CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-14, 4-12 ACC) fell to the Virginia Cavaliers as they faced off for the second time this season. The Irish fell in a tough five set battle (23-25, 25-19, 26-24, 23-25, 14-16) on the road in Memorial Gymnasium.
The Irish were led by Lucy Trump with 15 kills and an impressive attack percentage of .387. She was followed by Sydney Palazzolo, who recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 17 digs for the Irish. Ava Lange finished with nine kills and four blocks. Charity McDowell led the way with nine blocks, with Lauren Tarnoff just behind her with seven blocks for the Irish.
Set One
Back-to-back kills from Lange put the Irish in front at 7-6 to start set one. A 6-0 run from the Cavaliers gave Virginia a 12-7 advantage until another kill from Lange stopped the run. While UVA claimed a 16-8 lead, the Irish responded with a 5-0 run to make it a 16-13 set and forced a Cavalier timeout. Trailing by three, the Irish chipped away as they tied it up at 22-22 with an ace from Alyssa Manitzas and regained the lead at 23-22 after a Virginia attack error. UVA went on to close the first with three straight points to take set one 25-23.
Set Two
The Irish led the entirety of set two as they claimed an early 10-5 lead to start the second and maintained their advantage as it was an 18-13 set before forcing a Virginia timeout. While the Cavaliers closed the gap to three at 20-17, the Irish pulled away and after a solo block from Lauren Tarnoff, completed the set two win at 25-19.
Set Three
Tied at 1-1 heading into the third, it was back and forth action in the set as there were 14 ties and six lead changes. Tied at 14-all, the Cavaliers were able to take a 21-16 lead, but a 5-0 run from the Irish made it an even set yet again at 21-21. At an even 24-24, a kill from Trump and a solo block from Tarnoff secured the set three win for the Irish at 26-24.
Set Four
Similar to set three, it was back and forth between the Irish and Cavaliers as the Irish had a 2-1 advantage after the third. Tied at 19-all, both squads swapped points until it was even again at 22-22.Virginia would go on to take set four 25-23 to push the match into a fifth set.
Set Five
The Cavaliers carried their momentum into set five as they claimed the 8-6 advantage going into the media timeout. They extended their lead to 13-9, but the Irish weren’t going down without a fight as they went on a 5-1 run to tie it up at 14-all. Virginia would go…