PITTSBURGH --  Notre Dame defeated Carlow (Pa.) Tuesday to remain unbeaten over their last 10 matches.  The Falcons beat the Celtics, 3-0, in what was their second conference match of the 2008 season.  With the win, NDC is now 13-4 overall and 2-0 in American Mideast Conference play.

The Falcons won by scores of 26-24, 25-21, and 25-17, with Jessica Parks (Jr./Mesquite, Texas) leading the NDC effort with 11 kills and 10 digs.  Parks collected a team-high 12.5 points in the match.

Katie Barbis (So./Mentor, Ohio) added nine kills and seven digs while hitting .571, as Notre Dame earned a straight-set victory for the seventh time this season. Kate Verhoff (Jr./Elyria, Ohio) posted nine kills against zero errors; she also had 25 assists and two blocks. Both Barbis and Verhoff finished with 11 points.

“I'm pleased with our performance tonight,” said head coach Mark Ridley of the Falcons' second straight AMC road win.  “We pushed for points and got the job done.  Winning on the road in the league is important.”

The Falcons' win over Carlow (3-11, 0-3) is their ninth straight over the Celtics.  NDC now leads the all-time series between the two programs, 9-5.

For the match, Notre Dame hit .303; in the three sets, NDC hit .242, .333, and .379. The win marked the sixth time this season the Falcons have hit .300 in a match.

With the victory at Carlow, NDC is now 4-1 in road matches this season.  (The Falcons are 8-3 in neutral site matches.)  Their 13-4 overall start is their best through 17 matches in program history.  And much of that has been built in the last 3-1/2 weeks, in NDC's current win streak, which began Aug. 30, with a 3-2 win over Holy Family (Pa.).

Notre Dame will put that streak on the line again on Thursday when they host the Lady Cougars of Mount Vernon Nazarene.  The match is slated to begin at 7 p.m.

NOTES FROM THE NEST...

SEPTEMBER TO REMEMBER:  With their victory in Pittsburgh, NDC is now 9-0 in the month of September.  In those nine matches, the Falcons have won 27 sets while losing just four. The Sept. hot streak is now apparently a trend with Falcon Volleyball – Mark Ridley's troops went 11-4 last season in September. ... Notre Dame's overall 10-match winning streak is a program record.

DOUBLE DIP:  With her 11-kill, 10-dig effort on Tuesday, Jessica Parks has now posted four straight double-doubles (kills-digs).  The junior from Texas now has 152 kills and 195 digs this season.  She has notched six double-doubles.

VERHOFF ON COURSE: Kate Verhoff collected nine kills in 12 attempts Tuesday. With zero attack errors, she posted a .750 hitting mark. Over the Falcons' last eight contests (27 sets), the Elyria native has 77 kills against just 11 errors in 139 attempts (.475 attack percentage).