BLACKSBURG, Va. – In the 2025 road finale, the Notre Dame volleyball team took down Virginia Tech in four sets, 25-21, 25-23, 25-27, 25-22. It’s the 11th win of the season, eighth conference win and sixth road win for the Irish this season. The eight conference wins are the most in the Salima Rockwell era.
Morgan Gaerte led the offense with 25 kills, her fourth-straight game with 20+ kills and tenth of the season. The ten games this season set the new single-season program record for games with 20 or more kills, surpassing Christy Peters’ nine games in 1994.
Mae Kordas added 13 kills herself on.524 hitting percentage, setting a new career-high. Harmony Sample notched her second double-double of the season with 22 assists and 11 digs to set up a potent Irish offense Wednesday.
Defensively, Anna Bjork and Chichi Nnaji were making it difficult on the Hokies all afternoon. Bjork had eight blocks while Nnaji tied her career-high with eight blocks (seven assists, one solo).
The Irish close the 2025 season this Saturday at Purcell Pavilion against Wake Forest. First serve is set for 3:00 p.m. ET and Notre Dame will honor its five seniors following the match (Maisie Alexander, Avery Ross, Cailey Dockery, Harmony Sample, Lucy Trump). The game will not be broadcast, but admission is free.
How it happened
Set 1
- Anna Bjork, the team-leader in blocks, started off the match with a solo block
- A 6-0 Hokies’ run made it 7-2 Virginia Tech
- Notre Dame cut the lead to just two after a Bjork kill made it 11-9 VT
- After the Irish cut the lead to just one, Virginia Tech went on a 4-0 run to lead 18-13 and force a Notre Dame timeout
- Down 16-20, the Irish ripped off a 9-1 run to overcome the Hokies and take the first set 25-21
- Morgan Gaerte had four kills in the first set while Lucy Trump chipped in three
Set 2
- Both teams went back-and-forth to start the set. With the score tied at 13, Notre Dame ripped off a 5-0 run to make it 18-13 Irish
- Notre Dame extended its lead to 21-16 to force a Virginia Tech timeout
- A 6-0 run put the Irish at set point 24-16, but a 4-0 Hokies response forced a Notre Dame timeout
- The Hokies fought back to make it 24-23 Irish, but Trump’s sixth kill of the match sealed the second set win and the 2-0 advantage for Notre Dame
Set 3
- Virginia Tech was the first to 15, leading 15-14 at the media timeout
- A 3-0 run from the Hokies made it 18-16 Virginia Tech
- At 20-20, a Bjork kill gave the Irish a 21-20 lead. One Irish point later, the Hokies called timeout down two
- Virginia Tech stormed back to make it 24-23 Hokies, but a Gaerte kill extended the set
- With their backs against the wall, the Hokies scraped out the third set win 27-25
Set 4
- Notre Dame opened the set with a 5-0 run out of the gate with kills from Chichi Nnaji, Trump and Bjork
- Gaerte recorded her 20th kill early in the fourth set, her 10th game of the season with 20 or more kills, which is the new single-season program record
- The Hokies led 15-12 at the media timeout
- A 4-0 Irish run gave them the lead at 21-19 to force a VT timeout
- Notre Dame held on to win the set 25-22