SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-4, 2-2) swept the Clemson Tigers (8-7, 0-4) at home on Sunday, Oct. 6. The Irish won 25-17, 25-17, 25-23 in their fourth sweep of the season.
The Irish were led by Sydney Palazzolo with 10 kills, followed by Morgan Gaerte who finished with nine kills. Lucy Trump and Anna Bjork each tallied five kills a piece. The freshman trio of Anna Bjrok, Grace Langer, and Gaerte each recorded four blocks a piece.
Notre Dame started off strong in the first set as they were able to claim the early lead. With the Irish leading 14-7, the Tigers continued to chip away as they closed the gap to three at 18-15 to force a Notre Dame timeout. The Irish would close it out on a 7-2 run to win it 25-17. Palazzolo led the way with five kills in set one.
In a similar start as set one, the Irish led early until the Tigers were able to tie it up at 12-all. A kill from Ella Sandt gave the Irish an 18-15 advantage to force the Clemson timeout. Just like set one, a 7-2 run gave Notre Dame the set two win 25-17. The Irish recorded 16 kills at a clip of .483 in set two.
Tied at 9-all in set three, a 4-0 run put the Irish in front 13-9 to force a Clemson timeout. A Gaerte kill would make it 17-10, forcing another Tiger timeout. The Irish led 22-14, but the Tigers weren’t going anywhere as they put together a 6-0 run to make it 22-20. It was match point at 24-20, but another small Tiger run brought it to 24-23 before a missed Clemson serve sealed the deal for the sweep as the Irish took set three 25-23.
The Irish are on the road next weekend as they travel to face Miami on Friday, Oct. 11 and Florida State on Sunday, Oct. 13.