TOLEDO, Ohio - The Notre Dame volleyball team secured win number one of the 2026 season, taking down Toledo 18-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-16. Notre Dame improves to 9-0 all-time against Toledo.
Sydney Helmers had a monster day for the Irish, recording a career-high 22 kills on .326 hitting percentage. She stuffed the stat sheet with 16 digs, two service aces and two blocks.
Isabella Sangha added nine kills while Mae Kordas and Chichi Nnaji each added five apiece.
Defensively, Maya Evens finished with 15 digs, one behind Helmers. Grace Langer logged three blocks up front.
The Irish tallied 42 assists on the day, 19 from Lily Fenton and 16 from Maya Baker. Notre Dame converted 49 kills on the day.
A quick turnaround awaits the Irish as they head east on Tuesday for a clash at Georgia, part of the second annual ‘Showdown at the Net’, showcasing ACC and SEC volleyball teams in a cross-conference two-day event.
How it happened
Set 1:
- In front of their home fans, the Rockets jumped out to a 5-0 run to force an Irish timeout
- The Irish scored six of the next eight points with kills from Sydney Helmers and Isabella Sangha to get the Irish offense in a groove
- Angie Desamours recorded her first kill of the game to tie the game up at 7-7
- A 7-0 Toledo run later gave the Rockets a 15-9 lead at the technical timeout
- Facing set point, the Irish rattled off four straight points to cut the Toledo lead to 24-17 and force a Rockets timeout
- Toledo prevailed to win the set 25-18
Set 2:
- After dropping the opening point, Notre Dame went on a 4-0 run - fueled by Rockets’ attack errors, to take a 4-1 lead
- Back to back Helmers’ kills gave the Irish a 10-8 lead
- Chloe Hooker dropped in an ace to make it 15-11 Irish at the technical timeout
- Notre Dame extended its lead to 19-15 after a kill from Sangha pressured Toledo into a timeout
- A 5-1 Rockets run forced an Irish timeout up 23-21
- Anna Bjork claimed the second set for Irish with a kill to take the set 25-23. It was the first set Toledo has lost all season (won previous 13)
- Through two sets, Helmers was up to 11 kills and eight digs
Set 3:
- Both teams exchanged blows, even at eight early in the set
- After Notre Dame went up 14-9, the Rockets answered with a 4-0 run to make it 14-13 Irish
- An ace from Hooker paired with attack errors from Toledo pushed Notre Dame’s lead to 20-17
- Notre Dame extended its run to five to make it 23-17
- A Toledo service error sealed the set for the Irish, taking the swing set 25-19 and a 2-1 match advantage
Set 4:
- Similar to the second set, Notre Dame jumped to a 4-0 run after losing the opening point, forcing a Rockets timeout early in the set
- The Irish continued their momentum early, leading 10-4 after a kill from Mae Kordas
- Helmers logged her 20th kill of the match to put Notre Dame up 15-11 at the technical timeout
- The Irish kept piling on, going up 22-15 after a block from Helmers and Langer
- With the Irish on match point, Toledo sent an attack long and out of bounds, giving Notre Dame a 25-16 set win and its first victory of the season