NOTRE DAME, Ind. — #23 Notre Dame celebrated its senior class with a four-set victory (23-25, 25-20, 25-13, 25-11) over Clemson on Friday night inside Purcell Pavilion.
With the win, the Irish improve to 12-3 overall and 12-3 in ACC play.
Before the match, the Irish held a ceremony to honor its two members of the Class of 2021, Monroe Olsen and Hannah Thompson.
Charley Niego paced the Irish with 20 kills and added 11 digs to notch her seventh double-double of the year and sixth in her last eight outings. Aubrey Hamilton added 13 kills and Lindsey Miller notched 10 kills with a .625 hitting percentage. Zoe Nunez collected 47 assists in the four sets of play.
Defensively, Hattie Monson led all players with 21 digs while Hannah Thompson and Caroline Meuth each earned a trio of blocks.
Olsen led all player with four aces, including back-to-back-to-back aces to open the fourth set.
As a team, the Irish hit .411, their second highest mark of the season, while limiting Clemson to a mark of .184.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Set
The first frame featured 13 ties and six lead changes, but the Tigers closed the set with three straight points to edge the Irish, 25-23.
Second Set
Notre Dame used a 5-1 run to extend an 18-17 lead to a 23-18 advantage en route to a 25-20 win to even the match.
The Irish hit .353 in the frame with Meuth pacing Notre Dame with five kills in the set. Niego and Hamilton each added four kills while Nunez collected 13 assists. Eight of Monson’s 21 digs also came in the second set.
Third Set
Notre Dame jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the third set and lead from start to finish to take the frame, 25-13.
The Irish hit a whopping .485 while dominating the frame, led by seven kills from Niego on just 10 swings. Nunez added another 14 assists in the set while Niego and Monson recorded four digs.
Fourth Set
Olsen opened the fourth frame with three straight aces and once again the Irish led from start to finish in a 25-11 victory to seal the match.
The Irish attack had its best effort of the night in the frame at .517 with Niego leading the way with seven kills and Miller adding five kills. Monson hit the 20-dig mark with six more in the final set.
Up Next
- #23 Notre Dame closes the regular season next week (April 1-2) with matches against Georgia Tech and Duke in Atlanta.
- The Irish meet the Yellow Jackets on Thursday (April 1) at 6 p.m. ET before its regular-season finale against Duke on Friday (April 2) at 4 p.m. ET.
*NOTE: Notre Dame’s contest against Virginia, originally slated for this Sunday (March 28) has been declared a no contest following Virginia’s cancellation of their spring season. The Irish receive a win for the purposes of ACC Standings, but not an official victory on their record.
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