This past weekend, the Notre Dame volleyball team faced off against the Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tar Heels. The Irish took a 3-1 loss against North Carolina but responded with a 3-1 win against Duke.
North Carolina
As the Irish celebrated Senior Night, they fell to the Tar Heels after playing four sets.
The two teams went back and forth throughout the first set as they stayed within a point of each other throughout the set. Nearing the end of the set, Notre Dame called a timeout as they were trailing 19-16. Junior outside hitter Avery Ross broke the silence as she added on a kill to close the set score to 19-18, but the Tar Heels battled back as they went on a 6-0 run against the Irish to make the final set score 25-18 and take the first overall point of the night.
The Irish came back in the second set as they started off strong with a 9-7 run against North Carolina. A 5-0 run from the Irish and two kills from senior outside hitter Sydney Palazzolo kept the Irish ahead with a 17-11, lead but North Carolina made a comeback, fighting to make the score 20-18. The Irish responded as they scored two more points to take a 22-18 lead, but the Tar Heels wasted no time in adding their own four points to tie up the score. A service ace and a kill from Palazzolo and a kill from senior setter Phyona Schrader helped the Irish round out the second set and take their first overall point of the night to tie up the score…