ATLANTA — Aubrey Hamilton matched her career-high with 20 kills as Notre Dame rallied from 0-2 down to win a thriller at #18 Georgia Tech (17-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-17, 16-14) on Friday night at O’Keefe Gymnasium.
Hamilton’s 20 kills came with a .375 mark while Caroline Meuth amassed 14 kills and Charley Niego earned 12 kills. Zoe Nunez collected 45 assists in the five sets. Niego and Nunez also tied with a game-high three aces each.
Defensively, Nunez racked up a team-high 15 digs to go with six blocks and Lindsey Miller led all players with eight total blocks. Meuth added five blocks and Hattie Monson totaled 14 digs.
As a team, the Irish finished the night with 14 total blocks to Georgia Tech’s five and eight service aces to the Yellow Jackets’ two. Notre Dame also hit .291 in the match with 62 total kills.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
An Irish 4-1 run, capped by a kill from Hamilton, put Notre Dame up 7-4 to open play before the Yellow Jackets answered with the next three points to make it 7-all. Georgia Tech then used a 4-0 run to earn a 15-12 advantage at the media timeout and extended the run to 8-0 after the break to go up 19-12. The hosts stayed in control from there to take the first set, 25-17.
Second Set
The sides traded 3-0 runs en route to an 11-11 tie to open the second stanza. After Georgia Tech went up 13-11, a pair of Nunez aces sparked an Irish 4-0 run that put the visitors ahead 15-13.
The Yellow Jackets retook the lead with a 4-1 run that gave them a 19-17 advantage and forced an Irish timeout. Back-to-back kills by Hamilton got the Irish back within one at 20-19, but the hosts held on to take the second set, 25-22.
Third Set
The two sides were tied on nine occasions in the first half of the set before Hamilton delivered a kill to put Notre Dame up 15-14 at the media timeout. The teams traded points to 17-17 before a Georgia Tech service error and kill by Meuth gave the Irish a 19-17 lead and forced the hosts to take a timeout.
The Yellow Jackets tied it again at 19-19 after the break before a block and kill by Meuth helped Notre Dame regain a two-point advantage at 22-20. A kill and block by Miller clinched the third frame for Notre Dame, 25-22, and forced a fourth set.
Fourth Set
The Irish broke a 6-6 tie with a 5-1 run that included a kill by three different players (Hamilton, Nunez, Niego) and an ace by Phyona Schrader to go up 11-7. A kill by Meuth extended Notre Dame’s lead to 13-8, but the hosts earned the next three points to make it 13-11 and force an Irish timeout.
Notre Dame stormed out of the break with a 6-0 run to earn a 19-11 lead and stayed on top to take the fourth set, 25-17. As a team, the Irish racked up 12 kills and hit .360 in the frame.
Fifth Set
The Irish broke a 3-3 tie with a 6-1 run that included a trio of kills by Hamilton to go up 9-4 in the decisive fifth set. Niego delivered a kill to put Notre Dame up 12-8, but the Yellow Jackets answered with the next four points to even the set at 12-12 and force an Irish timeout.
The sides worked to a 14-14 tie before the Irish completed the comeback with a block by Meuth/Miller and Hamilton’s 20th kill sealed a 16-14 triumph in the fifth.
UP NEXT
- The Irish closes the weekend with a road contest at Clemson this Sunday (Oct. 3) at 1 p.m. ET
- That matchup will be streamed via ACC Network Extra.
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