Sept. 23, 2016
By Robby Hamman
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Notre Dame was on a mission on Friday evening for its ACC opener against Louisville, as the Irish dominated from start to finish in a 3-0 sweep of the Cardinals to improve to 10-3 on the season and 1-0 in conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish could not have asked for a better start to the match on Friday evening, dominating the opening set from start to finish en route to a 25-15 victory. Freshman Jemma Yeadon led the attack with five kills in the first frame. The Irish carried the momentum from the first set into the second and jumped out to another early lead. The Cardinals fought back in the second stanza but Notre Dame was too much for the visitors and took the set 25-20 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.
Notre Dame did not let up after the intermission between sets two and three, controlling play throughout the third frame. Leading 6-5, the Irish went on a 7-1 run to grab a stranglehold on the set at 13-6. From that point on Notre Dame never looked back and went on to take the final stanza 25-14 to complete the sweep of the Cardinals.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH
For the second straight match Yeadon was superb, as the freshman led the team with 12 kills and recorded a hitting percentage of .364. The Mercer Island, Washington native also posted seven digs, an ace and assist to round out her performance.
ND STAT OF THE MATCH
The Irish held the Louisville attack to a hitting percentage of just .112 over the three sets. Notre Dame forced the Cardinals into 20 attacking errors in 98 attempts and came up with 40 digs.
THE TURNING POINT
The opening frame set the tone for the rest of the match, as Notre Dame never trailed in the first set. The Irish posted a hitting percentage of .385 while holding Louisville to just .059 to take control.
NOTES OF THE MATCH
- Notre Dame’s 10-3 record on the season marks the best start since 2005.
- The Irish improve to 21-11 against Louisville in the all-time series.
- Friday night’s victory is Notre Dame’s first ever win in an ACC opening match.
- Seven of Notre Dame’s 10 victories on the season have come in straight-set fashion.
- The Irish are now 5-2 at home in 2016.
- Jemma Yeadon finished with double-digit kills for the sixth time in her debut season.
- Caroline Holt has now recorded at least 30 assists in 11-of-13 matches.
- With 11 digs Natalie Johnson surpassed the 10 dig mark for the second time in 2016.
- Ryann DeJarld has posted 10+ digs in 10-of-13 matches after recording 11 on Friday.
UP NEXT
The Irish travel south to face the Miami Hurricanes at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 25 before returning to Purcell Pavillion next weekend to host Duke at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 30 and then Wake Forest at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 2.
To purchase tickets visit UND.com/BuyTickets.
— 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.