LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Notre Dame Volleyball fell in a hard-fought road battle to No. 1 Louisville in Friday’s regular season finale, 3-1 (26-24, 13-25, 23-25, 13-25).
Aubrey Hamilton and Caroline Meuth each recorded 12 kills on the night, while Hattie Monson tallied 15 digs. Lauren Wenzel notched three blocks in the match.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
Notre Dame jumped out to a quick, 6-4 lead behind back-to-back kills from Caroline Meuth. After a 4-0 scoring run from the Cardinals, the Irish called timeout and forced an attack error to pull back within one. The Irish would then knot it up at 10 and again at 13 before taking a 15-13 lead with kills from Lindsey Miller and Aubrey Hamilton.
After another 4-0 scoring run by the Cardinals, the Irish battled back to take a 24-23 lead on Louisville. Miller and Hamilton would team up for the block to give the Irish the first-set victory, 26-24.
Second Set
The Cardinals would open with a 3-0 scoring run to quickly make it 5-1. At the midway point, the Irish were behind, 15-7. Louisville would go on to take a 25-13 second-set victory.
Third Set
The Irish quickly took the first point of the set with a Schrader kill. Four consecutive Irish points came on kills from Hamilton to knot the set up at eight before an attack error gave the Irish the 9-8 lead on the country’s top-ranked team.
The Irish would build a 15-11 lead behind kills from Schrader and Wenzel. After mounting a 19-15 advantage, the Cardinals would be forced to call timeout to combat the Schrader attack. Out of the timeout, Nancy Kane’s serve would force a Louisville error and Notre Dame would take the 20-16 lead. Louisville rebounded to knot the match at 21, forcing the Irish to call time.
The Cardinals would end the set on a 5-1 run, taking the 25-23 third-set win.
Fourth Set
After Louisville jumped out to a 9-3 lead, the Irish would battle back to pull within five. The Cardinals would command the rest of the set, pulling away and earning the 25-13 victory.
UP NEXT
The Irish will await their postseason fate during Sunday’s NCAA Selection Show. The show will air at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
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