SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio -- The Notre Dame Falcons took the first set of Saturday afternoon's double header against Rio Grande in a 25-15 romp, but the Red Storm reigned supreme through the rest of the afternoon, as Rio Grande defeated Notre Dame twice at Murphy Gymnasium, 3-1 and 3-1. (Gm-1 | Gm-2) 

For the Falcons (1-21, 0-4), the loss leaves them searching for their first win in 13 matches, and marks their sixth consecutive loss at Murphy Gymnasium. For the Red Storm (8-9), the victory marks their first against the Falcons in nearly nine years.

Notre Dame used a .434 attack percentage to take the first set in game one, 25-15. Rio Grande then ran off three consecutive victories to take the first match, by the scores of 25-13, 25-17 and 26-24. The Falcons were able to take a set from Rio Grande it the second match, with a 25-21 victory in the second set, but Rio proved to be too much down the stretch, winning the first, third and fourth sets, 25-18, 25-22, and 25-16 respectively.

Individually, #Jessica Suvak# led the Falcons with 24 kills during the twin bill, while #Brianne Schmansky# finished with 14, and both #Natalie Houdek# and #Lauren Turner# had 12 a piece. #Tayler Pugliese# led the Falcons with 61 assists on the afternoon, while #Cristin Brown# led the Falcons with 27 digs. Suvak, Turner and #Kelsey Swords# chipped in with 26, 20 and 17 digs respectively.

The Falcons are in action again on Tuesday, Oct. 5. The Falcons will head to North Canton, Ohio, to square off against Malone in an American Mideast Conference tilt. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

NOTES FROM THE NEST

CATCH THE FALCONS ON COLLEGE ROAD: After playing 14 out of their first 15 games on the road, the Falcons are in the middle of a stretch where they'll play four out of five at Murphy Gymnasium. Since 2006, the Falcons are 26-19 on College Road.

MULTI-TASKING: Suvak ranks second on the team in both kills with 161, and digs with 156. The Independence, Ohio, native ranks third on the school's all time list with 103 matches played.

DEFENSIVELY SPEAKING: Senior #Cristin Brown# has registered double digit digs in 18 consecutive matches this season. Brown has yet to register less than 10 digs in a match this season.