Notre Dame is coming off a strong weekend of play, defeating Virginia and Virginia Tech, 3-0 and 3-1 respectively, pushing the Irish to 7-7 on the year and 4-2 in conference play. After their matches, sophomore outside hitter Morgan Gaerte continues to lead the team in kills with 222; however, junior outside hitter Sydney Helmers had a record-breaking game against the Hokies. For the second-straight match she tied her career best of kills at 19.Helmers also registered six digs, three assists and three aces during that match. Currently, she’s sitting at 122 total kills on the season.
The middle blockers for Notre Dame, sophomores Anna Bjork and Grace Langer, are weapons to watch out for at the net as they climb to 51 and 60 kills. The hitters continue to be led by the tag-team of setters with senior Harmony Sample and freshman Maya Baker who have 205 assists and 255 assists, respectively. They ride off passes from the back row led by freshman libero Maya Evens, who has 172. This weekend, Notre Dame faces very intense matchups against the No. 6 Pittsburgh and No. 8 SMU, both at home.
Pittsburgh
The Panthers are coming off a record-breaking season where they went 33-2, pushing them all the way to the NCAA National Semifinals, where they fell short to Louisville 3-1. This year, Pittsburgh is 13-3 overall and 5-1 in conference play, with losses to top teams No. 1 Nebraska, No. 16 Florida and No. 18 Miami. They also beat the reigning national champions Penn State.
Pittsburgh is led by junior outside hitter Olivia Babcock, who already has 285 kills on the year. Babcock was a three-time ACC player of the week last season, AVCA National Player of the Year and a member of the preseason All-ACC team. This season, Babcock was EPSY Nominee for best college athlete in women’s sports and is on the AVCA National Player of the Year watchlist. Behind Babcock is junior outside hitter Blaire Bayless, who has 148 kills on the season and was on the preseason All-ACC team.
The Panthers’ offense is led by redshirt senior setter Brooke Mosher, an Illinois transfer who has 601 assists and has earned ACC Setter of the Week twice in her time at Pittsburgh. The back court is defended by Babcock with 135 digs, Mosher with 127 and redshirt senior libero Emery Dupes with 121. Dupes is a transfer from Florida State. Redshirt senior middle hitter Bre Kelley leads the defense at the net with 1.51 blocks per set, and she was already put on the AVCA National Player of the Year watchlist.
SMU
The Mustangs were a team to watch out for last season, delivering unexpected upsets to the No. 1 and No. 2 programs last year. This year, SMU is currently 12-4 on the season and 4-2 in conference play, with losses to No. 3 Kentucky, No. 14 Purdue and two losses to No. 5 Pittsburgh.
SMU is led by sophomore outside hitter Jadyn Livings, who has 245 kills on the year since she transferred from USC, and she’s also worked hard this season to earn herself ACC Offensive Player of the Week and a spot on the AVCA National Player of the Year Watchlist. Aside from Livings, the Mustangs boast graduate student opposite hitter Malaya Jones who follows closely with 233 kills. Since her transfer from Colorado State she has earned accolades such as AVCA Division I Player of the Week, ACC Offensive Player of the Week and Preseason All-ACC Team, as well as a spot on the AVCA Preseason National Player of the Year Watchlist.
The offense is led by senior setter Averi Carlson, who has the eighth most assists in all of Division I with 703. Carlson is four-time ACC Setter of the Week and was also on the preseason All-ACC Team. From the back line, senior libero Jordyn Schilling leads with 183 digs and has earned herself ACC Offensive Player of the Week and a spot on the AVCA National Player of the Year Watchlist. Defensively at the net, the Mustangs are led by sophomore middle hitter Favor Anyanwu, another transfer from USC, who has 93 total blocks. She was also on the Preseason All-ACC Team and a spot on the AVCA National Player of the Year Watch List.
The Irish will face off against Pittsburgh on Friday, Oct. 17 at 6:30 p.m. and then against SMU on Sunday, Oct. 19 at 1 p.m., both inside Purcell Pavilion.