SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Notre Dame bounced back from an 0-2 deficit to upset a red-hot Malone Pioneer squad, 3-2, on Tuesday at Murphy Gymnasium.  (Box)

With the win, Notre Dame (11-10, 3-3 AMC) runs their conference record to .500, at 3-3. The Pioneers are now 17-4 overall; their loss snaps a nine-match win streak. For the Falcons, the victory marks just their second against Malone in 17 meetings since 1998.

The Falcons' home match marked their first since Sept.2, and NDC made the most of the homecoming, treating 129 in attendance to a thrilling three-set comeback.

Junior hitter #Jessica Suvak# had a personal season-high 18 kills and junior #Katie Barbis# added 12 kills and 24 digs, as Notre Dame won, 23-25, 22-25, 26-24, 25-15, 15-8. The Notre Dame backcourt held Malone to a .105 hitting mark over the five sets. The Falcons had 96 digs in the match.

“This was a really nice win for us,” said Head Coach #Mark Ridley#, whose troops are now 3-0 at home this season. “Malone is a great team. We played them tough early on but could win a game. But the girls hung tough and stayed focus. That's what gave us momentum as the night went on.”

NDC hit .153 for the match, with four players notching double-digits in kills. #Kate Verhoff# had a personal season-high 51 assists, the most she's had in a match since Sept. 30, 2008. #Jessica Parks# had 4.5 blocks.

Junior hitter Jennifer Gahagan had a team-high 14.5 points (12K-1 SA-1.5B) for the Pioneers.

Notre Dame will be in action again this Saturday, Oct. 10, when they visit Painesville, Ohio, for a tri-match hosted by Lake Erie College. The Falcons are slated to play the host Storm at 1 p.m. and Wheeling Jesuit (W. Va.) at 3 p.m. Notre Dame's next AMC match will be on Oct. 13, at Northwestern Ohio.


NOTES FROM THE NEST…

ON THE STREAK WHERE YOU LIVE: NDC is 3-0 in three home matches this season. The Falcons have seven more matches at home this season, with six of those scheduled over the next three weeks. … Over the last three years, NDC is now 21-9 (.700) on College Road.

DOUBLING DOWN: With her 12 kills and 24 digs in Tuesday's match, Katie Barbis now has now recorded double-figures in kills and digs seven times this season, which is a team-high. Barbis needs 49 more digs to become just the sixth player in NDC history to post 600 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. The 5-foot-10 Mentor, Ohio, native is currently sitting on 683 career kills and 951 digs.