Eagles Defeat Fighting Irish in Four Sets

Friday, September 25

1:00 PM

Boston College

10-2,1-0ACC

Notre Dame

3-7,0-1ACC

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Notre Dame	25	20	18	17	1
Boston College	23	25	25	25	3

Game Book Match Highlights

Photo by: Meg Kelly

Eagles Defeat Fighting Irish in Four Sets

September 25, 2026 | Volleyball

Box Score Game Book Match Highlights

Earn first ACC win of the season to move to 10-2 overall

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Boston College Volleyball (10-2, 1-0 ACC) opened conference play with a four-set victory over Notre Dame (3-7, 0-1 ACC), defeating the Fighting Irish (23-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-17) Friday afternoon at the Connell Recreation Center.

The Eagles earned their first ACC win of the season and first against Notre Dame since 2024. They improved to 6-24 all-time against them.

Audrey Ross led the Eagles' attack with a career-high 25 kills, while Sam Hoppes added 10 kills on a .273 hitting percentage. Ava McBride posted a double-double with a team-leading 21 assists and 10 digs, with Lucie Vesela adding 14 assists of her own. Defensively, Brooklyn Yelland recorded a match-best 19 digs, while Reese Dunkle and Isabelle Poehlein led the effort at the net with four blocks apiece. McBride and Yelland also recorded their first kills of the season.

Notre Dame opened the match on a 3-0 spurt, but Boston College quickly answered with a 5-0 run fueled by back-to-back kills from Hoppes, a Yelland kill, and a block from Ross and Naomi Watson to jump ahead 8-6. The opening set saw nine ties as both sides traded blows. Tied at 17-17, the Fighting Irish used a 4-1 mini-run to construct a 21-18 lead. Kills from Ross kept the Eagles within striking distance down the stretch at 24-23, but Notre Dame put away the set-winning kill to take the opener, 25-23.

The second frame featured intense back-and-forth action with nine ties and six lead changes. Trailing 12-11, Boston College answered with a three-point run behind kills from Ross and Watson, along with a Yelland kill to reclaim a 14-12 lead. After Notre Dame leveled the score at 18-18, the Eagles seized total control by closing the set on a 7-2 run. Yelland recorded a service ace during the stretch and forced attacking errors. A Ross kill pushed Boston College to set point before an Irish attack error sealed the frame, 25-20.

After dropping the first two points of the third set, Boston College rallied to lead 8-7 before launching an explosive 7-0 run. Sofija Marjanovic sparked the surge at the service line with an ace, while Dunkle and Ross chipped in kills to stretch the Eagles' lead to 15-7. The Eagles maintained their cushion with kills from Hoppes and Poehlein while Dunkle combined with Poehlein on a block assist. Leading 24-18, McBride set up Ross for her set-clinching kill to give the Eagles a 25-18 victory and a 2-1 match lead.

Set four remained a battle early, featuring 12 ties and four lead changes through the middle points. Notre Dame built a 7-4 edge before Boston College erased the deficit behind a Dunkle kill, a Dunkle and Poehlein block, and another Marjanovic ace to lock the score at 10-10. Down 16-14, the Eagles fought back to tie it at 17-17. From there, Marjanovic stepped up to serve and sparked a dominant, match-ending 8-0 run. Consecutive kills from Ross, McBride, and Dunkle overwhelmed the Fighting Irish as the Eagles secured the set 25-17 and completed the four-set victory.

NOTES

Audrey Ross led all players with 25 kills, adding five digs and a block. This is the second time she has recorded a new career-high in kills this season
Sam Hoppes logged 10 kills on a .273 hitting percentage
Ava McBride recorded a double-double with a career-high 21 assists and 10 digs
Brooklyn Yelland posted a match-high 19 digs, nine assists, and a service ace
Sofija Marjanovic served up a match-best three service aces to go along with 13 digs
Isabelle Poehlein and Reese Dunkle both had four total blocks, a game-high
The Eagles held the Fighting Irish to a .161 hitting percentage
Boston College is now 10-2 overall and 1-0 in ACC play