SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame volleyball team is back in the win column after a gritty five-set victory over Clemson, 23-25, 25-18, 25-15, 17-25, 15-10 inside Purcell Pavilion Sunday afternoon.
Notre Dame’s defense at the net was the story of the game. The Irish tallied 21.0 total blocks, a season-best and the most since the 21.0 blocks last season against October 17, 2025 against #6 Pitt. Those 21 blocks are the most by an ACC team this season against a conference opponent.
Portia Zeidler was a menace at the net, logging 12 blocks. Those 12 blocks are the most by an Irish player this season and the most since Lauren Tarnoff on October 22, 2021. Anna Bjork also chipped in eight blocks herself, extending her team-lead to 77 on the year.
Sydney Helmers logged a massive game, posting a career-high 24 kills to go along with nine digs and three blocks. It was the third game this season Helmers has accumulated 20 or more kills. Chichi Nnaji also came up huge for Notre Dame, logging 12 kills and hitting .500 to go along with eight blocks and three digs.
Maya Baker finished with 25 assists. In the fourth set, the San Jose, California native notched her 1,000 career assist.
Already one of the best defensive liberos in the ACC, Maya Evens helped set up the Irish offense as well Sunday, registering a career-high 11 assists to go along with 20 digs, her first career double-double. Evens came into the weekend leading the conference with 310 digs and 4.43 digs per set.
The Irish hit the road this upcoming weekend, facing Virginia Tech on Friday at 6:00 p.m. ET before trekking to Charlottesville to take on Virginia Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1:
- Notre Dame was the first to five points, as Mae Kordas delivered an ace to go up 5-2 early
- Clemson took the lead at the technical timeout, up 15-14
- Sydney Helmers flushed her second kill of the set to tie it up at 17
- With the score knotted at 19, the Tigers ripped off a 4-0 run to take a 23-19 lead
- Notre Dame responded with a 3-0 run of its own to close the gap to one
- Clemson prevailed, taking the first set 25-23
- Kordas posted six kills in the opening set, hitting .308 early
Set 2:
- The Tigers jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead to open the set
- Consecutive Clemson kills forced an Irish timeout up 9-5
- Notre Dame ripped off a 5-0 run, highlighted by kills from Helmers and Chichi Nnaji, to take the lead at 11-10
- The offensive assault continued as the Irish took a 15-11 lead into the technical timeout
- Clemson called their final timeout of the set after a Mia Radeff kill to make it 18-12 Irish
- The Tigers went on a 3-0 run to cut the lead to 19-16 before an Irish 3-0 run made it 22-16
- Notre Dame closed out the set, 25-18, after back-to-back Tigers attack errors to even the match 1-1
- The Irish hit .361 in the set, converting 15 kills
Set 3:
- Notre Dame jumped out to a 5-1 lead, as Portia Zeidler racked up a pair of blocks
- Clemson stormed back to tie the set at seven
- Kailyn Greene Gordon sparked a 6-0 Irish run with a kill and two blocks, helping Notre Dame reclaim the lead at 13-7
- Chloe Hooker first ace of the contest pushed the Irish lead to 19-13
- Maya Evens dished out her 10th assist of the game as Helmers clubbed her 12th kill of the match to give Notre Dame set point, 24-14
- A Clemson attack error gave the Irish the set, 25-15, and a 2-1 lead
- Notre Dame totaled eight blocks in the third set, as seven different Irish had accumulated at least one block in the game
Set 4:
- Both teams went back and forth, with the score tied up at five to begin the fourth set
- The Tigers broke off a 3-0 run to take a 9-6 lead
- Back to back Irish attack errors forced a Notre Dame timeout, down 11-7
- The four point lead stayed consistent at the technical timeout, with the Tigers up 15-11
- Clemson continued to distance itself, leading 20-14 after a service ace
- The Tigers forced a fifth set with a 25-17 win
Set 5:
- Notre Dame jumped out to a 7-4 lead in the set after consecutive blocks
- Kordas and Zeidler sent back a Clemson attack, giving the Irish a 10-7 lead and force a Tigers timeout
- Two more Irish points forced Clemson’s second timeout of the set, with Notre Dame up 12-7
- Helmers career-best 23rd kill and 24th kill put Notre Dame up 14-10 before Nnaji clinched the win with her 12th kill of the game