PREVIEW: Irish Set to Face Virginia Tech and Wake Forest

BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Irish (10-6, 4-4 ACC) are back on the road this weekend as they take on Virginia Tech (11-8, 1-7 ACC) on Friday, Oct. 20 and Wake Forest (14-5, 5-3 ACC) on Sunday, Oct. 22.

NOTRE DAME vs. VIRGINIA TECH
Location: Blacksburg, VA | Cassell Coliseum
Time: 6:00 PM
TV: ACCNX
Live Stats: Click here
Twitter Updates: @NDvolleyball

NOTRE DAME vs. WAKE FOREST
Location: Winston-Salem, NC | Reynolds Gymnasium
Time: 12:00 PM
TV: ACCN
Live Stats: Click here
Twitter Updates: @NDvolleyball

Game Notes

A WEEK IN REVIEW

• The Notre Dame Fighting Irish finished 1-1 on the weekend inside of Purcell Pavilion as they defeated Virginia in four (25-22, 23-25, 25-10, 25-10) in the Dig Pink match on Friday and fell to No. 8 Pitt in three on Sunday (16-25, 23-25, 19-25).
• On Friday against the Cavaliers, the Irish were led by Lucy Trump with 18 kills, a .361 attack percentage, five service aces and 14 digs. Ava Lange recorded 13 kills and a .375 attack percentage, followed by Sydney Palazzolo with 11 kills and nine digs.
• In Sunday’s match against the Panthers, Trump and Palazzolo led the Irish with seven kills a piece. Lauren Tarnoff recorded a team-best six blocks for the Irish.
• It was a big weekend inside of the arena as fans packed Purcell. Friday’s crowd of 2,070 and Sunday’s crowd of 2,016 are the highest attendance numbers we’ve had in the last nine years and are the 17th and 18th highest attended matches in program history.
• Since the start of the #RockwellEra, attendance has been up 175% and is up 83% since last year.

HISTORY VS. VIRGINIA TECH

• This will be the 16th meeting between the Irish and the Hokies with Notre Dame leading the overall series 12-3.
• Notre Dame has won the last nine matchups against Virginia Tech as they have been on a winning streak since 2016. The last Hokie win against the Irish was Nov. 6, 2015 in three sets in Purcell Pavilion (25-27, 20-25, 20-25).
• The Irish and Hokies last faced off in the final game of the 2022 season on Friday, Nov. 5 in Blacksburg. 
• Notre Dame was led by Lucy Trump, who finished with a game-high 16 kills, a .312 kill percentage, and five service aces. Lauren Tarnoff chipped in nine kills and Phyona Schrader also finished with 42 assists, 18 digs, and five kills for Notre Dame.

HISTORY VS. WAKE FOREST

• This will be the 13th meeting between the Irish and the Demon Deacons with Notre Dame leading the overall series 8-4. 
• Notre Dame took down the Demon Deacons in a five set thriller inside of Purcell Pavilion last season (17-25, 25-23, 25-21, 14-25, 15-13).
• The Irish were led by Paris Thompson with 15 kills, followed by Avery Ross with 13. Lauren Tarnoff finished with 12 kills and seven blocks. Phyona Schrader also posted an impressive stat line with 41 assists, 29 digs, and eight kills.
• The Irish have won seven of the last eight matchups (winning from 2016-2022) with Wake Forest’s last win on Oct. 15, 2021 in three sets (22-25, 23-25, 21-25) on their home floor.

MEET THE TRANSFERS

• Two transfers join the Irish for the 2023 season. Sydney Palazzolo enters into her junior season after spending freshman and sophomore year at High Point. Nicole Drewnick is a graduate transfer hailing from Georgia Tech.
• Palazzolo had a decorated two seasons in North Carolina, earning a plethora of awards at High Point.
• Last season, Palazzolo earned Big South Player of the Year and Big South First Team All-Conference honors and was named the Big South All-Tournament MVP. She was recognized as an AVCA Honorable Mention All-Region player and an AVCA Honorable Mention All-American. She was also tabbed as the Big South Player of the Week three times.
• Palazzolo finished her sophomore season with a team-best 443 kills, 321 digs, 27 blocks, and led the conference with 42 service aces.
• Not only was she recognized as the Big South Freshman of the Year in 2021, but she was also named to the Big South All-Conference Second Team and All-Freshman Team. 
• While Drewnick spent her freshman season at Nebraska, she most recently has spent the last two seasons with Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
• Drewnick appeared in 20 matches and 43 sets last season with the Yellow Jackets and finished the season with 99 assists and 16 digs. 

MEET THE FRESHMEN

• Five freshmen join the Irish for the 2023 season. Freshmen additions include Alyssa Manitzas, Lily Fenton,  Logan Brannan, Olivia Maulding, and Ava Lange.
• Manitzas was a part of the Under Armour All-American game and was also named the 2021 Prep Dig Top Libero in Texas. The San Antonio, TX native is the all-time dig leader at Cornerstone Christian High School.
• Fenton was a First Team All-Conference and All-District player out of Latrobe, PA. Fenton was a three-year captain and was the Greater Latrobe High School program all-time assist leader.
• Brannan hails from Lake Travis High School in Austin, TX and was a First Team All-District and TGCA All-State honoree. 
• A gradute of La Salle Prep, Maulding was named the 2022 Northwest Oregon Co-player of the Year, while also being named to the 2022 Oregon State Championship All-Tournament Team. Maulding was recognized as the 2022 Volleyball Magazine Top Performer in Oregon.
• Lange was a nationally recognized four star player out of Playa Del Rey, CA, who was named to the AVCA All-America Watch List and played in the 2022 USAV Girls 17’s Junior National Championship.

RETURNERS

• The Irish return six rising sophomore, a pair of rising juniors, and a trio of rising seniors.
• Sophomores Lucy Trump and Avery Ross were offensive power houses for the Irish last season as both outside hitters led Notre Dame in their first years in an Irish uniform. Trump led the way with 252 kills, followed by Ross with 227 kills.
• Juniors Phyona Schrader and Paris Thompson return for their third seasons at Notre Dame. Thompson returns after tallying 148 kills and 71 digs across 63 sets last season.
• Schrader led the Irish last season with 877 assists and was second on the team with 333 digs. The setter also led the ACC with two triple-doubles and finished second in the conference with 17 double-doubles. 
• Hattie Monson, Lauren Tarnoff, and Charity McDowell are rising seniors for the Irish after playing in a combined 259 sets as a class last season. 
• Monson played in all 108 sets for the Irish as the libero recorded 453 digs in her junior campaign, while also surpassing the 1,000 career digs mark. She heads into her senior season with 1,163 career digs.
• Both Tarnoff and McDowell return as middle blockers for the Irish as the duo finished with 141 combined blocks; Tarnoff was second on the team with 80 blocks and McDowell was third with 61. Tarnoff also led the Irish with a team-best 15 solo blocks.