DURHAM, N.C. – The Notre Dame Volleyball team swept Duke, 25-13, 25-28, 25-23 Sunday afternoon inside Cameron Indoor Stadium. The Irish improve to 8-10 on the season and back to .500 in Atlantic Coast Conference play at 5-5. It’s the fourth sweep in conference play for Notre Dame and the sixth overall.
Morgan Gaerte, like she has done so many times before, led the Irish with 14 kills on .429 hitting percentage. It’s the 18th-straight game the sophomore has had double-digit kills. She also had eight digs and three blocks.
Sydney Helmers continued her strong conference play, notching 12 kills on .500 hitting percentage. Maya Baker recorded a career-high 31 assists as well as a pair of kills.
The Irish will look to keep it going when they host eighth-ranked Louisville Wednesday night at Purcell Pavilion. Admission is free and students can enter to participate in a Halloween Costume contest at the first intermission.
How it happened
Set 1
- A 4-0 run, capped by a Helmers’ kills, vaulted the Irish to a 10-6 lead
- Notre Dame kept the pedal down, taking a 16-7 lead that forced the second Duke timeout of the opening set
- The Irish ripped off a 9-0 run as part of the dominant stretch, going up 19-7 after back-to-back blocks by Grace Langer and Mae Kordas
- Notre Dame took the opening set 25-13
- Helmers and Gaerte each had five kills in the first set, while Anna Bjork and Mae Kordas tallied four total blocks each
Set 2
- Back-to-back aces from Lucy Trump pushed Notre Dame ahead 11-8
- After Duke closed the lead to just one, a 4-0 Irish run padded Notre Dame lead at 19-14, forcing a Blue Devils’ timeout
- It was all Irish after that, winning the second set 25-18
- Through two sets, Notre Dame had 10.0 total blocks, highlighted by seven block assists from Bjork
Set 3
- Duke took command of the third set, going up as much as seven at one point
- Notre Dame kept fighting, and eventually tied the set at 22 after a 9-3 run
- It went the Irish way after that. Consecutive kills by Gaerte and Grace Langer after a Blue Devils’ error secured the sweep