Oct. 13, 2017
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame volleyball team fell to 13-5 and 3-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 3-1 loss to Georgia Tech (8-10, 3-4) at Purcell Pavilion on Friday, Oct. 13.
The Irish, led by 14 kills and 13 digs from sophomore Jemma Yeadon, won the first set 25-19, but the Yellow Jackets rallied to claim the next three sets (25-23, 25-17, 25-22) and hand Notre Dame just their second loss at home in 2017.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Notre Dame jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first set, Georgia Tech answered to tie at 4-4 and the teams would battle back and forth through the first part of the match. With the Irish up 11-10, senior Sam Fry tangled up with a Georgia Tech attacker at the net. Fry left the game briefly with a leg injury, but came back in to serve with the Irish up 14-13.
Her return provided the momentum the needed Irish in the set. The 14-13 lead developed into a 21-15 advantage when Yeadon ripped an ace down the middle of the Yellow Jacket defense. Georgia Tech would cut into the lead slightly at 24-19, but a service error delivered the set victory to Notre Dame 25-19.
The Yellow Jackets came out strong in the second set to build an 11-3 lead, scoring several points with tips just over the top of the Irish block. Notre Dame would rally behind some big kills from Yeadon and Rebecca Nunge, eventually evening the score at 21-21. Georgia Tech would hold off the home team, however, taking the second set 25-23.
Georgia Tech kept their momentum going in the third set, building a 12-5 lead and forcing the Irish to use both timeouts early in the set. The Yellow Jackets would end up hitting .341 in the third and build a 2-1 match lead by a score of 25-17.
The Irish started strong in the fourth set, building a 7-3 lead to force a Georgia Tech timeout. The Yellow Jackets surged right back into the set to cut the lead to 8-7 and the rest of the match would turn out to be a back-and-forth affair.
A big block from Nunge put the Irish up 18-16, but again Georgia Tech rallied back quickly after a timeout to tie the score at 18-18. Eventually, the visitors would pulled ahead and went on to win by a final score of 25-22 to take the match 3-1.
NOTES OF THE MATCH
- Notre Dame improves to 5-3 when playing away from home in 2017.
- Notre Dame falls to 8-2 when playing at home in 2017.
- The Irish posted 11.0 team blocks against the Yellow Jackets and have now recorded 10+ team blocks in 13 matches this season, including eight straight outings.
- Natalie Johnson notched two aces and has now posted multiple aces in 10 matches this season
- Yeadon has recorded at least 10 kills in all 16 matches she has played in during the 2017 season.
- Yeadon posted her 13th double-double in 2017 (14 kills, 13 digs).
- Yeadon now has eight aces in her last three matches.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame returns home to Purcell Pavilion for two matches next weekend. The Irish host Georgia Tech at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 13 and then welcome Clemson at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 15. Purchase tickets here.
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— ND —