June 21, 2018
By Robby Hamman
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame volleyball program and first-year head coach Mike Johnson unveiled the 2018 schedule on Wednesday, June 20, a 28-game slate that features 14 contests at Notre Dame. To view the complete 2018 schedule, click here.
The Irish are coming off a season in which they returned to the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2012, finishing 2017 with a record of 22-10. Notre Dame went 12-8 in conference play and had three wins over teams ranked in the top 25.
SEASON TICKETS AVAILABLE
Tickets for the upcoming 2018 Univeristy of Notre Dame women’s volleyball season are now available at discounted rates. Special early bird adult season tickets, youth/senior season ticket and fan packs (four tickets) can be purchased by following this link. Early bird tickets will remain on sale through the end of July.
SEASON-OPENING TOURNAMENT
The Mike Johnson era officially begins on Friday, August 24, as the Fighting Irish hosting Weber State in the season-opening match in Purcell Pavilion. The contest will be the first of three for the weekend as part of the Golden Dome Invitational. On Saturday, August 25, the Irish play a pair of matches against Toledo and Northern Kentucky. Notre Dame was unbeaten in home, non-conference tourneys last season, going 6-0 while dropping just two sets.
BUSY WEEKEND ON CAMPUS
The Irish welcome Oakland on Friday, August 31 at 6 p.m. in Purcell Pavilion, the night before the Irish open the football season with the renewal of their rivalry with Michigan on September 1. The volleyball squad then hits the road to take on intrastate foe Purdue at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 3. The showdown with the Boilermakers is the first of three versus teams from the Big Ten. Last season the Irish picked up two wins against Big Ten teams, defeating ranked Michigan State and Ohio State squads.
BEAT MICHIGAN WEEKEND
Notre Dame hosts Michigan in Purcell Pavilion as part of a home-and-home matchup on Sunday, September 16 at 1 p.m. The Irish and Wolverines will meet earlier in the weekend in Ann Arbor, playing at 7 p.m. on Friday, September 14. The matches take place just two weeks after the Irish and Wolverines square off on the gridiron to open the football season at Notre Dame season. Also, sanwiched between the two matches is Notre Dame’s football home game against Vanderbilt.
NON-CONFERENCE ROAD TOURNEY
The Irish travel south to Bowling Green, Kentucky, for a tournament. Notre Dame takes on the hosts Western Kentucky to open the weekend at 6 p.m. on Friday, September 7. The following day the Irish will play Miami (Ohio) and Chattanooga.
HOME MATCHES ON HOME FOOTBALL WEEKENDS
Along with the aforementioned home matches against Oakland and Michigan on home football weekends, the Irish also have two other home contests on the same weekend as the football team. The volleyball squad hosts Virginia Tech at noon on Sunday, October 14, the day after the Irish play Pitt in football. The other home weekend for both teams comes in November. The volleyball team welcomes NC State at 8 p.m. in Purcell Pavilion on Friday, November 9 and then the football team plays Florida State in its final home game of the season on Saturday, November 10.
CHALLENGING ACC SLATE
The ACC portion of the schedule consists of 18 matches against conference opponents. The league sent six of its 15 teams to the NCAA Championships last season and looks to be just as competitive in 2018. The Irish open on the road at North Carolina at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, September 21. Two weeks later Notre Dame plays its first league home match in Purcell Pavilion at 7 p.m. as the Irish host Wake Forest on Friday, October 5.
HOME FINALE
The Irish wrap up their 2018 regular season home schedule at 7 p.m. on Friday, November 16 against Louisville. The match against the Cardinals will be played in Purcell Pavilion.
For the latest Irish volleyball coverage, be sure to log on to UND.com or follow the program on Facebook (/NDVolleyball), Twitter (@NDVolleyball) and Instagram (NDVBall).
–ND–
Robby Hamman joined Fighting Irish Media as athletics communications assistant director in September 2016, coordinating efforts for the volleyball and men’s lacrosse program. Hamman is a 2010 graduate of Bethel College, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in sport management and business administration, and earned his master’s degree in business administration from Defiance College in 2013.