SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-15, 3-13) took down the Duke Blue Devils (9-18, 5-11) in four sets (29-27, 20-25, 25-20, 25-20) at home on Sunday afternoon.
What a weekend for Sydney Palazzolo, who tied a career-high 25 kills on Friday night against North Carolina, followed by a double-double 18 kills and 11 digs against Duke.
Phyona Schrader recorded her 10th triple-double of the season, which is tied for second in the nation, as she finished with 11 kills, 24 digs, and 27 assists in the win over the Blue Devils.
Avery Ross tallied a season-high 15 kills and Mallory Bohl led the Irish today with six blocks.
Despite the Blue Devils claiming an early 13-7 lead, the Irish would battle back in a close set one. It was an even first set as Duke recorded 20 kills and Notre Dame recorded 22 kills with each team hitting at a clip of .305.
Trailing by three at 23-20, the Irish called a timeout and responded with a 4-0 run, forcing Duke to use their two timeouts. Tied at 24-all, 25-all, and 26-all, a Duke kill would give them a 27-26 advantage before a kill from Palazzolo and a kill from Schrader put the Irish back in front 28-27. An attack error from the Blue Devils would secure the set one win for the Irish at 29-27.
It was another close set in the second as Notre Dame trailed by just one at 15-14 at the media timeout. The Blue Devils started to extend their lead and while a Schrader kill would break up their scoring, Duke would win set two 25-20.
The Irish came out strong in the third set as they posted an 11-5 lead to force the Duke timeout. With Notre Dame leading 22-15, the Blue Devils closed the gap to five at 24-19, but another kill from Ross gave the Irish the 25-10 win. Six kills from Ross in set three helped the Irish secure the set win to take the 2-1 advantage going into the fourth.
Notre Dame trailed 11-7 to start the final set, but would go on a 10-3 run to force a Duke timeout. The run included back-to-back aces from Anna Bjork, who finished with a team-best three service aces on the day. The Blue Devils looked to reclaim the lead, but the Irish would close out the set for a 25-20 win.
Notre Dame is back on the road as they travel to Virginia Tech on Friday, Nov. 22 and to Virginia on Sunday, Nov. 24.