Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
ERIE, Pa. -- The Notre Dame Falcons dropped a pair of matches on Friday on the first day of play in the MEC/PSAC Crossover Tournament.  

Notre Dame (2-4) has now lost three in a row after beginning the year with wins in two of their first three matches. 

In the first match of the day, the Falcons fell in three sets to the Redhawks, before falling in the nightcap to the hosts, Mercyhurst, in four sets. 

The opening set saw the Falcons come from behind, but fall just short. The Redhawks took the lead from the get go, and never trailed at any point. However, with NDC down to its last chance, trailing 24-19, and Morgan Toman serving, the Falcons ran off five straight points to tie the set at 24-24, before the Redhawks rallied for two straight points in extra time to win, 26-24. 

Notre Dame fell behind early in the second set, but used a big rally halfway through to take the lead. Notre Dame was tied 10-10, when they ran off five straight points to take the lead. NDC remained in the lead until the Redhawks battled back to tie the set at 20-20, capping the set with a 7-0 run to win 25-20. 

The Falcons found themselves in a hole halfway through the third set, trailing 13-7, but they continued to battle, and scored nine out of the next 12 points to tie the set, 16-16. The rest of the set was tightly contested, with neither side able to mount more than a two-point lead, until the Redhawks finally put the contest away with a 5-1 run to score a 25-21 victory. 

Lindsay Shirilla paced the Falcons in the opening match with eight kills, while Shelby Regiec added 17 assists and Tawny Flareau added 11. Tawnia Alamaraz led the Falcons with 14 digs. 

In their second match of the day, the Falcons fell in four sets to Mercyhurst. The first set was extremely close. The Lakers led by as many as four, but neither side could really gain much momentum. With the set tied 22-22, the Lakers ran off three straight points to come away with the win. 

Notre Dame got out to an early 4-1 lead in the second set, but still had to come from behind in order to take the set. The two teams exchanged modest runs, before NDC got hot in the final moments of the set. Down 22-19, Notre Dame caught fire, and ran off three straight points to tie the set, before the Lakers answered to take a 23-22 advantage. Consecutive kills from Alexia Koerkenmeier followed to give the Falcons a 24-23 advantage, and Kristen Hill followed with a game winning kill to seal a 25-23 win. 

Very little went right for Notre Dame in the third set, and the problems began early on. Tied at 3-3, the Lakers scored eight straight points to take an 11-3 advantage, and never looked back, as they won the set convincingly, 25-9. 

A pair of big runs helped the Lakers pull away in the final set to seal the deal. The fourth set was knotted up at 4-4, when Mercyhurst began a 7-1 run to take a commanding, 11-5 lead. Notre Dame didn't go away as they battled back and came within one (14-13), before Mercyhurst got hot again, and scored the next six points to take a 20-13 advantage, as they went on to win, 25-17. 

Koerkenmeier led Notre Dame with nine kills in the second match of the day, while Regiec turned in 21 assists. Almaraz once again led the Falcons defensively with 15 digs, and Hill came away with a trio of blocks. 

The Falcons will finish play in in the MEC/PSAC Crossover Tournament with a pair of matches on Saturday. They'll begin at Noon against Gannon, and finish at 2 p.m. with a match against Edinboro. Both matches will take place in Erie, Pa.