Oct. 19, 2017
By Robby Hamman
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Notre Dame travels to the state of Florida for two road matches this weekend. The Irish will take on Florida State at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 20 in Tallahassee, Florida, and then head further south to play Miami at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 22 in Coral Gables, Florida.
WEEKEND MATCHUPS
Location: Tallahassee, Florida (Friday) | Coral Gables, Florida (Sunday)
Schedule: Friday, Oct. 20 — 6:30 p.m. EST at Florida State | LIVE STATS | LIVE STREAM
Sunday, Oct. 22 — 2 p.m. EST vs. Miami | LIVE STREAM
Twitter Updates: @NDVolleyball
SERIES HISTORY VS. FLORIDA STATE & MIAMI
Notre Dame trails Florida State in the all-time series, posting a record of 3-10 against the Seminoles. However, the Irish won the first meeting this season between the two sides, pulling out a 3-2 victory inside Purcell Pavilion on October 1.
The all-time series between the Irish and Hurricanes is deadlocked at 6-6. Miami won this year’s previous matchup on September 29 by a score of 3-1 at Notre Dame. The Irish defeated the Hurricanes in their previous trip to Miami, sweeping the Hurricanes 3-0 last season.
HEATING UP
Notre Dame has won four of its last five matches heading into the weekend. During the five-match span the Irish have excelled from the service line and on the defensive side of the net. Notre Dame has accumulated 33 aces while only being aced 16 times and have outblocked the opposition 59.5-37.0.
ROAD WARRIORS
Notre Dame has excelled when playing away from home over the last two seasons, combining to post a record of 17-7. The Irish are 12-7 in true road matches and 5-0 in contests played at neutral sites.
DIGGING IT
Notre Dame has a pair of student-athletes with over 1,000 career digs on the 2017 squad. Junior Ryann DeJarld leads the team with 1,490 career digs and is just 10 digs shy of becoming the third Irish player in program history to reach the 1,500-dig milestone.
Teammate Natalie Johnson became the 15th player in program history to accomplish the feat, as she recorded her 1,000th dig this season vs. Florida State (10/1). Johnson has 1,043 digs in her career.
The Irish are ranked eighth nationally in digs per set with an average of 18.21. DeJarld paces the team with an average of 6.04 digs per set to rank fourth in the country in the statistical category.
SOPHOMORE SENSATION
Jemma Yeadon has been the catalyst to the Irish attack, averaging a team-high 4.11 kills per set to rank second in the ACC. Yeadon has reached double figures in kills in all 17 matches she has appeared in during the 2017 season. The sophomore recorded a career-high 24 kills in wins over Florida State (10/1) and Virginia (10/6).
HERE TO SERVE
Notre Dame head coach Jim McLaughlin has always emphasized the importance of the serve and it shows in the numbers for the Irish this season. The team is averaging 1.62 aces per set to lead the ACC. Individually Natalie Johnson leads the ACC with 0.48 aces per set and Ryann DeJarld is third in the league with a mark of 0.41. Notre Dame posted a season-high 12 aces in the win over VCU (9/8).
BLOCK PARTY
The Irish have been a force at the net defensively this season, pacing the ACC in blocks per set and ranking 10th nationally with an average of 2.99. Notre Dame has finished in double figures for team blocks in 10 of its last 11 outings and recorded a season-high 18.0 against Miami (9/30).
Meg Morningstar and Sam Fry rank first and third, respectively, in the ACC in blocks per set. Morningstar leads the way with an average of 1.42 and Fry is right behind with a mark of 1.39. Morningstar recorded a program season-high 11 blocks in the win over Florida State. Fry has two outings of 10 blocks.
THE ONE AND ONLY
Notre Dame head coach Jim McLaughlin is the only volleyball head coach to have captured an NCAA title on both the men’s and women’s sides. McLaughlin began his coaching career as a men’s coach and won the championship with USC during the 1989-90 season, his first season as a head coach. McLaughlin claimed a title on the women’s side with Washington in 2005, posting a 32-1 record en route to the championship.
— 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.