SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Fighting Irish finished out their home schedule against the No. 4 Louisville Cardinals on Wednesday, Nov. 23 in Purcell. In their second matchup of the year against the Cardinals, Notre Dame fell in three (22-25, 22-25, 13-15).
The Irish were led by Lucy Trump with 12 kills and six digs, followed by Avery Ross and Paris Thompson who finished with eight kills and seven kills, respectively. Phyona Schrader also tallied 32 assists, six digs, and three kills for the Irish.
Set One
Notre Dame took their first lead of the set at 5-4 and continued to stay in a close, competitive battle with the Cardinals. Tied at 9-9, the Irish started to get going offensively and after a kill from Lauren Tarnoff, the Irish took their biggest lead of the set at 14-10. A Louisville block gave the Cardinals the lead at 19-18, but back-to-back kills from the Irish allowed the Irish to take the 20-19 advantage and force a Louisville timeout. The set was tied again at 22-22, but three straight Cardinal points gave Louisville set one 25-22.
Set Two
Louisville posted an early 9-5 lead over the Irish, but it didn’t take long for Notre Dame to close the gap to two at 10-8. The Cardinals extended the lead to five at 15-10, but the Fighting Irish’s efforts brought it within three again at 20-17. A kill from Paris Thompson sparked a 3-0 run for Notre Dame, making it a 21-20 set and forcing a Louisville timeout. Another Thompson kill kept it within one at 22-21, backed by a kill from Trump to make it 23-22. Despite the fight from the Irish, the Cardinals closed out the set at 25-22 again.
Set Three
The Irish trailed early as Louisville was able to post a 10-4 lead to start the third. Notre Dame closed the gap to four at 11-7, but the Cardinals offense started to get going and Louisville extended their lead to seven at 19-12. The Cardinals would close the set on a 6-1 run and take home set three 25-13.
Up Next
- The Irish will take on Virginia Tech in their final regular season match of the year on Friday, Nov. 25 on the road.