Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 21, 2024 49 BY TODD D. BURLAGE A s one of the best youth volleyball players in the state of Iowa through grade school, Phyona Schrader had not even started high school when her col- lege recruitment began to get serious. Barely an eighth-grader, and still a year away from starting her standout career at Ankeny High near Des Moines, the current Irish senior was already be- ing courted by top volleyball schools around the country, including Notre Dame, almost 10 years ago. "I didn't really know about Notre Dame when they first started recruiting me. The email from them really came out of the blue," Schrader recalled of receiving a note from the university to gauge scholarship interest. "But my dad knew about Notre Dame and how it was a really good, well- rounded university. For me, I just wanted to know if they were any good at volley- ball. That's all I cared about at that age." And understandably so. Four years later as a high school se- nior, Schrader was named an honorable mention All-American by Volleyball- Mag.com and the 2020-21 Gatorade Iowa Player of the Year, after leading the Ankeny Hawkettes to the 2020 state championship. "Phyona is phenomenal," Ankeny head coach Jessica Rinehart said. "She can do it all — set, hit, pass, serve. Whenever her team needed a point, she found a way." Also a talented cellist, an active com- munity member and a terrific student, Schrader graduated from high school with a perfect 4.0 GPA and had plenty of options on where to study and play her college ball. And with Notre Dame trying to turn- around a tough competitive stretch when it went to the NCAA Tourna- ment only once in the seven years from 2010-16, the Fighting Irish were far from a volleyball power. But one visit to campus brought Schrader a perspective that carried well beyond athletics. "After coming to campus, and seeing the academics and spiritual side of the school, I realized there is just a whole different culture here," she said. "That's really why I chose Notre Dame, it was because of that culture." Coaches and teammates have come and gone since Schrader's arrival to campus in the summer of 2021. But one thing hasn't changed — her commit- ment to team and school. "I'm not trying to be dramatic, but this university has changed me as a person and brought me so many op- portunities in so many different areas of my life," said Schrader, who earned All-ACC Academic honors as a junior last year. "It's just a well-rounded ex- perience with the people here, and how they push and support each other. "They'll knock you around, and then catch you when you fall, very unique people that really test your understand- ing of yourself." On the court, Schrader is a model of steady improvement. She played spar- ingly as a freshman reserve in 2021, but still dished out 55 assists with 83 digs. She became a starter as a sophomore in 2022 and hasn't looked back. Now a third-year starter, Schrader was a critical piece to Notre Dame's run to the season-opening Catholic Chal- lenge Championship Aug. 30-31 in Santa Clara, Calif., with victories over Villanova and host school Santa Clara. A week later at the StarkVegas Clas- sic in Starkville, Miss., Schrader tallied a triple-double in a 3-1 win over host school Mississippi State with 25 assists, 18 kills and 14 digs. After five games and a 4-1 start for the Irish through Sept. 12, the 6-foot Fighting Irish setter led the Irish with 9 service aces and was second on the team with 138 assists, 67 kills and 58 digs. And while Schrader and the Irish are off to a solid start to the 2024 season, there have been plenty of challenges along the way. After opening last season 8-2, Notre Dame backslid. The Irish dropped 10 of their final 11 matches to finish only 11-15 overall and 5-13 in the ACC. Schrader said the late slump was of- ten a function of paralysis through over- analysis, something the team is guard- ing against this year. "Sometimes last season we focused too much, there was some overthinking go- ing on," she said. "This year, we are trying to focus only on what we need to do next. Before, we talked a lot about how we were feeling. We don't worry about that any- more. Just get the job done." Schrader credits that change in the team's approach and attitude for bring- ing notable improvements between this season and last. "We've become more intentional at holding each other accountable. But we know it's out of love, which is amazing," Schrader said. "I haven't had that with many teammates in the past. So it's re- ally good chemistry." ✦ N O T R E D A M E S P O R T S Irish Roundup WOMEN'S GOLF Opened the fall slate with an 11th-place fin- ish at the Boilermaker Classic Sept. 2-3 in West Lafayette, Ind. MEN'S SOCCER (1-0-3 OVERALL, 1-0-0 ACC) Notched a 2-1 victory in the ACC opener at Louisville Sept. 6 … Played to a 1-1 tie with Duquesne Sept. 10 at Alumni Stadium. WOMEN'S SOCCER (6-1-1 OVERALL, 0-0-1 ACC) No. 13 Irish blanked Marquette 5-0 Sept. 8 in South Bend for its sixth straight shutout victory … Played to a 2-2 tie at Boston College in their ACC opener Sept. 12. VOLLEYBALL (4-1 OVERALL, 0-0 ACC) Lost 3-1 to Michigan but rebounded with a 3-2 win over Mississippi State in the StarkVegas Clas- sic Sept. 7-8 in Starkville, Miss. … Picked up a 3-1 vict ory at Northwestern Sept. 12. Schrader, in her third season as a starter, earned All-ACC Academic honors as a junior last year. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS