SOUTH BEND, Ind. — No. 25 Notre Dame opens its season by playing host to the Golden Dome Invitational alongside No. 16 Western Kentucky, Oakland and Loyola Chicago. The Irish meet the sixteenth-ranked Hilltoppers in their 2021 lid-lifter on Friday, Aug. 27 at 7 p.m. ET before meeting Oakland at 11 a.m. ET and Loyola Chicago at 7 p.m. ET the next day. All Irish matches this weekend will be streamed live via ACC Network Extra.
2021 Golden Dome Invitational
Friday, August 27 – Oakland vs. #16 Western Kentucky – 11 a.m. ET (Live Stats)
Friday, August 27 – Loyola Chicago vs. Oakland – 4:30 p.m. ET (Live Stats)
Friday, August 27 – #16 Western Kentucky vs. #25 Notre Dame – 7 p.m. ET (ACC Network Extra/Live Stats)
Saturday, August 28 – Oakland vs. #25 Notre Dame – 11 a.m. ET (ACC Network Extra/Live Stats)
Saturday, August 28 – #16 Western Kentucky vs. Loyola Chicago – 1 p.m. ET (Live Stats)
Saturday, August 28 – Loyola Chicago vs. #25 Notre Dame – 7 p.m. ET (ACC Network Extra/Live Stats)
FOR STARTERS
- This weekend is the first of two home tournaments to open the season for Notre Dame, who hosts Bowling Green, Cincinnati and UW-Milwaukee the following weekend (Sept. 3-5) in the Shamrock Invitational.
- The Irish return to action after going 15-4 and earning their third NCAA Tournament berth in four seasons in 2020.
- Charley Niego enters opening weekend just seven kills shy of becoming the 24th Irish to join the program’s 1,000-kill club.
- Notre Dame owned a 7-1 mark on its home floor last season, including a trio of sweeps over ACC foes Syracuse, NC State and Miami.
- The Irish are facing a ranked opponent to open the season for the first time since taking on No. 14 Minnesota on the road to begin the 2014 campaign.
- The last time Notre Dame hosted a ranked opponent to open a season came in 2007 in a straight-set loss to No. 9 Minnesota.
IN THE RANKINGS
- Notre Dame is enters the 2021 season ranked 25th in the AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll.
- The Irish have been ranked by the AVCA each week since the first AVCA poll a season ago on September 30, 2020.
- Notre Dame closed last season at No. 24 in the poll, which was the first time since 2005 the Irish have appeared on the final AVCA Coaches Poll.
- The Irish are one of four ACC programs to appear in the preseason poll, joining #9 Pittsburgh, #13 Louisville and #24 Georgia Tech.
PRESEASON ALL-ACC ACCOLADES
- Seniors Charley Niego and Zoe Nunez were each named to the 2021 Preseason All-ACC Volleyball Team (Aug. 20)
- The duo both earned First Team All-ACC honors for the second consecutive season in 2020 and each were AVCA All-East Coast Region standouts.
- Niego was named an Honorable Mention AVCA All-American for the second time in 2020.
—ND—