Sept. 10, 2016
Final Stats vs. URI | Final Stats vs. SDSU
KINGSTON, R.I. — The Notre Dame volleyball team captured its second in-season tournament title in three weeks on Saturday, sweeping San Diego State (25-17, 25-17, 25-19) before defeating host Rhode Island in four sets (25-17, 22-25, 26-24, 25-15). The pair of victories gave the Irish the Irish the Art Carmichael Invitational championship, to go along with the Golden Dome Invitational title from the opening weekend.
Ryann DeJarld (Chicago, Ill./McAuley) was the star of the trip to the Ocean State, earning tournament MVP honors. She was joined on the all-tournament team by Rebecca Nunge (Newburg, Ind./Castle) and Sam Fry (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline). The Irish capped the tournament at 3-0, with San Diego State at 2-1, the host Rams at 1-2 and Stony Brook 0-3.
SAN DIEGO STATE RECAP
The Irish opened the day with a three-set sweep of San Diego State. Nunge paced the Irish with nine kills, followed closely by eight from Sam Fry (Cincinnati, Ohio/Ursuline) and seven from Sydney Kuhn (Wichita, Kan./Kapaun Mt. Carmel Catholic).
DeJarld contributed six digs, two assists and an ace in the afternoon session, while setter Caroline Holt (Bloomington, Ill./Central Catholic/Loyola Chicago) registered 27 assists.
The first set was tight early, with the teams tied at 16 before the Irish went on a 9-1 run to capture the first set. The burst opened with Holt dumping one over the net, followed by consecutive blocks from Nunge and Katie Higgins (Kearney, Neb./Kearney). Nudge then had back-to-back kills to make it 21-16. After the Aztecs halted the run, Kuhn, Higgins and Nunge combined for blocks on the final three points to give Notre Dame the first set.
The second set wasn’t nearly as dramatic, as the Irish jumped out to a 15-4 lead before taking the frame, 25-17. The third and clinching set was tight through out, with the Irish making a key 7-2 run to take the score from 16-14 to 22-16. Notre Dame secured the sweep with a 25-19 victory.
RHODE ISLAND RECAP
Against the host Rams, the Irish saw four players reach double-digit kills, while DeJarld had an outstanding 22 digs and Holt contributed 41 assists. Fry led the attack with 12 kills, followed by Kuhn and Higgins with 11 each and Jemma Yeadon (Mercer Island, Wash./Mercer Island) with 10.
The Irish controlled the first set, sprinting to a 10-3 lead before taking the opening game, 25-17. The second set was narrower, but a 10-9 Notre Dame lead turned in to an 18-14 URI lead thank stop a 12-4 run by the hosts. Fry recorded a kill to cut it to 24-22, but the Rams secured the match-tying 25-22 victory.
The third set again saw the Irish get out to an early lead, this time an 8-2 advantage. Rhode Island rallied and the teams stayed close throughout, eventually resulting in a tie at 23. Fry was huge for the Irish at the end of the best, recording kills twice to give the Irish a chance at set point before finally joining with Holt for a block to take the frame, 26-24.
The fourth frame was all Irish, as Notre Dame took a 17-9 lead and never looked back, taking the match and tournament title with a 25-15 decision.
ART CARMICHAEL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
DeJarld captured MVP honors thanks to 40 digs in the three matches, good for an average of 4.00 per set. Fry led the attack with 29 kills while hitting at a .462 clip and adding 15 blocks. Nunge recorded 23 kills with 10 blocks.
NOTE OF THE MATCH
As second year Irish head coach Jim McLaughlin continues to develop the program, wins are ultimately the most important sign of progress. With a 7-2 mark through just three weeks of the season, Notre Dame has already matched last year’s win total (7-25).
UP NEXT
Notre Dame plays in its final non-conference weekend of the season when it travels to the Spartan Classic in East Lansing, Michigan. The Irish face Maryland Eastern Shore and host Michigan State on Friday, Sept. 16, before taking on DePaul on Saturday, Sept. 17.
The Spartan Classic is followed by the ACC opener on Friday, Sept. 23, when Louisville visits Purcell Pavilion for a 7 p.m. contest. For tickets, visit UND.com/BuyTickets.