(RV) Notre Dame Overcomes 2-Set Deficit to Defeat Miami in 5

  0 Bill Stadick | October 22nd, 2017 | ACC, College - Women's Indoor, News

MATCH NOTES

The visiting Notre Dame Fighting Irish (RV) used a balanced offensive attack to storm back from a two-set deficit and defeat the Miami Hurricanes in a five-set thriller.

Notre Dame was led offensively by three players with double-digit kills: sophomore outside Jemma Yeadon (19 kills), junior outside Rebecca Nunge (17 kills) and senior outside Sydney Kuhn (15 kills). The match marked the first time since 2014 that three different Irish registered 15 or more kills. Senior middle Sam Fry also had a strong all-around performance with eight blocks and eight kills.

For the Hurricanes, junior outside Kolby Bird notched a career-high 21 kills, while senior outside Olga Strantzali added another 15. The Miami back-row defense was led by senior Sylvia Hernandez, who tallied 24 digs.

After a kill by Bird put Miami up 24-22 in the opening frame, the Hurricanes held on for a 25-23 victory. In the second set, Miami led throughout and won 25-19 on a Strantzali kill.

After the break, Notre Dame responded by scoring the first five points in set three and never trailed, eventually winning 25-21 on a Sam Fry kill. The Irish carried that momentum into the fourth, winning 25-22, to force the tiebreaker set.

The fifth was closely contested throughout, but an ace by freshman libero Madison Cruzado created the necessary separation at 14-12 and the Irish held on to win 15-13.

Next up, the Irish host Louisville on Wednesday, while Miami welcomes North Carolina State to its home court on Friday.

PRESS RELEASES

Courtesy: Miami Athletics

Hurricanes Drop Heartbreaker to Notre Dame, 3-2

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The University of Miami volleyball team dropped a hard-fought five-set thriller to Notre Dame Sunday.

The Hurricanes (12-4, 6-4 ACC) won the first two sets against the Fighting Irish, 25-23 and 25-19, respectively. But Notre Dame (16-5, 6-4 ACC) took the next three, 25-13, 25-21, and 15-13, to steal a win at the Knight Sports Complex. The loss snapped the Hurricanes’ three-match winning streak.

Miami sophomore Kolby Bird led the way offensively for the Hurricanes, as she posted a match and career-high 21 kills. Senior Olga Strantzali also turned in a strong offensive output for the Hurricanes, as she totaled 15 kills.

Fellow senior Sylvia Hernandez chipped in with a match-high 24 digs and was just three shy of her season best. Redshirt Haley Templeton also added 50 assists and junior Lucia Pampana totaled a season-best attack percentage of .429.

As a team, Miami was outhit by a 66-61 percent clip. Sunday afternoon’s contest also featured 13 ties and seven lead changes.

Notre Dame captured the first point of the opening set, but that was the only lead the Irish would hold during the first frame, as the Hurricanes reeled off four straight points to take a 4-1 lead. Miami led by as many as six points in the set (13-7), but Notre Dame would fight back to trim the Canes advantage to one at (15-14). The Hurricanes would go on to hold off the Irish down the stretch to claim a 25-23 victory. Miami posted an attack percentage of 70 percent and committed just three errors.

Miami continued its momentum into the second set, only this time; Miami never trailed and led by as many as six points. Notre Dame trimmed Miami’s advantage to two at 17-15, but the Hurricanes finished strong, as they captured eight of the final 12 points to collect a 25-19 win. Miami showcased pinpoint accuracy in the second set, as it posted an eye-popping attack percentage of 89 percent with zero errors.

Set three was not as kind to the Hurricanes as the previous two, as Miami was held to just 13 points in the frame. Miami hit just 43 percent and had eight errors in the set. Notre Dame would go on to even the match at two games apiece in the fourth frame with a 25-22 victory.

In the deciding frame, Miami jumped out to a 7-5 advantage thanks to sophomore Madison Dill’s second solo block of the match, which forced a Notre Dame timeout. Coming out of the timeout, Notre Dame reeled off five straight points to take a 10-7 advantage.

Miami refused to go quietly however, as it put together a run of its own, capturing five of the next six points to even the set at 11 apiece to force a Notre Dame timeout. The Fighting Irish would then go on to win four of the next six points to claim the set 15-13.

Miami is back on its home floor next weekend, as the Hurricanes will host NC State and North Carolina in a pair of ACC matches. The Canes will face the NC State Wolfpack at 7 p.m. on Friday, while the UNC Tar Heels will face Miami at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

Courtesy: Notre Dame Athletics

Irish Stun Miami In Incredible 3-2 Comeback Victory
Notre Dame won the final three sets of the match after trailing 2-0

CORAL GABLES, Fla. — Notre Dame (16-5, 6-4 ACC) pulled off its best comeback of the season on Sunday afternoon, defeating Miami (12-4, 6-4 ACC) by a final of 3-2 (23-25, 19-25, 25-13, 25-21, 15-13) in a thriller in Coral Gables. The last time the Irish came back from a 2-0 deficit to win was September 17, 2016, vs. DePaul.

