SOUTH BEND, Ind. – With three of its past four games being on the road, the Notre Dame volleyball team continues its stretch of road games this weekend in North Carolina, facing Wake Forest Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET before a clash with NC State in Raleigh on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET. Both matches will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
The Irish are coming off a four ranked teams, three of them being in the top-10 nationally. This weekend provides a good opportunity for Notre Dame to bounce back against a pair of conference opponents below them in the standings. The Irish have swept four conference opponents this season, and will look to add to that total this weekend.
HISTORY VS. WAKE FOREST
- This is the 16th overall meeting between Notre Dame and Wake Forest. The Irish hold a 9-6 (8-6 ACC) series lead.
- Notre Dame’s last win was on November 17, 2023 when the Irish won in five sets, 28-30, 17-25, 25-21, 25-15, 15-11 in Purcell Pavilion.
- The last Irish win in Winston Salem was on October 11, 2019 which came in four sets, 29-27, 20-25, 25-20, 25-22.
HISTORY VS. NC STATE
- This is the 18th overall meeting between Notre Dame and NC State. The Irish trail the series 7-10 (5-10 ACC).
- Notre Dame’s last win against the Wolfpack was on November 12, 2021, a three-set victory 25-16, 25-17, 25-20 in Purcell Pavilion.
- The Irish have only won once on the road in Raleigh. Back on October 24, 1986, Notre Dame won in three sets, 15-10, 15-7, 15-12.
THE GAERTE PARTY
- The All-ACC Preseason Selection broke the school record for kills in a match against Illinois back on september 5th with 34. Kathy Cunningham’s record of 33 kills had stood for over 37 years. Those 34 kills at the time were tied for the most in a single match so far this season in the country with Racquel Frazier of Hampton.
- She is the just the third player in Irish history to have three consecutive games of 20 or more kills. She has four total games of 20 or more kills this season after her 22 kills at #21 North Carolina.
- Gaerte is fourth in the conference and 31st nationally with 4.26 kills per set. In points per set, she is fourth in the ACC and 28th in the country with 4.86
- The sophomore has double-digit kills in every single game so far this season (20-consecutive)
FRESH FACES
- The Irish have five freshmen to the team, bringing the Irish to a roster size of 20.
- The freshman class consists of Maya Baker (S), Maya Evens (DS/L), Mae Kordas (OH/O), Chichi Nnaji (OH), Sophia Thornburg (OH).
- Baker, who was a two-time Max Preps All-American, leads the team with 381 assists, is third on the team with 100 digs and has 15 aces. She had a career-high 31 assists (10.33 assists per set) in the sweep over Duke.
- The Irish pair a duo of former high school teammates in the incoming freshman class. Maya Evens and Mae Kordas both played together at Cathedral Catholic High School in Carlsbad, California. The duo was part of two Open State Championships (2022, 2024).
- Evens has played in 69 sets as libero and leads the team with 247 digs on this season. She also has 64 assists.
- Kordas had the best game of her early career at California. In her home state, she had a nine kills, five digs and five blocks in the three set sweep over the Golden Bears. She also had back-to-back games with 10 kills against Virginia and Virginia Tech.
- Chichi Nnaji and Sophia Thornburg were high school teammates in Dallas, Texas at the Ursuline Academy of Dallas. Thornburg was named to the Prep Volleyball Top 100 National List for the Class of 2025 while both spent time working with the USAV National Team Development Program.
- Nnaji has made an impact from game one. She is third on the team with 86 kills and has 36 total blocks for 106 points.
- The Irish added one player from the portal, outside hitter Sydney Helmers from Texas. She was a member of the 2023 National Champion team as a freshman for the Longhorns. The junior has 187 kills, 119 digs and second on the team with 19 service aces this season.
- Against Virginia and Virginia Tech, Helmers had 36 kills, 17 against Virginia and a career-high 19 versus Virginia Tech.