Box Score
WHEELING, W.Va. -- In a hard fought battle against one of the top teams in the Mountain East Conference, Notre Dame saw its season come to an end in a four set loss to Charleston on Thursday afternoon.

Notre Dame (6-27, 3-13) fell in the second round match, after a stunning upset victory over West Liberty back on Tuesday.  The victory for Charleston (21-8, 12-4) advances them to the semi-final round of the tournament on Friday, and was their tenth in a row.

The Golden Eagles were able to take control early in the contest, as they won the opening set convincingly, 25-7.  They scored four in a row to start the set, followed with 12 out of the next 18 and won with ease.

Notre Dame responded quickly, with a 25-20 victory in the second set to even the match at 1-1.  After surrendering the first point of the match, the Falcons went on a 5-0 run, to take a lead they wouldn't surrender.  The Falcons used an 8-0 run later in the match to take a 14-3 lead to seal the deal.

The momentum from the victory in the second set carried over at the beginning of the third, as Notre Dame scored four in a row to start, and stayed ahead for the first half of the set.  NDC led by as many as five (11-6) before the Golden Eagles called for time. Following the timeout, UC scored five out of the next six points to get back into the set. The Falcons were up, 13-11, when the Golden Eagles ran off eight straight points to take a 19-13 lead, and came away with a 25-19 victory.

As they had done already in the first set, the Golden Eagles got out to a hot start in the final set, scoring five out of the first six points to take control.  Down four (8-4) Notre Dame rallied with a 5-0 run to take a 9-8 advantage, and hung around for awhile.  As well as they played, the Falcons were not able to keep up with the Golden Eagles, who closed the deal with a 25-18 victory.

Leading the way for Notre Dame, was the tandem of Lindsay Shirilla and Suzanne Morris, who had eight kills each.  Shelby Regiec led the Falcons in assists once again with 28 and added seven digs.  Brittany Perrott had 21 digs to lead the Falcons, while Morgan Toman added 12. Taylor Thomas added four blocks, and Tawny Flareau had four service aces.

"The girls played really hard today, and after that first set we played some really amazing defense," said Head Coach Mark Ridley.  "I feel like we have a very bright future."

The loss brings an end to the 2013 season for the Falcons, which was their second as an NCAA-II institution, and their first as a member of the Mountain East Conference.