Notre Dame’s attacking trio of Jemma Yeadon, Rebecca Nunge and Sydney Kuhn led the team in kills. Yeadon finished with a team-high 19, while Nunge added 17 and Kunn chipped in 15. Sam Fry also had an impactful performance, pacing the Irish in blocks with eight and putting down eight kills and two aces. Caroline Holt was excellent in distribution, as the setter doled out 56 assists. The Notre Dame back line was anchored by Ryann DeJarld, who finished with 22 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Both teams’ attacks came out firing in the first set, as the frame featured many short points that resulted in kills. The Hurricanes held a three-point lead late in the opener at 23-20 but the Irish received a kill from Jemma Yeadon and ace from Sam Fry to cut the deficit to one at 23-22. However, the Irish were unable to complete the comeback, as Miami did just enough to claim the first set with a 25-23 win to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Miami carried its momentum from the first set into the second and commanded the action throughout the stanza. The Irish found themselves in an early four-point hole at 10-6 and never was able to recover. Notre Dame cut the Hurricane’s lead to two points on two occasions but was unable to get any closer, as Miami took the second set 25-19 to go on top 2-0 in the match.

The Irish came out of the break fired up, winning the first five points to gain a quick 5-0 advantage. Notre Dame continued to put the pressure on the Hurricanes throughout the third, as its lead ballooned to 10 points at 21-11, forcing a Miami timeout. The Irish closed out the frame with ease, going on to win 25-13 and cut the Hurricane’s match lead to 2-1. Notre Dame held Miami to a hitting percentage of just .061 in the third, its lowest of the match in a set.

Notre Dame picked up right where it left off in the fourth. After holding a 7-6 advantage, the Irish won six of the next seven points to take a commanding lead at 13-7. Unlike the third set, Miami managed to keep the fourth competitive, cutting the deficit to two at 14-12. Notre Dame would not allow the Hurricanes to get any closer the rest of the way, going on to win the set by a score of 25-21 to level the match at 2-2.

The final frame was a see-saw battle, as both teams appeared to be on the verge of taking control of the set on numerous occasions. The Hurricanes held a 7-5 lead and then the Irish came roaring back, reeling off five consecutive points, four coming on DeJarld’s serve, to go on top 10-7. Sydney Kuhn was clutch in the run, hammering down three straight kills.

After the score moved to 11-8 in favor of the Irish the hosts answered with a 4-0 run of their own to take a 12-11 lead. However, the Irish were not to be denied on Sunday, as Notre Dame responded by winning four of the final five points to take the set 15-13 and complete the incredible comeback at 3-2. The two key plays in the final stretch came from a Fry and Holt block and an ace from Madison Cruzado that clipped the net and fell to the floor.

PLAYER OF THE MATCH

Nunge was such a consistent force for Notre Dame on Sunday, recording 17 kills on 39 swings while registering four errors for a hitting percentage of .333. The 17 kills represent a career high for the Newburgh, Indiana, native. Nunge also added four digs in the winning effort.

ND STAT OF THE MATCH

For the first time in nearly three years, the Irish had three players finish a match with 15+ kills. Yeadon (19), Nunge (17) and Kuhn (15) combined for 51 of the teams 65 kills in the comeback win. The last time Notre Dame accomplished the feat was on Nov. 14, 2014 in a five-set match against Wake Forest, as Fry, Nicole Smith and Jeni Houser each totaled 15 or more kills.

NOTES OF THE MATCH

Notre Dame improves to 7-3 when playing away from home this season.

The Irish have won six of their last seven matches, including three straight.

Notre Dame matched its season-best hitting percentage on Sunday, posting a percentage of .280 (65-19-164).

The Irish have finished with double-digit blocks 14 times this season after blocking 12.0 attempts in Coral Gables.

DeJarld surpassed the 20-dig mark for the 16th time this season, finishing with a team-high 22 digs.

Nunge recorded 10+ kills for the seventh time in 2017 on Sunday.

Kuhn finished with double-digit kills for the eighth match this season, notching 15 against the Hurricanes.

Holt has dished out 50+ assists on four occasions this season. Sunday’s total of 56 was the second highest during her senior campaign.

Yeadon has recorded at least 10 kills in all 19 matches she has played in during the 2017 season.

Yeadon posted her 16th double-double in 2017 (19 kills, 18 digs).

Fry has now blocked at least eight attacking attempts in five matches in 2017.

Natalie Johnson finished with 10+ digs for the 12th time this season after posting 10 on Sunday.

Kristin Baer matched her career highs in kills (5) and blocks (3).

With two aces, Madison Cruzado finished with multiple aces for the third time this season.

UP NEXT

Notre Dame returns home for a midweek matchup against Louisville at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 25 inside Purcell Pavilion.

 

 

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