SOUTH BEND, IND. – The Notre Dame volleyball team hits the road for the first time this season as the Irish head west to the Rocky Mountains to face off at Colorado State and against East Texas A&M. Notre Dame plays Colorado State on Friday night followed by a neutral site match in Fort Collins against East Texas A&M.
The Irish will look to bounce back this weekend after coming up short to LSU on Tuesday night, part of the inaugural “Showdown at the Net”, which featured Atlantic Coast Conference teams taking on Southeastern Conference teams. The ACC came out on top with a 9-7 record.
Morgan Gaerte will look to continue her incredible start to the 2025 season. The sophomore from Angola, Indiana has 89 kills on the season and leads the ACC with 4.94 kills per set.
Grace Langer, a native of Centennial, Colorado, will return to her home state this weekend. The sophomore middle blocker is tied for first on the team with 20 blocks.
Friday night’s match at Colorado State is set for an 8 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. MT first serve and will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network. It’s the fifth all-time meeting between the two schools. Last year, the Irish got the best of the Rams, beating them in four sets as part of the ‘Volleyball on Ice’ weekend played at Compton Family Ice Arena. It’s the first time Notre Dame has been to Fort Collins since 1999.
Saturday’s 2 p.m. ET/12 p.m. MT game against East Texas A&M will be the first time Notre Dame has gone up against the Lions.
HISTORY VS. COLORADO STATE
- This is the fifth meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Colorado State. The Rams lead the series 3-1
- The two teams faced off last season for the first time in nearly 24 years
- Part of the ‘Volleyball on Ice” weekend at Compton Family Ice Arena, Notre Dame beat Colorado State in four sets, 23-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-15
- The Irish haven’t visited Fort Collins since 1999
HISTORY VS. EAST TEXAS A&M
- Saturday’s meeting will be the first ever matchup between Notre Dame and East Texas A&M
ALL EYES ON MORGAN GAERTE
- Morgan Gaerte is playing unlike anyone ever to wear the Blue and Gold has for the Irish to start a season
- The All-ACC Preseason Selection broke the school record for kills in a match last Friday against Illinois with 34. Kathy Cunningham’s record of 33 kills had stood for over 37 years. Those 34 kills are tied for the most in a single match so far this season in the country with
- She is the just the third player in Irish history to have three consecutive games of 20 or more kills. Her 89 kills through the first four games of the season are the most in school history
- A 2025 Preseason All-ACC Selection, Gaerte leads the conference and is seventh nationally with 4.94 kills per set. In points per set, she is first in the ACC and ninth in the country with 5.47.
FRESH FACES
- The Irish welcome 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 81 assists and is second on the team with 34 digs so far in 2025.
- 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 started both games for the Irish at libero and leads the team with 70 digs early in the season. She also has 17 assists.
- 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 Nnaji spent time working with the USAV National Team Development Program.
- Nnaji has made an early impact in a short time. She is second on the team with 25 kills, 17 total blocks and 34.0 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 26 kills, 19 digs and is tied for the team lead with five service aces this season.