BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-15, 4-13) defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies (7-20, 1-16) in a five set battle (25-20, 25-23, 21-25, 21-25, 15-9) on Friday evening on the road at Cassell Coliseum.
The Irish were led by Phyona Schrader, recording her eleventh triple-double on the season. The senior setter finished with 19 kills, 22 assists, 16 digs, 2 blocks, and a service ace. She was followed by Avery Ross, who tied her season-high of 15 kills for the Irish.
Sydney Palazzolo finished with 14 kills, 6 digs, and 2 service aces. Grace Langer recorded a career-high 7 blocks for the Irish, followed by Anna Bjork with 5 blocks. Monson recorded a team-best 19 digs, while Ella Sandt dished out a team-high 31 assists.
The Irish came out strong to start the match as they posted a 13-6 lead to force the Hokie timeout. In return, the Hokies went on a run of their own as they closed the gap and went on to tie it up at 19-all. The Irish closed it out with a 6-1 run, which included service aces from both Monson and Schrader, to take set one 25-20.
While the Irish led 7-2 to start the second, it didn’t take long for the Hokies to bring it within one at 8-7. A kill from Langer would extend the Irish lead 12-9, but a 5-0 run from Virginia Tech put the Hokies in front 14-12 to force the Notre Dame timeout. Tied at 20-all, the Hokies took the 22-21 lead. However, back-to-back kills from Palazzolo sparked the Irish offense as Notre Dame would go on to take set two 25-23.
It was back and forth to start set three as neither team was really able to pull away. Notre Dame trailed by one at 15-14 at the media timeout, but the Hokies would start to separate themselves. They led 22-18, forcing Notre Dame to use both of their timeouts. The Irish responded with a 3-0 run to make it a one-point set at 22-21 and force a Virginia Tech timeout, but three straight Hokie kills would seal the deal on the third.
The Hokies were able to carry their momentum into the fourth, claiming a 12-10 lead in the set. A 6-1 run from the Irish put Notre Dame in front 16-13, resulting in a Virginia Tech timeout. The Hokies responded out of the timeout as they went on a 7-2 run to reclaim the lead 20-18 and force the Irish timeout in return. The Irish worked to put themselves in front yet again, but the Hokies would force a fifth set.
Virginia Tech was in front 6-4 to start the final set, but a Ross kill would spark the Irish offense. A 7-0 run from the Irish, which included three-straight kills from Schrader, gave Notre Dame the 11-6 advantage. A Hokie kill broke up the Irish run, but back-to-back kills from Ross made it 13-7 to force a final Virginia Tech timeout. The Hokies looked to battle back, but a kill from Ross and a block from Langer and Bjork capped off the Irish win 15-9 in the fifth set.
The Irish will take on Virginia at 1:00 pm on Sunday, Nov. 24.