SOUTH BEND, Ind. - The Notre Dame volleyball team got back in the win column today, sweeping Eastern Illinois, 25-22, 25-19, 25-19, in the first ever meeting between the two programs.
Mae Kordas led the way for the Irish with 16 kills, five block assists and five digs. It marked the third-straight game in double figure kills for the sophomore from Carlsbad, California. Isabella Sangha added 13 of her own, tying a career-high.
The Irish were tough at the net defensively. Grace Langer led the way with seven blocks, just ahead of Kordas’ five and Sangha’s four. Notre Dame recorded 11.0 total team blocks on the night. Behind the front lines, Maya Evens logged 16 digs (5.33 per set) as she continues to impress in her sophomore campaign. She entered the game ranked fourth in digs per set in the ACC.
Notre Dame hits the road for a rematch against Eastern Illinois on Sunday, this time in Charleston, Illinois. First serve is set for 2:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. CT on ESPN+.
How it happened
Set 1:
- A service ace by Mae Kordas ace capped off a 4-0 Irish run to give Notre Dame an 8-3 lead early
- The Irish extended their lead to 15-7 at the technical timeout. Notre Dame had nine early kills on a .438 hitting percentage, led by Anna Bjork’s three
- Panthers responded with a 4-0 run of their own to make it 18-11 Irish
- Eastern Illinois cut it to 20-16 after another 4-0 run to force a Notre Dame timeout
- The third 4-0 run of the set for the Panthers tied it up at 22-22
- Back-to-back Isabella Sangha kills gave Notre Dame set point before an Eastern Illinois attack error gave Notre Dame the opening set, 25-22
- Sangha led the team with six kills followed closely by five from Kordas
- Lily Fenton and Maya Baker both had six assists while Maya Evens had five digs in the set
Set 2:
- The Panthers jumped out to a 6-1 lead to open the second set
- Baker’s first ace of the game marked a 5-1 Irish run to cut the lead to just 9-8 EIU
- The Irish stormed ahead, thanks to a 7-0 run, to make it 15-11 Notre Dame at the technical timeout
- The run extended the run to 9-0 and forced a quick Panthers’ timeout at 17-11 Irish
- A Grace Langer kill forced EIU’s second timeout of the set with Notre Dame up 23-18
- Sangha secured the second set for the Irish, 25-19, with her 10th kill of the match to put the Irish up 2-0
- After two sets, both Kordas (12) and Sangha (10) were in double figure kills for Notre Dame
Set 3:
- After dropping the first point, Eastern Illinois scored the next four to take a 4-1 lead to start the third set
- Kordas’ 14th kill of the game tied the game at six
- Down a point, the Irish rattled off six of the next eight points, capped off by a Baker ace, to take a 12-9 lead and force a Panthers’ timeout
- The Irish took a 3-0 run into the media timeout up 15-10
- A block from Sangha and Langer made it 23-17 Notre Dame
- Down to their last chance, the Panthers sent an attack error high, as the Irish won the set 25-19 and their first win of the season