Sept. 27, 2015
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – For the second consecutive match the University of Notre Dame volleyball team had its chances against a tough Atlantic Coast Conference foe, but for the second time in three days the Irish fell in three sets, as they lost to No. 17 Florida State (25-20, 25-21, 25-12) Sunday afternoon at Purcell Pavilion.
After suffering a tough 3-0 loss to Louisville Friday night, Notre Dame certainly looked better in the first two sets against the Seminoles before imploding in the final frame.
In set one Notre Dame was competitive throughout, but made too many mistakes to pull out the victory. In addition to four unforced attack errors, Notre Dame had three service errors, two blocking errors and four ball-handing errors. The Irish out-hit FSU in the frame, .233 – .111.
Set two saw the Irish storm out to a quick 13-6 lead before the Seminoles rallied back to ultimately tie the frame at 14. Later in the set with the score tied at 16, FSU went on 4-0 run to jump out to a 20-16 lead. The Irish cut the lead to 23-20 behind the serving of sophomore Taylor Zwickl and back-to-back blocks, but a service error and attack error gave FSU a 2-0 lead entering the break.
Frame three was all Seminoles, as they hit .750 (12 kills, 16 attempts) while holding the Irish to a -.136 attack percentage (7 kills, 22 attempts).
The match featured 13 ties and seven lead changes.
Florida State had four players that recorded six or more kills, with All-American Nicole Walch leading the way with nine (.375 A%) to go along with five digs, two blocks and two service aces. Sarah Barrington had eight kills (.375 A%) and seven blocks and Milicia Kubura had six kills (.500 A%).
Sophomore Sydney Kuhn led the Irish with eight kills and nine digs.
Notre Dame (5-9, 0-2 ACC) continues its four-match home stand next weekend as Boston College (7 p.m. ET Friday) and Syracuse (1 p.m. ET Sunday) invade Purcell. Both matches will be available through ESPN3 and live stats.
–Russell Dorn, Athletics Communications Assistant Director
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