Oct. 16, 2015
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame volleyball team fell to 2014 NCAA Championship participant Duke, 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-20), in Atlantic Coast Conference action Friday night at Purcell Pavilion.
The Blue Devils (8-9, 3-4 ACC) hit .294 and blocked nine Irish attack attempts to help lead the visitors to the sweep.
Notre Dame remained close throughout the early parts of all three sets, but struggled down the stretch in each frame.
The Irish trailed 20-17 in set one before the Blue Devils went on a 5-2 run to close out the set and take a 1-0 lead. Duke pounded home 16 kills and hit .300 for the opening frame.
In set two, Notre Dame was down 17-14 but scored only three more points over the remainder of the match, as Duke took a 2-0 lead into the break.
Notre Dame put together its best effort in set three, holding a lead as late as 12-11 and trailing by just two at 16-14. However, Duke went on a 7-2 run to extend its lead to six at 23-16 before closing out the match a few points later on a Notre Dame service error. The Blue Devils hit .321 for the third set.
Irish sophomore Sam Fry had a match-high 14 kills and hit .321 to lead the Irish. Freshman libero Ryann DeJarld totaled 18 digs.
Duke’s Jordan Tucker (12K, 5D, 4B, .478 A%) and Cadie Bates (12K, 7D, 2B, .310 A%) led the Blue Devils. Libeo Sasha Karelov had a match-high 19 digs and four assists.
Notre Dame (6-13, 1-6 ACC) welcome in Wake Forest at 1 p.m. (ET) Sunday. Fans can follow the match through ESPN3 and Gametracker (live stats).
–Russell Dorn, Athletics Communications Assistant Director
–ND–