SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Irish capped off their Volleyball on Ice weekend with another win inside of Compton Family Ice Arena as they defeated the Northwestern Wildcats for the second time this season. The three-set win (25-21, 25-19, 25-16) marks a 2-0 start at home and a 6-1 start to the season for the Irish.
Phyona Schrader was just three digs shy of another triple-double as the senior finished the night with 12 kills, 16 assists, 7 digs, 4 blocks, and an impressive .600 hitting percentage.
Sydney Palazzolo had a team-high 13 kills, hitting at a clip of .357. Morgan Gaerte finished with eight kills and a .467 hitting percentage. Anna Bjork hit .400 on the night with six kills for the Irish. Notre Dame finished with 45 kills, hitting at .389 while holding the Wildcats to a .192 hitting percentage on the night.
With one tie in set one, two ties in set two, and three ties in set three, the Irish never trailed the entirety of the match.
The Irish had an early lead of 15-7 in the first, but Northwestern brought it within three at 18-15 and continued to hang around. A Palazzolo kill made it set point at 24-19, but the Wildcats would bring it within three yet again before a Northwestern service error secured Notre Dame’s set one win. The Irish recorded 19 kills and hit .528 in the first set.
It was a similar start to the second set as the Irish led 13-6 to force a Northwestern timeout. The Wildcats came out of the timeout with a 5-0 run and in return, forced a Notre Dame timeout. Just like that, the Irish came out of the timeout with a 5-0 of their own to make it 18-11. A Gaerte kill finalized the 25-19 win in set two.
Leading 9-4 in set three, the squads would trade points until the 14-9 mark where the Wildcats were able to cut the lead to two and force the Notre Dame timeout. Northwestern battled to bring it within four at 20-16, but five straight points from the Irish would close out the match. Back-to-back kills from Palazzolo sealed the deal on the 25-16 set three win.
The Irish are back in action next weekend with a home-and-home with Indiana. The Irish will host the Hoosiers on Friday, Sept. 20 inside of Purcell Pavilion before heading to Bloomington for a match at Indiana on Sunday, Sept. 22.