CALIFORNIA, Pa. - Riding a 3-0 win over Bloomsburg from the first day at the Vulcan Invitational, the Notre Dame College volleyball team kept things rolling Saturday with a 3-2 win against Mercyhurst and a 3-0 win against Indiana (Pa.) to come home with a three-game winning streak. 

In both matches, the Falcons came out on top in close contests with all facets of their game working together. Not only was the offense on fire with the team converting at high rates (.213 and .197 attack percentages against MU and IUP, respectively; second and third highest this season), but the defense was making things hard for their opponents (both opponents converted on just 11 percent of their attacks).

"Our offense was in such a good flow because it started our with great passing from our defense," head coach Travis Hinkle said. "That gave Paige [Staudacher] an ability to have options and get one-on-one matchups with our hitters."

In the first match, Mercyhurst edged out Notre Dame with a 26-24 score in set one, but the Falcons were able to rebound and win the next two matched 25-17 and 25-21. The Lakers won the fourth set to force a fifth, and NDC responded with a 15-11 win to secure the match. Eleven of the 15 points scored by Notre Dame in the final set were kills.

Leading the Falcons in game one with 20 kills was Mary Kate McHugh, followed by Lauren Toman and Katie Richardson with 12 and 11, respectively. Paige Staudacher set the Falcons up for 53 kills, which ties for 10th most in NDC's single-match assists records. Alexandra Kaeberlein led the defense with 21 digs while McHugh had 18, Amelia Kaeberlein recorded 17 and Riley Coleman added 12. Roberta Jokubauskait also came up big defensively with five blocks. 

The second match was also close even though Notre Dame won 3-0. Indiana (Pa.) challenged the Falcons in each set as NDC won 26-24 in all three. It was a back-and-fourth in set one as neither team led by more than three points, but their were comebacks by both teams in sets two and three. In the second set, NDC grabbed a 20-13 lead early on, but IUP came back to tie it up 24-24 before the Falcons put things away. In set three, the Crimson Hawks went on a seven-point run to go up 15-10 before Notre Dame recovered after a timeout to ultimately win. 

McHugh once again led with 17 kills while Lizzie Willis landed 10 attacks. Staudacher assisted on 36 kills and Al. Kaeberlein dug 18 balls. McHugh also record 12 digs as she had a double-double in each of the four games this weekend. The junior from North Canton, Ohio has been in double digits in both kills and digs in seven matches this season. 

In these challenging matches, Hinkle credits his team with staying levelheaded and upbeat. 

"Today, in two matches against two very good teams, we did a great job finishing and keeping our composure in high pressure situations. Our energy on and off the court was incredible, and that really helped us stay confident all day."

Hinkle credited all his players on a solid weekend, saying each one stepped up when their number was called. 

Notre Dame travels to Salem, W.Va. on Tuesday, September 11, for matches against Salem University at 3 p.m. and Point Park University at 5 p.m.