The NC State volleyball team traveled to Notre Dame on Sunday for an ACC matchup against the Fighting Irish. The Irish defeated the Pack in five close sets, all of which were decided by six points or fewer.
The Pack (19-10, 14-4 ACC) and Irish (21-8, 11-7 ACC) are no strangers to going to five sets against each other, as the two teams met earlier in the season on Sept. 24. The Pack won that matchup 3-2 in a five-set thriller, where the Pack’s senior libero Emily Harris recorded a season-high 26 digs.
The Irish took the first set 27-25, but the Pack made its presence known by bouncing back in the second, winning 25-22. The teams would battle back and forth with the Irish winning another close one in the third, 26-24, and the fourth set finished with the same score but in favor of the Pack. The deciding fifth set sealed the fate of NC State as the Fighting Irish took the final frame 15-9.
The Pack had 71 kills total on the day, as senior outside hitter Julia Brown led the Pack with 22 kills and contributed one ace. Notre Dame tallied 51 kills throughout the five sets and had three players finish with double-digit kills. The Irish were led by outside hitter Jemma Yeadon who recorded 17 kills.
Senior middle blocker Kaitlyn Kearney tallied 7 blocks in the loss and Notre Dame was led by middle blocker Meg Morningstar with 10 blocks. The Irish’s 21 team blocks set a program record. Harris once again led the team in digs for this matchup against the Irish with 23.
The Pack struggled with errors throughout the match, totaling 40 compared to Notre Dame’s 23. The Pack had five errors in the last set alone as Notre Dame had zero, which was a major factor in the Fighting Irish closing out the final set.
NC State returns to action against Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday.
