TOLEDO, Ohio – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish picked up their fourth consecutive win as they downed the Toledo Rockets for the second time this season on Sunday, September 17 at Savage Arena. The Irish won in straight sets on the road as they head into conference play on Friday with a record of 6-2.
The Irish were led by Sydney Palazzolo with 16 kills, followed by Ava Lange who recorded 10 kills. Charity McDowell finished with seven kills, an impressive .875 hitting percentage, and led Notre Dame with five blocks. Phyona Schrader tallied seven kills and a .417 hitting percentage as well for the Irish. Nicole Drewnick dished out 36 assists for Notre Dame, averaging 12 assists per set.
Notre Dame came out strong in set one as they claimed an early 12-4 advantage over the Rockets. A block assist from Charity McDowell and Nicole Drewnick gave the Irish their largest lead of the game as they led by 10 at 18-8. The Rockets closed the gap to eight at 22-14, but the Irish and Rockets went point for point until a final kill from Lange gave the Irish the set one win at 25-16.
The Rockets weren’t going anywhere. While the Irish were able to take the lead at 6-5, the Toledo offense took off as they outscored the Irish 11-2 to claim the lead 16-8. The Irish battled back to tie it up at 19-19 after a kill from Lange and regained the lead at 20-19 on an ace from Palazzolo.
A Palazzolo kill tied it up at 23-23, while a Lange kill tied it up at 24-24 and a McDowell kill made it set point at 25-24. The Rockets would come back to take the lead 28-27, but the Irish would close out the set with three straight points. A kill from Palazzolo, a block assist from Drewnick and Schrader, and a Toledo attacking error allowed the Irish to clinch the set two win at 30-28.
The Irish carried their momentum into set three as they led 12-7 to start. While the Rockets cut the gap to three at 18-15, the Irish would pull away yet again to make it a six point advantage at 23-17. A kill from Trump and an attacking error would give Notre Dame the third set at 25-19 to complete the road sweep. Notre Dame recorded an impressive 20 kills in the final set.
The Irish are back at Purcell Pavilion on Friday, Sept. 22 to open up ACC play against Boston College and on Sunday, Sept 24, the Irish will host Syracuse.