DURHAM, NC – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-5, 2-3 ACC) fell in a hard fought battle to Duke (11-5, 2-3) on Friday, Oct. 6 in four sets (25-21, 20-25, 28-30, 20-25).
The Irish were led by Sydney Palazzolo, who recorded 17 kills and three blocks. She was followed by Avery Ross with nine kills and Lucy Trump with seven kills. Nicole Drewnick dished out 35 assists and Hattie Monson recorded 19 digs.
Set One
The Irish claimed an early lead in set one as a Palazzolo ace would give the Irish the four point advantage at 9-5. The Blue Devils responded with a 6-0 run to take the lead 11-9 and force an Irish timeout. The Irish and Blue Devils were tied 16-all, 17-all and 18-all until the Irish claimed the lead at 22-19. Duke would close the gap to 22-21, but the Irish closed it out with three straight kills to take home set one 25-21.
Set Two
It was a close set two as both teams struggled to pull away from the other. Trailing 13-12, a 3-0 run lifted the Irish to a 15-13 advantage. The Blue Devils responded with a run of their own as they claimed the lead at 17-15. A service error by Duke and a Palazzolo ace made it an even set yet again at 17-17. Duke pulled away to make it 23-17, and while the Irish looked to close the gap, the Blue Devils won set two 25-20.
Set Three
The Blue Devils carried their momentum in the third set as they posted an early 5-0 lead. Trailing 17-12, the Irish went on a 4-0 run that was capped off by back-to-back aces from Trump to make it 17-16. It was 18-all, 19-all and 20-all before the Irish were able to take the advantage at 22-20. It was an even set yet again at 23-all, as both squads swapped points up to the 28-28 mark as the Blue Devils would take the advantage and set three win at 30-28.
Set Four
The Irish trailed early in set four at 12-5 as the Blue Devils carried their momentum from set three. With three kills from Trump, the Irish offense was sparked and looking to close the gap. Back-to-back aces from Palazzolo were able to bring the Irish within three at 17-14. Trailing by one at 20-19, the Irish battled but Duke would come out on top after taking set four.
Up Next
The Irish are back in action on Sunday, Oct. 8 at North Carolina at 1:00 PM.