CALIFORNIA, Pa. – Notre Dame College split day one at the Vulcan Invitational in California, Pa., on Friday afternoon. They fell by a score of 3-1 to the host California University of Pennsylvania but dominated game two as they swept Bloomsburg University, 3-0.

In the first match of the day, the Falcons (3-6) and Vulcans (5-4) went back and forth in the first set. A 5-1 run, midway through the set, gave NDC a 15-14 advantage. The run included three NDC kills.

Later in the set, back-to-back kills by sophomore Lauren Toman gave Notre Dame a 17-15 lead, but Cal Pa. quickly grabbed momentum. The Vulcans outscored NDC 10-3 and went ahead 1-0 in the match, with a 25-20 victory.

Notre Dame responded with a strong second set. In the first half of the set, the largest lead either team could build was three points. Then, the Falcons had three kills from Toman to go along with a kill by junior Erin Daugherty, two errors and an ace by junior Alexandra Kaeberlein. The 7-0 offensive onslaught secured the Falcons a 25-17 win and tied the match at one game.

The Falcons did not hold a lead in the third set, and the Vulcans went ahead 2-1 with the win. In the fourth set, NDC held the lead early on, but the Vulcans were too much and won the match 3-1.

NDC's junior Mary Kate McHugh led the team with 15 kills on 56 attempts. She also had 18 digs. Junior Paige Staudacher had 30 assists and Alexandra Kaeberlein added 30 digs. Toman had a season-high 12 kills and three blocks.

California had an overall hit percentage of 19.1-percent to go along with seven aces. Sarah Benson had 44 assists and 16 digs. Rachel Priore added 17 kills, 57 attempts, and 14 digs. Five different players had 13 digs, or more.

Notre Dame stepped back on the court to face Bloomsburg (3-4) in the second game.

At the beginning of the first set, the Huskies stayed close. After an NDC service error, BU was behind by two points, 6-4. However, Notre Dame immediately put some distance between themselves and Bloomsburg with a service error, a McHugh ace, an attack error, a kill and another attack error. The Falcons went ahead 11-4. From that point, NDC cruised to a 25-17 set win.

The second set was much closer, with Bloomsburg taking a late 20-19 lead on a kill by Mary Kate Mooney. After the Huskies held a 22-21 advantage, the Falcons used a kill from McHugh and Toman and then two attack errors to win the set 25-22 and push the match lead to 2-0.

In the third set, Bloomsburg looked poised to take one from Notre Dame. The Huskies went ahead 12-8 and forced the Falcons to take a timeout. Notre Dame worked themselves back into the game, but could not catch up right away.

Down 18-16, NDC went on a 3-0 run to finally grab a 19-18 lead. As was the story in the second set, the Falcons trailed 22-21 and scored the final four points to win 25-22. Staudacher had the final kill on an assist from McHugh.

For NDC, McHugh totaled 15 kills on 41 attempts for a percentage of 31.7-percent, her second highest hit percentage this season. Also on the offensive side, Staudacher assisted on 31 points. Alexandra Kaeberlein had 26 digs. In the match, the Falcons had their second highest hit percentage (.195) this season.

Sarah Gomish gave Bloomsburg 14 kills on 41 attempts while Emma Van Arsdale totaled 31 assists. Alyssa Cianciulli led the team with 20 digs.

"In the sweep of Bloomsburg, we controlled the pace of the game, especially late in the match," said head coach Travis Hinkle. "That win helps us set a standard on how we want to start the tournament tomorrow, by controlling tempo."

The Falcons will play another double-header at the tournament as they battle Mercyhurst University tomorrow at 11 a.m. and then Indiana University of Pa. at 4 p.m.