SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame fell in straight sets (19-25, 23-25, 18-25) to Bowling Green to open the Shamrock Invitational on Friday night inside Purcell Pavilion.
Lindsey Miller notched nine kills for the Irish with a .350 hitting percentage while Caroline Meuth also added nine kills and Aubrey Hamilton recorded eight kills.
Three Irish collected double-digit digs on Friday night, including Charley Niego with 13, Zoe Nunez with 12 and Hattie Monson with 10. Nunez also dished out 27 assists while Lauren Tarnoff led Notre Dame with five blocks.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
The Falcons forced the Irish to take a pair of timeouts with a 9-0 run that staked them a 10-2 advantage. Notre Dame worked to get within five on two occasions, but Bowling Green stayed in control to take the first frame, 25-19.
Second Set
The Irish erased a 7-4 deficit with a 7-1 run to go up 11-8. The Falcons used a 3-0 run to even the frame at 13-13 and the two sides stayed within two points of each other the rest of the way. After Bowling Green took a 23-21 lead, a kill and block by Niego evened the set once again at 23-23 and forced a Falcons timeout. After the break, the visitors earned the next two points to take the frame, 25-23, and earn a 2-0 lead in the match.
Third Set
A pair of aces by Lauren Wenzel sparked a 4-0 Irish run to begin the third set. After Notre Dame earned a 9-5 lead, the Falcons took five of the next six points to tie the set at 10-10. The Irish went up 13-11, but the visitors forced Notre Dame to take both of its timeouts with an 8-1 stretch to lead 19-14. Bowling Green stayed in control from there to take the third stanza, 25-18, and clinch the straight-set triumph.
UP NEXT
- The Irish continue action at the Shamrock Invitational with a 6 p.m. matchup with Cincinnati on Saturday (Sept. 4) at 6 p.m. ET before closing the event against UW Milwaukee on Sunday (Sept. 5) at 2 p.m. ET.
- Both of those matches will be streamed live via ACC Network Extra and admission for all Notre Dame volleyball home contests is free.
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