Nov. 20, 2016
By Robby Hamman
ATLANTA — Notre Dame (20-10, 11-7 ACC) fell to Georgia Tech (23-7, 14-4 ACC) in its final road match of the regular season on Sunday by a final score of 3-0 (18-25, 27-29, 12-25). The Irish finish the regular season with a record of 12-4 away from home, including a mark of 7-3 in ACC away matches.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Georgia Tech jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the opening set and Notre Dame could not recover from the early deficit. The Irish cut the Yellow Jackets’ lead to two points at 18-16 but were unable to draw any closer, as Georgia Tech took the first frame 25-18.
The second set was extremely tight, as neither team held more than a two-point lead throughout the stanza. There were 18 ties and 11 lead changes in the second. Notre Dame had set points at 24-23 and then 26-25 but were unable to win the big points to level the match. The Yellow Jackets managed to outlast the Irish and won the second stanza by a score of 29-27 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
The Yellow Jackets carried their momentum from the second set into the third, building an early seven-point advantage at 10-3 and never looking back. Georgia Tech won the set by a final of 25-12 to take the match 3-0.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH
For the fourth consecutive outing, freshman outside hitter Jemma Yeadon reached double figures in kills with a team-high 11 at Georgia Tech. The Mercer Island, Washington native also recorded five digs and a block over three sets of play.
STAT OF THE MATCH
Senior middle blocker finished with a hitting percentage of .500 or higher for the seventh time this season on Sunay. Higgins posted nine kills on 14 attempts, while making two errors to hit .500 for the match. The Kearney, Nebraska product leads the Irish in hitting percentage with a mark of .350 on the season.
NOTABLES
- The Irish lost the first set for just the third time in 18 ACC matches.
- Notre Dame is now 2-5 against Georgia Tech in the all-time series.
- Sophomore libero Ryann DeJarld led the Irish with 11 digs and has now reached double figures in 27-of-30 matches in 2016.
- Junior middle blocker Sam Fry and sophomore outside hitter Rebecca Nunge led Notre Dame in blocks with three apiece.
- Yeadon has now had 10-plus kills in 17 matches this season.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame returns home for the regular season finale next week over Thanksgiving break. The Irish host Boston College at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 23 and then welcomes Syracuse at 1 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 25.
To purchase Notre Dame volleyball tickets visit UND.com/BuyTickets.
— ND —
Robby Hamman joined Fighting Irish Media as athletics communications assistant director in September 2016, coordinating efforts for the volleyball and men’s lacrosse program. Hamman is a 2010 graduate of Bethel College, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in sport management and business administration, and earned his master’s degree in business administration from Defiance College in 2013.