SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish dropped a close five set match to Florida State in Purcell on Friday Nov. 11 (18-25, 25-16, 16-25, 25-14, 10-15).
The Irish were led by Lucy Trump with 17 kills, followed by Phyona Schrader with 11 kills and a .562 kill percentage. Clare Delaplane posted 10 kills tonight and Hattie Monson chipped in 19 digs for the Irish.
The Irish trailed 5-4 to start set one, but three straight points from the Irish gave the Irish the 7-5 advantage and forced a Seminole timeout. A Trump kill gave the Irish the lead again at 10-9 but it didn’t take long for the Seminoles to take the 16-12 advantage over the Irish. Notre Dame closed the gap to three at 18-15 after a solo block from Avery Ross, but FSU would go on to take set one 25-18.
Notre Dame came out strong in the second, posting an early 7-3 lead over the Seminoles and forcing an FSU timeout. Kills from Schrader, Winkler, and Trump, along with an ace from Schrader, would give the Irish a 13-5 advantage and force the Seminole’s second timeout of the set. Leading 20-15, the Irish would outscore the Seminoles 5-1 to close out the second, with Lucy Trump posting an impressive nine kills in the set with a .667 hitting percentage.
The Irish and Seminoles continued to exchange points to start the third, with neither team being able to pull away by more than two. Tied at 8-8, the Seminoles outscored the Irish 7-1 to take the lead at 15-9. FSU extended the lead to 20-13 before taking home set three 25-16.
Notre Dame started the fourth set with a 5-0 run, including three straight kills from Delaplane. While the Seminoles closed the gap to one at 8-7, the Irish would extend their lead to six at 15-9. Kills from Tarnoff and Schrader, plus a service ace from Trump, allowed the Irish to take the 19-10 advantage over FSU. Holding the Seminoles to just 14 points, the Irish closed out set four with a Ross kill and were ready to go into a competitive fifth set.
The Irish led 4-2 to start the fifth before a 3-0 FSU run gave the Seminoles the 5-4 advantage. Tied at 5-5, both teams were in a relentless pursuit for the win as Notre Dame and Florida State swapped points until it was an even 10-10 set. Despite the Irish’s late efforts, the Seminoles would score the final five points of the night and take home set five 15-10.
UP NEXT
- The Irish are back in action as they hit the road for NC State and take on the Wolfpack on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 5:00 p.m.
- Notre Dame will host their final home game of the season against Louisville at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 23.