FROSTBURG, Md. – After setting the program record in single-season wins earlier this week, Notre Dame College has reached another milestone after sweeping Frostburg State University, on Friday evening. For the first time in program history, the Falcons have nine Mountain East Conference wins.

"It's always a good night when the program reaches a new milestone," said head coach Travis Hinkle.

Since joining the MEC, Notre Dame has finished with an 8-8 conference record, twice. This will be their first season, in the NCAA Division II era, with a win percentage over .500 in conference play. The Falcons are currently fifth in the Mountain East Conference standings.

Frostburg State took control early, jumping out to a 7-1 lead in the first set. Notre Dame committed three attack errors during that stretch. NDC then turned things around, with the help of a few Frostburg State mistakes.

Trailing 11-8, still in the first set, Notre Dame's senior Mary Kate McHugh put down a kill, before the Falcons had four straight aces. In all, a 6-0 run gave NDC a 14-11 lead. Later in the set, Frostburg State drew within one point, 18-17, before the Falcons put together a 7-1 run. They won the set, 25-18.

Again in the second set, FSU jumped out to a large lead. The Bobcats pushed the advantage to 15-9 and looked to be in control of the game. But, the Falcons put together a comeback with a 11-5 run, tying the set at 20. NDC scored the final five points of the set, grabbing their first lead since the score was 3-0. The Falcons won by a score of 25-21 and had a .250 hit percentage.

Notre Dame controlled the early portion of the third set, pushing their advantage to eight points, 15-7. A 12-5 run gave Frostburg State the momentum as they trailed by just one, 20-19. The Falcons committed six attack errors during that run. FSU came all the way back to tie the set at 23, but senior Paige Staudacher and sophomore Katie Richardson closed out the set with kills.

"Frostburg made us work for every point tonight, especially when they jumped out to early leads in the first and second sets," Hinkle stated. "We started to get more comfortable with our serve, which made them stay out of system late in each set. It was also great to see Katie Richardson come in and really dominate at the net."

Richardson tied her career-high, and led the Falcons, with 13 kills. She had a .650 hit percentage and 14 points. Staudacher led the team with 42 assists, which ties the program record for a three-set match, and she had six aces, which breaks the program record for a three-set match. McHugh gave NDC 11 kills with a .556 hit percentage. Senior Alexandra Kaeberlein recorded 18 digs. Senior Riley Coleman had 12 digs, which is her first double-digit game since October 15.

Notre Dame's 49 kills is tied for fourth most in a three-set match in NDC history, while their 48 assists is the second highest amount for a three-set match in program history. The Falcons had 75 digs which is tied for fourth most in a three-set match at NDC.

The Falcons did have 20 attack errors, and Hinkle knows there is room for improvement.

"Tonight wasn't our best match, but a win is a win, and now we have to get focused to play Fairmont, who is playing very well right now," coach said.

Tomorrow, NDC closes out the regular season with a match in Fairmont, W.Va., against Fairmont State University. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m.