Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
NORTH CANTON, Ohio – The Notre Dame Falcons had a successful Saturday, as they won a pair of five set matches on their final day of play at the Hall of Fame City Challenge, hosted by Malone.  

Notre Dame (2-3) won in five sets in both of their matches on Saturday, marking their first two victories of the season. Notre Dame opened with a 3-2 victory over Southern Wesleyan University, before coming from behind to take the second match of the day, with a 3-2 victory over Ohio Dominican. 

The first match of the day was an exciting one for the Falcons, as they needed some extra time to complete it. Notre Dame opened with a 25-23 victory over Southern Wesleyan, before the SWU came back to tie the match with a 25-21 in the second set. 

Notre Dame took a 25-15 victory in the third set before Southern Wesleyan returned the favor with a 25-23 victory to force a fifth and final set. Notre Dame was in control, leading 13-7, before SWU came storming back, and tied the set at 16-16, but Notre Dame was able to close out the match by scoring the final two points. 

Melissa Maczuzak led the Falcons with 23 kills and added 10 digs, while Natalie Spadaro added 16 kills to go along with four blocks, and Mary Kate McHugh had 16 kills as well to go along with a team best, 19 digs. Tawny Flareau paced the Falcons with 42 assists while adding 15 digs, and Paige Staudacher added 15 assists, and Ali Kaeberlein added 15 digs. 

As exciting as the first match was, the second was even more so. Notre Dame fell behind quickly, taking 25-20 and 25-21 losses to Ohio Dominican, putting them in an 0-2 hole. However, the Falcons rallied, and won 25-21 in the third set, and won by an identical score in the fourth set to force the fifth and final set. 

Capitalizing on their momentum from winning the third and fourth set, Notre Dame started the fifth set by scoring four of the first five points. However, the Panthers battled back, as neither side was able to take a decisive advantage. The set was tied 9-9, before the Falcons caught fire and scored six of the final eight points of the match for a 15-11 victory. 

Maczuzak once again led NDC with 21 kills and added 13 digs, while Spadaro added 11 kills. McHugh had nine kills in the match, while adding three blocks and a team high, 28 digs. Staudacher had 26 assists in the match while Flareau had 25 to go along with 17 digs and Kaeberlein added 19 digs. 

For their incredible efforts over the weekend at the tournament, Maczuzak and McHugh earned All-Tournament honors. 

The Falcons return to action on Tuesday, Sept. 6, when they play their home opener against John Carroll at Murphy Gymnasium. The contest is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start.