PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-10, 2-8) battled the top team in the country on Sunday, Oct. 27, falling in four sets (14-25, 20-25, 25-22, 19-25) to No. 1 Pitt (19-1, 9-1). This is the first regular season set loss that the Panthers have suffered at Fitzgerald Field House since Oct. 6, 2023 against No. 11 Georgia Tech.
Morgan Gaerte led the Irish with 12 kills, followed by Lucy Trump and Phyona Schrader with 11 kills a piece. Trump finished the day hitting at a clip of .409.
Anna Bjork finished with six kills and recorded an impressive eight blocks for the Irish.
It was a close one to start the match, as the Irish were back-and-forth with Pitt. A Lucy Trump kill gave Notre Dame the 11-10 lead, but the Panthers offense was sparked as they were able to pull away to take set one 25-14.
While Pitt led 9-2 to start the second, the Irish worked to chip away through set two. Notre Dame closed the gap to four at 21-17 before bringing it within three at 23-20, but the Panthers took the 2-0 advantage as they won the second set 25-20.
The Irish had their strongest offensive set in set three, recording 18 kills and a hitting percentage of .278, while holding Pitt to a clip of .186 and 16 kills in the third. The Irish led 9-6 until a 5-0 Panther run put them in front 11-9. Tied at 12-all, the Irish went on an 8-2 to take the lead 20-14. The Panthers worked to close the gap but kills from Gaerte, Trump, and Schrader secured the set three win for the Irish at 25-22.
Notre Dame led early in the fourth until it was a tied set at 13-all. The Pitt offense started to pick up as they took the lead 19-14. The Irish bridged the gap to three at 19-16, but the Panthers would go on to take the final set 25-19.
The Irish will head to Louisville on Wednesday, Oct. 30 to face the No. 4 Louisville Cardinals.