CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The Notre Dame Volleyball team fell in five sets to 21st-ranked North Carolina, 25-19, 25-15, 17-25, 20-25, 13-15 inside Carmichael Arena. Notre Dame is now 7-10 this season and 4-5 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
Morgan Gaerte paced the Irish with 22 kills, her fourth game of the season with at least 22 kills and her first in ACC play. The sophomore also chipped in four blocks and four digs.
Sydney Helmers notched 11 kills while Mae Kordas tied her career-high with 10 kills, joining Gaerte with double-digit kills on the night.
Harmony Sample (27 assists) and Maya Baker (20 assists) for the third game this season both registered 20 or more assists in a single game.
Notre Dame will look to bounce back Sunday at Duke. First serve is set for 1:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on ACCNX.
How it happened
Set 1
- After falling behind early, the Irish clawed back to take the lead at 13-10 behind kills from Helmers, Gaerte and Nnaji, part of a 6-0 Notre Dame run
- The Irish shifted the momentum against the home team. After taking a 15-14 lead, Notre Dame never trailed again in the first set, closing the opener on an 11-5 run.
- Gaerte finished the first set with six kills while Grace Langer tallied three blocks to begin the match
- Notre Dame won the set 25-19 as a Helmers’ ace clinched the early Irish lead
Set 2
- The Irish opened the second-set on an 8-2 run, capitalizing on multiple Tar Heels mistakes, forcing an early North Carolina timeout
- Notre Dame extended its lead to 15-9 to force the fourth Tar Heels’ timeout of the match
- Anna Bjork registered a kill followed by a solo block to put Notre Dame up 18-11
- The Irish never faltered in the set, closing on a 4-1 run for a 25-15 dominating set win and an early 2-0 match advantage
Set 3
- Both teams came out strong, as a kill from Mae Kordas tied the set at 5-5
- North Carolina made a push with a 4-0 run to force a Notre Dame timeout up 11-7
- The Tar Heels continued the pressure, taking a 17-10 lead
- Facing set point, the Irish put together a late 4-0 run, but UNC took the set 25-17
Set 4
- The score was tied at 5-all for the second-straight set to open up the fourth
- With two early kills in the set, Gaerte reached 15, her seventh-game with at least 15 kills
- A 6-1 Tar Heel run forced an Irish timeout with the score 10-6 UNC
- Notre Dame tied the match back up at 17, using a successful challenge and a 5-1 run to insert the Irish right back into the set
- Feeding off the crowd, North Carolina regained the lead, going up 23-19, taking advantage of a pair of Irish attack errors. The Tar Heels would win the set 25-20 to force a winner-take-all fifth set
Set 5
- Notre Dame came out blistering to open the closing set. A Gaerte kill, Maisie Alexander ace and an Bjork kill put the Irish up 5-2 to force a North Carolina timeout
- The Irish extended the lead 8-4 with Kordas’ 10th kill of the game
- North Carolina answered with a 3-0 run to force an Irish timeout
- With the score tied up at 12, a block from Bjork and and Kordas gave the Irish the one-point lead, forcing a Tar Heel timeout
- A 3-0 run won North Carolina the fifth set 15-13 and the match.