SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame volleyball team will head west on their first Atlantic Coast Conference road trip of the season, facing fourth-ranked Stanford at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT Friday night and Cal at 4:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. PT on Sunday afternoon. Both games will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
The Irish are coming off a sweep against Boston College last Sunday, 25-9, 25-21, 25-21, for the first conference win of the season. Morgan Gaerte paced Notre Dame with 16 kills, making it 10-straight games to open up the season with double-digit kills. Gaerte’s 4.73 kills per set are the second-most in the ACC this season. The Irish hit .361 as a team.
Notre Dame is 2-1 outside of Purcell Pavilion this season. The Irish beat Colorado State on the road last month before taking down East Texas A&M in a neutral venue.
Friday night’s match against No. 4 Stanford will be the first ranked team the Irish have faced this season.
HISTORY VS. STANFORD
- This is the 10th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Stanford. The Cardinal lead the series 8-1.
- Notre Dame hosted Stanford last season at Purcell Pavilion on September 27, 2024. The Cardinal won in four sets.
- The last Irish win came in 2009, when Notre Dame swept then fifth-ranked Stanford 25-22, 25-20, 25-21.
HISTORY VS. CAL
- This is just the 7th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Cal. The Golden Bears lead the series 4-2.
- The Irish split the season series last year against Cal. Notre Dame won in four sets at home in September before losing in four sets at Cal in the season finale.
- In the two games last year, Grace Langer totaled 15 kills, including 11 in the match at Cal, to go along with eight blocks over the two matchups.
ALL EYES ON MORAN GAERTE
- The All-ACC Preseason Selection broke the school record for kills in a match against Illinois with 34. Kathy Cunningham’s record of 33 kills had stood for over 37 years. Those 34 kills are tied for the most in a single match so far this season in the country with Racquel Frazier of Hampton.
- She is the just the third player in Irish history to have three consecutive games of 20 or more kills. She has 175 kills this season, just 10 off her total all of last season.
- Gaerte is second in the conference and is 10th nationally with 4.73 kills per set. In points per set, she is also second in the ACC and 14th in the country with 5.24
- The sophomore has had double-digit kills in every single match so far this season
FRESH FACES
- The Irish welcome five freshmen to the team, bringing the Irish to a roster size of 20.
- The freshman class consists of Maya Baker (S), Maya Evens (DS/L), Mae Kordas (OH/O), Chichi Nnaji (OH), Sophia Thornburg (OH).
- Baker, who was a two-time Max Preps All-American, leads the team with 185 assists and is third on the team with 52 digs.
- The Irish pair a duo of former high school teammates in the incoming freshman class. Maya Evens and Mae Kordas both played together at Cathedral Catholic High School in Carlsbad, California. The duo was part of two Open State Championships (2022, 2024).
- Evens has played in 34 sets as libero and leads the team with 126 digs in this season. She also has 33 assists.
- Chichi Nnaji and Sophia Thornburg were high school teammates in Dallas, Texas at the Ursuline Academy of Dallas. Thornburg was named to the Prep Volleyball Top 100 National List for the Class of 2025 while both Nnaji and Thornburg spent time working with the USAV National Team Development Program.
- Nnaji has made an early impact in a short time. She is third on the team with 47 kills and has 25 total blocks for 60.0 points.
- The Irish added one player from the portal, outside hitter Sydney Helmers from Texas. She was a member of the 2023 National Champion team as a freshman for the Longhorns. The junior has 53 kills, 27 digs and is third on the team with seven service aces this season.