1-5) in a five-set thriller on Sunday, Oct. 8 on the road (17-25, 20-25, 25-12, 25-16, 15-10) . After trailing 2-0 heading into the third, the Irish dominated the final three sets to take home their third ACC win of the season.
Sydney Palazzolo led all players with 19 kills and also rounded out the double-double with 10 digs. Ava Lange finished with 14 kills and was followed by Lucy Trump with nine kills. Charity McDowell recorded four kills and a team-best seven blocks. Nicole Drewnick filled out the stat sheet as she finished with 37 assists, 14 digs, three blocks and a .545 attack percentage.
Set One
Trailing 7-5, the Irish recorded kills from Palazzolo and Lange, as well as a block from Lange and McDowell, to take the lead 8-7. The Tar Heels responded with a 7-0 run to take the lead 14-8. The Irish closed the gap to four at 20-16 after back-to-back kills from Palazzolo, but UNC would close it out to take set one 25-17.
Set Two
It was back and forth action to start the second set as the Irish trailed by one at 11-10. The Tar Heels would go on a 9-1 run to extend the lead to 20-11, but the Irish continued to battle. They matched the North Carolina run with an 8-1 run of their own, capped off by back-to-back aces from Palazzolo. The Irish brought it within two at 21-19, but North Carolina claimed the 2-0 advantage heading into set three as they won set two 25-20.
Set Three
Notre Dame wasn’t going anywhere as they posted a 12-4 lead over the Tar Heels to start the third. A McDowell kill gave the Irish a 14-5 edge and forced a UNC timeout. A Lange kill brought the lead to 10 at 17-7 and while the Tar Heels closed the gap to eight at 20-12, Notre Dame closed it out with a 5-0 run to take home set three 25-12.
Set Four
Tied at 6-6 in set four, the Irish would outscore the Tar Heels 11-2 to take the lead 17-8. It was a five point set at 18-13, as kills from Palazzolo, Drewnick, and Trump would lift the Irish to a 22-13 advantage. Notre Dame and North Carolina exchanged points until the Irish came out victorious in set four at 25-16.
Set Five
Tied at 5-5, back-to-back kills from Drewnick gave the Irish a 7-5 edge. Tied at 9-all, a Lange kill and solo block followed by a Tar Heel error, put the Irish ahead 12-9 and forced a North Carolina timeout. Notre Dame would go on to outscore the Tar Heels 4-1, as one last Palazzolo kill secured the big 15-10 win for the Irish.
Up Next
The Irish are back in Purcell Pavilion on Friday, Oct. 13 as they host Virginia in their Dig Pink match. On Sunday, Oct. 15, the Irish will face No. 7 Pitt at home. The second poster of our poster series giveaway will take place and an autograph session will follow after the match.