SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The Notre Dame College volleyball team (12-16) lost to West Virginia State (12-13) in three sets on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Falcons came out strong in the first set, gaining a 12-3 lead and later an 18-10 lead, but WVSU came back to win the set 27-25.
 
In the second set, NDC once again started hot. The Falcons gained a 6-3 lead after four straight points, but ultimately lost 25-20. The Yellow Jackets kept their momentum going in the final set to win 25-14.
 
Despite the loss, head coach Troy Haught took the opportunity to have a teachable moment after the game.
 
"I told them I thought we started off the match very well," Haught said. "Allowing them to come back from that was hard to watch. A lot of times when that happens it's because you don't play as a team. We have to figure out how to come together more when things aren't going our way. There was no point in drilling them, I want to be able to learn from this."
 
Saturday was also Senior Day at Notre Dame. The lone senior, Melissa Maczuzak, was honored before the game and had a solid performance. Maczuzak led the team with 22 kills.
 
"Mel is the glue of this team," Haught said. "She's the only player who has been here since I started. We have a little bit of an interesting past because she committed here while I was recruiting her as the head coach at Urbana. She chose to come here and then her sophomore year I came here as well.
 
"She has had an amazing year. There is not enough I can say about her. The records she's broken and the things she's done on the court as well as her leadership role will be something that will stay with this program for years to come."
 
Also leading the statistical categories were Paige Staudacher with 39 assists and Ali Kaeberlein with 11 digs.
 
Notre Dame will travel to Ohio Dominican on Tuesday, October 31. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.