Nov. 2, 2017
By Robby Hamman
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Notre Dame is set to play two matches in the state of North Carolina over the weekend, taking on Duke at 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 3 in Durham, North Carolina. The Irish then travel to Winston-Salem, North Carolina to play the Demon Deacons at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 5.
THE WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Location: Durham, North Carolina (Friday) | Winston-Salem, North Carolina (Sunday)
Schedule: Friday, Nov. 3 — 6:30 p.m. ET at Duke | LIVE STATS | LIVE STREAM
Sunday, Nov. 5 — 1 p.m. ET at Wake Forest | Twitter Updates: @NDVolleyball
SERIES HISTORY VS. DUKE & WAKE FOREST
Notre Dame leads Duke by a slim margin in the all-time series, posting a record of 7-6 in matches against the Blue Devils. The Irish and Duke split the season series last season, with each team winning at home by a score of 3-1.
The Irish and Wake Forest will meet for the seventh time in program history on Sunday. Each side has recorded three wins in the series, with Notre Dame sweeping the season series in 2016.
DIGGING IT
The Irish rank first in digs per set at the conference level and enter the weekend slotted 13th nationally, posting an average of 17.83. Notre Dame is led by Ryann DeJarld, who is averaging 5.97 digs per set. This ranks sixth in the country and would shatter the Notre Dame single-season record of 5.11 set by Danielle Herndon in 2006.
HERE TO SERVE
Notre Dame head coach Jim McLaughlin has always emphasized the importance of the serve and it shows in the numbers for the Irish this season. The team is averaging 1.58 aces per set to lead the ACC. Individually Natalie Johnson leads the ACC with 0.44 aces per set and Ryann DeJarld is second in the league with a mark of 0.39. Notre Dame posted a season-high 12 aces in the win over VCU (9/8).
NOTRE DAME MILESTONES
Notre Dame has a pair of student-athletes with over 1,000 career digs on the 2017 squad. Junior Ryann DeJarld leads the team with 1,575 career digs and trails only Meg Henican (1,783) and Christy Peters (1,640) on the all-time program record list.
Teammate Natalie Johnson became the 15th player in program history to accomplish the feat, as she recorded her 1,000th dig this season vs. Florida State (10/1). Johnson has 1,079 digs in her career.
Sam Fry reached the 1,000-kill milestone during the win at Florida State (10/20). The senior has 1,032 kills in her career and becomes the 22nd player in program history to reach the 1,000-kill plateau.
BLOCK PARTY
The Irish have been a force at the net defensively this season, pacing the ACC in blocks per set and ranking 19th nationally with an average of 2.78. Notre Dame has finished in double figures for team blocks in eight of its 12 ACC matches and recorded a season-high 18.0 against Miami (9/30).
Sam Fry leads Notre Dame in blocks per set, averaging 1.32 on the season. Earlier this season, Fry became the program’s career block record holder since the NCAA changed the scoring system to 25-point sets. Fry currently has 451 career blocks and is just the ninth player in program history to surpass the 1,000-kill and 400-block marks in her career.
— ND —
Robby Hamman joined Fighting Irish Media as athletics communications assistant director in September 2016, coordinating efforts for the volleyball and men’s lacrosse program. Hamman is a 2010 graduate of Bethel College, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in sport management and business administration, and earned his master’s degree in business administration from Defiance College in 2013.