LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Fighting Irish fell in three sets (21-25, 23-25, 23-25) to Long Beach State on Saturday, Sept. 3.
Notre Dame was led by Lucy Trump with 12 kills and 10 digs, followed by Avery Ross with seven kills. Phyona Schrader dished out 19 assists and Hattie Monson tallied 22 digs for the Irish.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set One
The Irish and Beach played a close first set with neither team being able to pull away from the other. After being tied at 8-8, the Beach went on a four point run to take the lead 12-8. The Irish hung around, bringing it within one at 17-16. Long Beach State responded with another run to take the lead 21-16, but Notre Dame was relentless in their efforts. Kills from Phyona Schrader, Lucy Trump, and Lauren Tarnoff made it a two-point set at 22-20. The Beach extended the lead to 24-20 before Avery Ross sent home a kill to make it 24-21, but Long Beach went on to take set one 25-21.
Set Two
The Beach took an early 6-1 lead, but two kills a piece from Ross and Schrader allowed the Irish to close the gap to just one. Long Beach State responded with a 6-1 run to take the lead 12-6. The Irish and Beach swapped points until the 15-9 mark when Notre Dame went on a 4-0 run to bring it within two (15-13). A big-time kill from Trump brought it within one at 21-20, but the Beach responded with a kill of their own to make 22-20. Two errors from the Irish and two errors from Long Beach State made it 24-22 until Trump sent home another kill to bring it to 24-23. One more kill from the Beach gave them set two at 25-23.
Set Three
The Irish trailed at 14-8 in set three before going on a 5-1 run to close the gap to 15-13. The Irtish and Beach would swap points until the Beach extended their lead to 24-21. Similar to set two, the Irish would bring it to 24-23, but Long Beach State took home the third and final set.
UP NEXT
- Next weekend, Notre Dame is back on the road as they travel to Norfolk, Virginia as they take on East Carolina, Old Dominion, and Navy.