MATCH STATS
- Miami (Fla.) def. Notre Dame 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 11-25, 32-30)
- Miami moves to 9-0, 2-0 ACC; Notre Dame falls to 10-4, 0-3 ACC
- South Bend, Indiana
- Attendance: 1,532
- Box Score
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Senior outside hitter Olga Strantzali racked up a match-high 25 points and added 17 digs to lift Miami past Notre Dame in four sets and on to a perfect 9-0 mark.
Junior outside Koly Bird followed with 17 kills and 14 digs. Redshirt junior setter Haley Templeton also notched a double-double with 44 assists and a team-leading 21 digs. Senior libero Sylvia Hernandez and sophomore defensive specialist Sara Duque chipped in double-digit dig tallies with 20 and 17 respectively. Junior outside/middle blocker Lucia Pampana and senior outside Brooke McDermott notched a team-best five blocks apiece.
A trio of Notre Dame players managed double-digit kill tallies: sophomore outside Jemma Yeadon (13), sophomore outside Lauren Woodard (13) and junior outside Rebecca Nunge (10). Yeadon rounded out a double-double with 15 digs and four blocks, while senior middle Sam Fry put up eight stuffs and Nunge and junior middle Meg Morningstar each chipped in seven blocks. Junior libero Ryann DeJarld pulled up a match-high 31 digs, followed by Yeadon (15), senior defensive specialist Natalie Johnson (14) and senior setter Caroline Holt (12). Holt also dished out 37 assists in the loss.
Both teams hit at a .099 clip for the match, but Miami posted eight more kills (54-46). The Irish outblocked the Hurricanes 18-8 and outserved them 5-2, but much of that was the result of a dominating third set effort.
Notre Dame built a 12-7 lead in Set 1, snapping a 7-all tie with five straight points including two Yeadon kills and a kill and a block by Nunge. Miami knotted the score at 12 with kills by three different players and two Irish miscues. Later, down 16-14, Miami managed a 5-0 run, including four straight kills by Strantzali, to turn the deficit into a 19-16 lead. The ‘Canes held the Irish at bay the rest of the way, ending the match with a Notre Dame miscue and Strantzali kill, her 10th of the night.
The teams tied 11 times in Set 2, the last at 22-all. Notre Dame gained the first advantage of more than two points at 20-17, after back-to-back kills by Fry and Holt. Miami managed five of the next six points to steal away a 22-21 lead. Bird notched two kills in the go-ahead rally. The Irish tied it up at 22 on a service error, but committed a pair of hitting errors to give the ‘Canes their first set point try at 24-22. Bird tallied the final kill at 25-23.
Notre Dame raced out to a 12-3 lead in Set 3 with help from a pair of blocks, two Woodard kills and four Miami errors. A Bird putaway and a block slowed the Irish, but the team pulled away for good with a 10-1 run including three blocks and a Holt ace. Down 22-6, the Canes scored five of the next seven, thwarting a trio of set-point tries, becfore Woodard closed out the 25-11 win.
Set 4 was a back-and-forth affair from the early going, including 20 ties and eight combined set-point attempts. After a tie at 12, the Hurricanes built a four-point lead at 18-14. Two Strantzali kills and and three Irish miscues lifted Miami to the advantage. Notre Dame countered with a 5-0 run, incluidng kills by Fry and Yeadon and capped by a Madison Cruzado ace. The Irish had the first set-point attempt at 24-22 on a DeJarld ace. A trio of Notre Dame miscues thwarted two tries and earned Miami a chance of its own at 25-24 . The ‘Canes had another shot at 26-24, but the Irish had an answer and had two more tries. It took three more attempts before the Hurricanes were able to claim the victory with a pair of Stranzali putaways.
PRESS RELEASES
Courtesy: Notre Dame Athletics
Notre Dame (10-4) could not shake off a slow start on Friday night against Miami (9-0), as the Irish comeback attempt fell short and the Hurricanes took the match by a final of 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 11-25, 32-30). Notre Dame had a number of set points in the fourth frame but was unable to convert and force the fifth set.
Sophomores Lauren Woodard and Jemma Yeadon each posted 13 kills to lead the Irish and Rebecca Nunge also finished in double figures with 10. Ryann DeJarld paced Notre Dame in digs with 31, while Sam Fry blocked a team-high eight attacks over the four frames.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish jumped out to a 12-7 lead in the first set, using a 5-0 run at 7-7 to open the advantage. However, the Hurricanes answered with a 5-0 run of their own to draw level at 12-12. Miami then went on to take the first frame by a score of 25-22 to open a 1-0 lead in the match.
The second set was a see-saw battle with both sides struggling to take control. The Irish won a marathon point late in the stanza, highlighted by a beautiful pancake dig from Natalie Johnson and capped by a block from Sam Fry and Caroline Holt to take a 20-17 lead. Despite winning the point, the Hurricanes managed to battle back and take the frame 25-23 to go on top 2-0 in the match.
Notre Dame came out of the intermission locked in and absolutely dominated the third set, taking it by a score of 25-11 to make the match score 2-1 in favor of the guests. Notre Dame jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead and never looked back, as it breezed through the rest of the set. The Irish held Miami to a hitting percentage of -0.154 in the set.
The fourth frame was the longest the Irish have played this season, totaling 62 points. The Hurricanes led 18-14 midway through the stanza but the Irish roared back, reeling off five straight to take a 19-18 advantage. Notre Dame had two chances to force the fifth set, as it led 24-22 but Miami fought off both points. From there both teams had set-point opportunities that they were unable to convert. With the frame level at 30-30, Miami’s Olga Strantzali recorded two straight kills to deliver the Hurricanes the set at 32-20 and the match.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Woodard made a huge impact off the bench for the Irish on Friday. The sophomore was inserted into the match in the third set and made an immediate difference. Woodard finished with a season-high 13 kills over just two sets of play, tying for the team lead for the match. The San Diego native also added two digs and two kills to complete her performance.
ND STAT OF THE MATCH
Notre Dame entered the weekend ranked first in the Atlantic Coast Conference in blocks per set and did nothing but bolster its status against the Hurricanes. The Irish finished the match with 18.0 team blocks, marking the most the team has recorded this season. Fry led the charge with eight, while Meg Morningstar and Rebecca Nunge each added seven.
NOTES OF THE MATCH
Notre Dame posted 18 team blocks against the Hurricanes and have now recorded 10+ team blocks in nine matches this season.
DeJarld tallied 30+ digs for the second time this season with 31.
Natalie Johnson recorded 14 digs and has finished in double figures in digs seven times during the 2017 campaign.
Fry led the Irish in kills with X and has now recorded eight or more blocks in three matches this season.
Caroline Holt notched her fifth double-double this season with 37 assists and 12 digs.
Yeadon has recorded at least 10 kills in all 12 matches she has played in during the 2017 season.
Yeadon notched her ninth double-double in 2017 (13 kills, 15 digs).
UP NEXT
Notre Dame is back in action at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 1, as the squad welcomes No. 21 Florida State to Purcell Pavilion. Purchase tickets here.
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