Oct. 6, 2017
By Robby Hamman
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — Notre Dame (12-4) picked up its second win of Atlantic Coast Conference play this season with a 3-1 (31-29, 25-15, 22-25, 25-16) victory over Virginia (4-12) on Friday evening in Memorial Gymnasium.
Sophomore Jemma Yeadon matched her career high in kills with 24 and fellow sophomore Lauren Woodard added 12 kills in the winning effort. Senior Sam Fry led the Irish defense with 10 blocks and senior Caroline Holt dished out a team-high 50 assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish and Cavaliers played a marathon first frame, with Notre Dame outlasting Virginia en route to a 31-29 win. The Irish held a 19-16 lead but the Cavaliers fought back to level the score at 20-20. From that point on the score was tied nine times with both sides having set-point opportunites. Yeadon recorded back-to-back kills to deliver Notre Dame the opening set at 31-29.
After surviving the high-strung first set, the Irish settled in and dominated the Cavaliers in the second stanza. Notre Dame opened up an early 12-5 advantage and never looked back, going on to win by a score of 25-15 and open up a 2-0 lead in the match. Notre Dame’s attack was in top form in the second, recording a hitting percentage of .351 (17-4-37).
The Cavaliers came out of the intermission refocused in the third and managed to take the set 25-22 to cut the Irish advantage in the match to 2-1. Notre Dame led 11-4 early but were unable to make the lead hold, as Virginia rallied to tie the match at 12-12. The two sides traded points to 22-22 before the hosts won the last three to take the set.
Notre Dame regrouped in the fourth set and built an early six-point lead at 10-4. The Cavaliers fought back and managed to trim the Irish advantage to two at 13-11 but Notre Dame abruptly responded by claiming six of the next seven points to go on top 19-12. From there, the Irish cruised to a 25-16 victory to seal the match with a score of 3-1.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Just one match after notching a career high in kills in the win over No. 21 Florida State, Yeadon managed to improve her performance in Friday’s win. The outside hitter finished with 24 kills on a season-high .368 hitting percentage (24-3-57) to pace the Irish attack. Yeadon also added 13 digs, four blocks and three aces to complete her masterful night.
ND STAT OF THE MATCH
Notre Dame dominated the net from a defensive perspective against the Cavaliers, outblocking the hosts 16.5-7.0. The Irish have now finished with 10+ team blocks in six straight outings. Fry led the Irish with 10 blocks followed by a seven-block performance from Rebecca Nunge.
NOTES OF THE MATCH
- Notre Dame improves to 4-3 when playing away from home in 2017.
- The Irish posted 16.5 team blocks against the Cavaliers and have now recorded 10+ team blocks in 11 matches this season.
- DeJarld tallied 20+ digs for the 13th time this season with 21.
- DeJarld led the team with four aces and has now recorded at least three aces in four matches in 2017.
- Fry matched her season high in blocks with 10, marking the second time this season she has finished in double figures.
- Holt finished with 50 assists and has now recorded 50+ assists in back-to-back matches.
- Natalie Johnson hammered out three aces and has now posted at least three aces in four matches this season
- Yeadon has recorded at least 10 kills in all 14 matches she has played in during the 2017 season.
- Yeadon notched her 11th double-double in 2017 (24 kills, 13 digs).
- Yeadon finished with a season-high three aces.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame stays in the state of Virginia for the remainder of the weekend, as the Irish travel to Blacksburg to take on Virginia Tech at noon on Sunday, Oct. 8 in an ACC matchup.
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— 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.