BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – Notre Dame College went on the road and used a strong defensive effort to grab a 3-1 victory over West Virginia Wesleyan College, on Thursday evening. The win propels the Falcons up to the seventh spot in the Mountain East Conference with a conference record of 3-3.
 
Notre Dame, who has won four of their last five games, came out strong, putting the first five points on the scoreboard. Later in the set, NDC (10-11, 3-3 MEC) led 11-7 and then went on a 6-0 run, which included five kills and an ace. Notre Dame would take a 1-0 match lead following their 25-19 set win.
 
After West Virginia Wesleyan (4-15, 3-5 MEC) grabbed the second set win, 25-20, NDC went back to work. Although the Falcons went on a few runs, the Bobcats did not go away, and trailed by just two, 19-17, near the end of the match. Notre Dame did not allow W.Va. Wesleyan to get any closer and the Falcons won five of the next six points to stretch their lead to 24-18. Three WVWC attack errors helped the Falcons during that run. Notre Dame won, 25-20.
 
In the fourth set, the Falcons put the match away. They had an impressive showing with five separate runs of three points, or more, in the 25-20 set win. According to head coach Travis Hinkle, those consistent scoring runs were pivotal in getting the win.
 
"Our big difference was that we had long serving runs that let us extend our lead," Hinkle said.
 
NDC's junior Mary Kate McHugh led the team with 15 kills while her teammate freshman Katie Richardson had 13 kills and a hit percentage of .343. Junior Paige Staudacher added 44 assists. The defense also was huge for the Falcons as three players had 19 digs, or more. Junior Alexandra Kaeberlein recorded 29 digs, freshman Amelia Kaeberlein had 22 digs and Riley Coleman gave Notre Dame 19 digs. Amelia Kaeberlein's 22 digs represent a season-high. Coleman had a career-high in digs (19) and aces (3).
 
"The big thing about getting a lot of digs tonight was that we adjusted to their hitters, and picked up on their tendencies, which allowed us to funnel the balls to our passers," Hinkle explained. "Our team is built on defense, and we showed it tonight playing in a tough environment on the road."
 
Ebonie Hicks led the Bobcats with 12 kills and Mackenzie Wheeler had 29 assists. Hannah Bradford added 26 digs and Lauryn Antolock recorded four blocks.
 
Notre Dame will travel to Glenville, W.Va. to play Glenville State College, tomorrow, at 5 p.m.