SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Notre Dame College puts together a strong offensive match against Fairmont State University in a sweep, on Friday night.

Notre Dame (15-13, 7-5 MEC) was ready to play in the first set and battled Fairmont State. NDC led 8-7 before going on a 5-1 run that included four kills by junior Mary Kate McHugh and an ace by freshman Katie Richardson. Almost immediately after the first run, the NDC Falcons scored five consecutive points and led 18-9. They then scored seven of the final nine points in the set to win, 25-14.

Although they lost, Fairmont State only committed four attack errors in the first set. That meant Notre Dame had to step up offensively, and they did. The Falcons had a hit percentage of .389 and 18 kills.

"In that first set, we talked about taking advantage of what we can do," head coach Travis Hinkle said. "For example, Erin (Daugherty) had a very good matchup because they were so zoned in on Mary Kate (McHugh). They were leaving Erin alone on a one-on-one matchup so she found the holes there. Then when they started cheating over on Erin, they left Mary Kate open for one-on-one matchups. Lizzie (Willis) is only 5'7" but she loves the challenge of a big blocker. She was on fire tonight, she took advantage of their big blocking not understanding her timing and found a lot of holes."

In the second set, Fairmont State (11-14, 5-7 MEC) put together a late run. NDC led 17-9, but FSU had a monster 13-3 surge, with the help of six kills, to take a 22-20 advantage. Notre Dame then grabbed the final five points with four kills and a bad set on FSU, to win 25-22. NDC's defensive came up big, with 16 digs and four blocks.

Notre Dame closed out the match in the third set, and as Hinkle put it, they played with a purpose. The Falcons pushed ahead, 10-4, with seven kills and an ace. NDC did not let Fairmont State comeback late, as they closed out the set with a 6-1 run, and won 25-15.

"I told the girls, after the game, we played as well tonight as we did yesterday (against Shepherd)," Hinkle mentioned. "We played a very complete game. We hit at .287 and, again, that's great efficiency. Three girls in double-digit kills in three sets, Paige's setting was, once again, great and we took care of the ball. Tonight was the best offensive match that we have had, in my opinion. We were efficient with the ball, we had a lot of first ball kills and that's something that we have been working on. Our block came along, later in the match. Playing three days in a row, it's great to get that quick win."

McHugh led the team with 19 kills and had a hit percentage of .447. Freshman Lizzie Willis (11) and junior Erin Daugherty (10) each had double-digit kills. Junior Paige Staudacher added 38 assists and two aces. She now has an ace in five consecutive contests. Junior Alexandra Kaeberlein led the team with 15 digs and sophomore Roberta Jokubauskaite had three blocks. Kaeberlein has 621 digs this season while Jokubauskaite has 64 blocks assists, and both of those are high water marks for a season in Notre Dame's NCAA era. It has become obvious that the team is coming together and Hinkle said that they are playing for each other.

"They want to be successful together. No matter who is on the court, they are cheering each other on," he described. "When it's time to get down to business, they get to business. The chemistry is there and it makes me so proud to see how they have grown together and we're on a great stride right now. If they keep this chemistry, we can go very far."

Fairmont State hit just .115 in the game. They had two players with double-digit assists, but did not have anyone with double-digit kills. The FSU Falcons had 17 fewer kills than Notre Dame, tonight. Megan Clerico added 10 digs.

Tomorrow, the Falcons will resume a postponed game from October 6 against the University of Virginia's College at Wise. The game will be played at West Liberty University and will begin at 11 a.m.