Miami, Fla. – The Fighting Irish fell to the Miami Hurricanes in a close five-set match on Sunday, Sept. 25 as Notre Dame dropped to 5-7 on the year. The Irish fell in the first two sets, but with an impressive effort, they took the Hurricanes down to wire in an exciting five setter (13-25, 12-25, 25-20, 28-26, 13-15) in Miami.
The Irish were led by Avery Ross with 14 kills, followed by Lauren Tarnoff who finished with 13 kills and a season-high seven blocks. Lucy Trump and Kaylyn Winkler recorded 11 kills and 10 kills respectively, while also chipping in three blocks a piece. Charity McDowell finished with four blocks for the Irish, while setter Phyona Schrader dished out 43 assists and libero Hattie Monson tallied 21 digs.
Set One
Despite the Hurricanes taking the 3-0 lead early, Notre Dame was right back in it as they tied it up at 6-6. However, Miami would respond with an 8-2 run to take the lead 14-8 and would close out set one with a 25-13 win over the Irish.
Set Two
The Irish trailed early but brought it within two at 8-6 to start the second set. However, Notre Dame struggled to slow down the Hurricane offense. Miami went on a 11-2 run to take the lead 19-8 and went on to take home the second set 25-12.
Set Three
Notre Dame turned things around as they came out strong posting a 7-3 lead over the Hurricanes to start set three. Miami brought it within one at 9-8, but a kill from Kaylyn Winkler and a solo block from Charity McDowell extended the Irish lead to three at 11-8. It was an even set at 17-17, and a big time save from Hattie Monson allowed Avery Ross to send home another kill, which gave the Irish the lead at 19-17. It was a one-point set 21-20, but a kill from Winkler, a kill from Trump, and an ace from Monson gave Irish set two at 25-20.
Set Four
It was an even start to set four at 4-4, but Miami went on to take the 14-8 advantage over the Irish. Notre Dame closed the gap to five at 15-10, but Miami extended their lead to 20-12. A kill from Ross, a block from McDowell and Schrader, and another ace from Monson brought it back within five at 20-15 and forced a Hurricane timeout. Miami took the lead 23-16, but the Irish weren’t done yet. Notre Dame’s resiliency showed as they went on a 7-0 run to tie it up at 24-24. The Irish and Hurricanes tied it up again at 26-26, but kills from Tarnoff and Schrader would give the Irish the big fourth set win at 28-26.
Set Five
It was back and forth between the Irish and Hurricanes as it became another even set at 8-8. A kill from Tarnoff gave the Irish the 9-8 edge, but Miami responded with a 3-0 run to take the lead 11-9. Tied again at 11-11, the Hurricanes took the 13-11 lead, but a kill from Schrader brought it within one at 13-12. The Irish and Hurricanes swapped points again to make it a 14-13 set, but Miami sent home one last kill to take the final set 15-13.
Up Next
The Irish are back at home as they host Georgia Tech on Friday, Sept. 30 at 6:30 and Clemson on Sunday, Oct. 2 at 1:00.