This week: Notre Dame College will play four matches this weekend at the Notre Dame College Invitational in the Murphy Gymnasium. At home for the first time this season, they are set to play Salem International University at 9:30 a.m. and Indiana University of Pennsylvania at 5:30 p.m. on September 15. They will then play Lock Haven University at 9:30 a.m. and Mercyhurst University at 7:30 p.m. on September 16.

Records: The Falcons are 4-5 in 2017 while Salem International is 2-10 and Indiana (Pa.) is 6-3. Lock Haven holds a record of 4-4 and Mercyhurst is 2-6.

Coaches Corner: Notre Dame volleyball head coach, Troy Haught is entering his third season and he holds an overall record of 22-45, 11-21 in the MEC. Ashley Ziegle is in her first season as head coach at Salem and holds a record of 2-10. Scott Pennewill is in his third season with Indiana Pa. and he has a coaching record of 43-29. Lock Haven's head coach is Shannon Gerencir who is in her second year as head coach and now has a record of 10-24. Ryan Patton enters his 13th season as the head coach of the Lakers and has a record of 202-175.

Rankings: None of the teams are ranked in the top-25 in the AVCA Coaches Poll.

Series History: The Falcons have an all-time record of 0-5 against both IUP and Mercyhurst. In 2015, Notre Dame fell to the Crimson Hawks, 3-2. NDC lost to the Lakers last season by a score of 3-1. They have never played Salem International and Lock Haven.

Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame put together a record of 2-3 over the past week. In incredible comeback fashion, NDC beat John Carroll University after falling behind 2-0 on September 6. They would win three consecutive sets to take the victory. In the fifth set, the Falcons scored the final five points to win 15-11. Notre Dame went 1-3 in the MEC/PSAC Crossover last weekend. Their one win in the invitational came against Kutztown University, 3-1, on September 8. The Falcons also played Slippery Rock University and Shippensburg University, two teams who went 4-0 in the tournament. Over the past week, senior Melissa Maczuzak had 65 kills and 62 digs. Maczuzak has 136.5 points on the season along with 125 kills and 108 digs. Ali Kaeberlein has 151 digs this season.

Noting the Tigers: Salem International has really struggled recently, losing seven straight games after starting the season with a 2-3 record. They have played eight games over a week-and-a-half stretch, including two matches this week. On September 5, the Tigers went on the road to face the University of Rio Grande and won 3-1. However, they struggled at the Concord Classic playing in five matches and losing every match and every set. They lost to Alderson Broaddus at home, 3-0 on September 12 and lost to West Virginia State 3-1 on September 13. 

Noting the Crimson Hawks: Indiana University of Pennsylvania will play Notre Dame for the second time this season, as they beat the Falcons on September 8, 3-0. IUP went 2-2 at the MEC/PSAC Crossover in Charleston, W.Va. last weekend, where they beat NDC and West Virginia State but lost to the University of Charleston and Urbana University. Senior Natalie Cignetti was named Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Southwest Division Women's Volleyball Player of the Week. She accumulated 75 kills, held a .290 hit percentage and had 49 digs.

Noting the Bald Eagles: Lock Haven began the season losing three consecutive games in the Rebich Investment Invitational at Edinboro University. They were able to turn things around in the 2017 Shepherd Showdown, beating Virginia State, Alderson Broaddus University and Ursuline College while only losing one game in the invitational. Sophomore Breanna McDonald was given Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Central Division Player of the Week. At the Shepherd Showdown, McDonald recorded 49 kills and had 3.5 kills per set. She also had a hit percentage of .562 for the weekend.

Noting the Lakers: Mercyhurst got their first two wins of the season in the Mercyhurst/Gannon Tournament held last weekend in Erie, Pa. They defeated St. Michael's College 3-0 on September 8 and Glenville State College by a score of 3-1 on September 9. Shelby Chesko leads the team in kills with 73 while Hannah Vuylsteke has 114 digs on the season.