Nov. 22, 2017
By Robby Hamman
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Notre Dame (21-8, 11-9 ACC) fell to Syracuse (20-12, 12-7) in five sets on Wednesday evening by a final of 3-2 (25-23, 15-25, 25-18, 23-25, 15-9). The loss snaps Notre Dame’s second longest win streak of the season at five matches.
Sophomore Jemma Yeadon paced the Irish with 27 kills while senior Sam Fry also finished in double figures with 13. Senior Caroline Holt dished out 50 assists and junior Ryann DeJarld registered a team-high 31 digs in defeat.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish and Orange played a very competitive opening set. Syracuse led by as many as five points at 18-13 and seemed poised to take the opener but Notre Dame had other ideas. The Irish fought back by winning seven of the next eight points to take a one-point lead at 20-19. The two sides then traded points to make the score 23-23 before Syracuse came up with back-to-back kills to win the first set 25-23.
Notre Dame provided a swift response in the second stanza, dominating the set from start to finish by a score of 25-15 to level the match at 1-1. The Irish defense was great in the second, holding the Orange attack to a hitting percentage of .000 (7-7-37). Fry and Yeadon each recorded four kills in the set to help the Irish tie the match.
Syracuse regained its composure in the third set and managed to win the frame by a final of 25-18 to take a 2-1 match lead. The Irish trailed by four midway through the set at 14-10 but were able to level the score at 16-16, However, the hosts finished the frame strongly, winning nine of the last 11 points to claim the set.
The Irish once again showed their resiliency in the match, as the team bounced back to win the fourth set 25-23 and force a decisive fifth set to decide the contest. Despite the close set score, Notre Dame never trailed in the stanza. After Syracuse managed to level the score at 23-23 the Irish claimed the next two points on errors from the Orange to take the set and level the match at 2-2.
Notre Dame held a narrow edge in the fifth frame at 6-5 but Syracuse then won eight of the next nine points to go on top 13-7. The Orange and Irish traded points the rest of the way, as Syracuse took the fifth by a final of 15-9 to finish with a 3-2 victory.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Yeadon produced a career-high 27 kills on Wednesday evening to lead the Irish. The sophomore’s 27 kills are the most any Notre Dame student-athlete has recorded during the 2017 campaign. Yeadon also added nine digs, three blocks and an ace against the Orange.
NOTES OF THE MATCH
- Fry has finished with double-digit kills 12 times during her senior campaign.
- Yeadon’s 27 kills mark the 26th time this season that the sophomore has notched 10+ kills in a match.
- DeJarld has now recorded with 30+ digs in seven matches this season.
- Holt has posted with 50+ assists in six matches this season.
- Natalie Johnson registered her 50th ace of the season, becoming the first Notre Dame player to do so since Kristen Kinder accomplished the feat in 2002.
- With 11 digs, Johnson has reached double figures in digs in 15 matches during the 2017 campaign.
- Sydney Kuhn finished with double-digit digs in a match for the 14th time this season, registering 13 against the Orange.
UP NEXT
The Irish play at Boston College in the regular season finale at 1 p.m. ET on Friday, Nov. 24 in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The match will be broadcast live on WatchESPN/ACC Network Extra.
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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.