STARKVILLE, Miss. – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish fell to 2-1 on the season after losing to Michigan in four sets on Saturday, September 7. Sydney Palazzolo led the Irish with 18 kills, followed by Phyona Schrader with 9 kills and Lucy Trump with 6 kills. Schrader also chipped in 19 assists and 16 digs, falling just one kill shy of a triple-double. Lauren Tarnoff finished with a team-best 6 blocks.
The Irish and Wolverines played a close set one and after trailing 15-13 coming out of the media timeout, Notre Dame was able to regain the lead with a run of their own. An 8-1 run gave the Irish a 21-16 lead. Michigan brought it within three at 23-20, but the Irish took home set one 25-20 after a missed Wolverine serve and a Grace Langer kill.
Despite winning set one, the Irish would fall 25-18 in both sets two and three.
Notre Dame closed the gap to three at 21-18 in the second set, but four straight Michigan points sealed the deal to make it an even 1-1 going into the third set.
Tied 8-8 to start set three, the Wolverines took a 13-10 lead which they were able to extend to 20-13, forcing an Irish timeout. A 4-0 Notre Dame run closed the gap to 21-17, but Michigan would go on to take the third and lead the match 2-1.
While the Irish started set four with a 7-6 edge over the Wolverines, Michigan was building on their set three momentum as a 7-1 run put the opposing team out in front. Notre Dame was able to string some points together when a Palazzolo kill capped off a 7-0 run to put the Irish back in front 17-15. The squads swapped points to make it 19-17, but Michigan would close out the match and take set four 25-20.
The Irish are back in action against Mississippi State tomorrow at 2 pm ET (1 pm CT).