VILLANOVA, Penn. – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish advanced to 2-1 on the year as they swept the Villanova Wildcats on Friday, September 1, in day one of the Catholic Challenge (25-17, 25-20, 25-17).
Sydney Palazzolo led the offensive charge for Notre Dame with 12 kills and a .333 hitting percentage on the night. Lauren Tarnoff and Ava Lange each finished with nine kills a piece, followed by Phyona Schrader with seven kills. Nicole Drewnick dished out 30 assists for the Irish and Charity McDowell chipped in a team-high five blocks.
Villanova was off to a hot start to begin the match as the Irish faced a seven point deficit early. A Palazzolo kill sparked a 6-0 run to bring the Irish within one at 8-7. Shortly after, a Palazzolo and McDowell block was followed by two Monson aces to give Notre Dame the 14-13 lead. A kill from Palazzolo made it a 20-17 ballgame, putting herself behind the service line for the remainder of the set as the Irish scored five straight to take home set one.
The Irish claimed an early lead in set two, maintaining the advantage until Villanova strung three consecutive points together to take their first, and only, lead of the set at 15-14. It didn’t take long for the Irish to respond with kills from Lange, Schrader, and Palazzolo, as Notre Dame went on a 5-0 run to take the lead 19-15. A solo block and Palazzolo kill extended the Irish lead by five, but three straight Wildcat kills brought them within two at 21-19. Notre Dame would go on to outscore Villanova 4-1 as set two was closed out with back-to-back kills from Palazzolo and Lange to take the 2-0 advantage going into set three.
It was a back-and-forth battle to start the third as the Irish and Wildcats struggled to maintain the lead and pull away from the other. Tied at 9-9, Notre Dame outscored Villanova 8-3 and posted a 17-12 advantage. Both squads swapped points up to the 21-16 mark, but the Irish were able to terminate with kills from Hattie Monson, Lauren Tarnoff, and Ava Lange to complete the sweep and take home set three 25-17.
The Irish are back at it tomorrow at the Jake Nevin Field House at 2:00 p.m. to take on Santa Clara in day two of the Catholic Challenge.