SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame Volleyball team will hit the road this weekend, heading to North Carolina on Friday for a 7:00 p.m. matchup with the 21st-ranked Tar Heels before clashing with Duke on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on ACCNX.
Friday’s match against No. 21 North Carolina will be the third-straight ranked opponent for Notre Dame after last week’s clash against a pair of top-10 opponents in Pittsburgh and SMU. The Irish have won their past two meetings in Chapel Hill (2021, 2023).
Notre Dame beat Duke last year in South Bend in four sets. Avery Ross had 15 kills while the middle duo of Grace Langer and Anna Bjork combined for 16 kills in the middle.
The Irish are winners of three of their last five matches. Last Friday, Notre Dame took then sixth-ranked Pittsburgh to five sets, taking a 2-0 lead before dropping the hard-fought battle to the Panthers. Notre Dame registered 21 total blocks, the most since the 2022 season. Bjork had a career-high 10 in that match.
Morgan Gaerte will look to continue her breakout sophomore campaign. The Angola, Indiana native has recorded double-digit kills in every single match this season (16-straight) and leads the team with 251 on the year. Her 4.33 kills per set is fourth-most in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
HISTORY VS. NORTH CAROLINA
- This is the 20th all-time meeting between the two programs. Notre Dame leads the series 10-9.
- The last win for the Irish in the series was on October 8, 2023. Notre Dame pulled off the road win in five, 17-25, 20-25, 25-12, 25-16, 15-10
- The Irish have won their past two meetings in Chapel Hill (2021, 2023)
HISTORY VS. DUKE
- This is the 24th all-time meeting between Notre Dame and Duke. The Blue Devils hold a slight 12-11 advantage.
- The Irish won the meeting last year, 29-27, 20-25, 25-20, 25-20 in South Bend on November 17, 2024.
- Avery Ross had 15 kills in last year’s matchup while Grace Langer and Anna Bjork combined for 16 kills in the middle.
THE GAERTE PARTY
- The All-ACC Preseason Selection broke the school record for kills in a match 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 Racquel Frazier of Hampton.
- She is the just the third player in Irish history to have three consecutive games of 20 or more kills.
- Gaerte is fourth in the conference and 30th nationally with 4.33 kills per set. In points per set, she is fourth in the ACC and 24th in the country with 4.96
- The sophomore has had double-digit kills in every single game so far this season (16-consecutive)
FRESH FACES
- The Irish have 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 288 assists, is fourth on the team with 77 digs and has 12 aces.
- 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 has played in 55 sets as libero and leads the team with 196 digs on this season. She also has 57 assists.
- Kordas had the best game of her early career at California. In her home state, she had a nine kills, five digs and five blocks in the three set sweep over the Golden Bears. She also had back-to-back games with 10 kills against Virginia and Virginia Tech.
- 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 both spent time working with the USAV National Team Development Program.
- Nnaji has made an early impact in a short time. She is third on the team with 68 kills and has 34 total blocks for 85.5 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 145 kills, 98 digs and is tied for second on the team with 15 service aces this season.
- Against Virginia and Virginia Tech, Helmers had 36 kills, 17 against Virginia and a career-high 19 versus Virginia Tech.
KEY RETURNERS
- The Irish return 14 to the roster; 5 outside hitters, 3 defensive specialist/liberos, 3 middle blockers, 2 setters and 1 opposite.
- Notre Dame returns all three middle blockers; Mallory Bohl, Anna Bjork and Grace Langer for their sophomore seasons.
- Langer and Bjork have been a dominant presence in the middle for Notre Dame. Langer leads the team with 73 blocks with Bjork behind her at 58. Offensively, Langer has 66 kills to Bjork’s 54.
- In a homecoming match at Colorado State, Langer tallied nine kills on a career-best .600 hitting percentage to go along with 4.0 blocks.