Volleyball: Virginia comes up short at Notre Dame, 3-1

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The Virginia volleyball team fell to Notre Dame in four sets at Purcell Pavilion in South Bend on Friday night. Abby Tadder returned to the Virginia lineup and recorded 14 kills and five blocks while Veresia Yon posted nine kills and an error on 15 attempts (.533 hitting percentage).

Set 1: Notre Dame 25, Virginia 22
The opening frame of the match featured 10 ties between the Cavaliers (8-9, 1-6 ACC) and Fighting Irish, as the two sides traded short scoring bursts throughout the set. UVA held a one-point advantage [18-17] before Notre Dame launched on a 5-0 run to take a late 22-18 lead. Virginia tried to close the gap but was too little too late as Notre Dame quickly scored three to seal the set in their favor. Yon finished with three kills on four swings while Tadder tallied three kills and two blocks.

Set 2: Virginia 25, Notre Dame 23
Set No. two was another hard-fought battle, with neither side taking more than a four-point lead. With the score level at 23-23, Tadder snuck an attack over the net that was hit out of bounds by the Irish, which was then followed up by a powerful attack by Brooklyn Borum that clinched the set for the Hoos. Tadder recorded six kills on seven attempts (.857 hitting percentage) to go along with two blocks.

Set 3: Notre Dame 25, Virginia 10
Notre Dame (10-5, 4-3) quickly regained momentum, exploding out to a 9-2 lead to start set No. three and never looked back. The Fighting Irish had total control of the frame, as the Hoos struggled to ever find an offensive rhythm and trailed by as many as 15 points in the set.

Set 4: Notre Dame 25, Virginia 10
The Fighting Irish carried their offensive momentum into the final framed and quickly took a 12-5 lead. Virginia again was not able to get in a groove and gave up 16 errors to Notre Dame’s three in the final set. Notre Dame finished out the match by going on an 8-1 scoring run.

MATCH NOTES

• Notre Dame takes the all-time series lead 7-6 and have won six of the last seven matchups.
• Madison Morey made her first start of the season.
• Tadder tied for a match-high five blocks.
• CiCi Hecht returned to the lineup this week and posted a team-high three service aces.

UP NEXT

Virginia travels to No. 6 Louisville on Sunday. First serve from L&N Federal Credit Union Arena is set for 1 p.m. on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX).