FAIRMONT, W.Va. – Notre Dame College put up nine aces, their most in a four set match since 2016, which helped them win a 3-1 decision against Fairmont State University, on Saturday afternoon.

Notre Dame (7-10, 1-3 MEC) jumped out to an early lead, but Fairmont State (4-12, 0-5 MEC) did not let the set get out of hand. When Fairmont State was trailing 20-15, they scored the next six points to grab the 21-20 advantage over NDC. Later in the set, with FSU holding a 23-21 lead, Notre Dame scored the final four points to win, 25-23. The final two points were scored on aces by freshman Lizzie Willis.

The second set was also close, but NDC used a 6-0 run to go ahead 15-7. The Falcons then scored six of the final eight points in the set and won, 25-15.

With Notre Dame leading the match 2-0, FSU had plans of a comeback. Fairmont State, who has now lost seven straight matches, found themselves trailing 16-10, but put together an impressive run of 13 straight points to take a commanding 23-16 lead, in a hurry. A kill by Julia DiPaola ended the set with Fairmont State on top, 25-20.

Notre Dame closed out the match in the fourth set, winning their first Mountain East Conference match of 2018. Fairmont State had an early 4-3 lead, but Notre Dame turned the tables. Once the Falcons grabbed a 5-4 advantage, FSU could not tie or take the lead the rest of the way. Notre Dame bounced back from the third set and won, 25-18.

"The big difference in the match was the nine to one aces, between us and Fairmont," said head coach Travis Hinkle. "We were able to keep them out of system for the majority of the day, but we passed well enough to have three hitting options and kept their big block on their toes. Even though Fairmont had a lot of blocks, we were still able to find holes and get great situations for our hitters."

NDC was led by junior Mary Kate McHugh who had 13 kills and 24 digs. Willis gave the Falcons 12 kills, a season-high four aces and a hit percentage of .294. Freshman Katie Richardson added 16 assists, four blocks and 11 digs. Alexandra Kaeberlein had 20 digs. NDC's nine aces in a four set match is tied for fifth most in NDC history.

Hinkle spoke more about the aces, after the game.

"That all started with our serve receive," he said. "Only getting aces once, out of 74, against a very good serving team wins matches."

DiPaola led Fairmont State with 11 kills and 17 digs and she was the only player with double-digit kills. Kelsey Moeller had 22 assists while Lily Keber recorded 15 assists and 16 digs. Taylor Wisniewski put up eight blocks. FSU, as a team, had 16 blocks.

Notre Dame will not play again until October 5 when they battle Concord University, at home. The match is scheduled to start at 5 p.m.