WHEELING, W.Va. – Notre Dame College's historic season came to an end on Thursday afternoon, in a 3-1 loss to West Virginia State University in the first round of the Mountain East Conference Tournament. The Falcons did win the second set today, which marked their first set victory since the 2013 conference tournament.

The volleyball program ends their season with a program record number of total wins (23), MEC wins (9) and home wins (10).

"This season has been unforgettable and it's because of the 21 players who work hard everyday at practice," said head coach Travis Hinkle.

Notre Dame came into the game as the sixth seed in the MEC, while West Virginia State was No. 3 in the bracket. To start the match, NDC took an early lead using a 5-1 run. Still trailing by two points, 10-8, WVSU put three consecutive points on the scoreboard to take the lead. However, the Falcons responded with a 4-0 run to grab the lead back at 14-11.

With Notre Dame leading, 16-14, W.Va. State scored eight of the next ten points to take a four point lead of their own, 22-18. That would be enough momentum for the Yellow Jackets to pull away for a 25-20 win.

West Virginia State totaled six blocks in the first set, and would finish the game with 15. That was a major factor in the game.

"They have two very large middles, so they put up a big block, which makes it harder on us, offensively, to work around them," said senior Mary Kate McHugh.

"We made a lot of adjustments for our middle backs and they [West Virginia State] were seeing where we weren't. They were scoring and taking advantage of when our block wasn't there," freshman Sarah DeGeorge said.

The Falcons were in control for much of the second set. Once again, they jumped out to a big lead using separate 5-0 and 6-1 runs to grab an 11-7 advantage. The Yellow Jackets had three attack errors and a service error during the Falcons early runs. After that initial lead, West Virginia State only tied the game, but could not take the lead. NDC won 25-20, with a hit percentage of .213. Their defense limited the Yellow Jackets to a .061 hit percentage.

Both defenses did a good job of limiting opportunities all game, as West Virginia State ended the game with a .171 hit percentage and NDC finished at .119.

"For us, we're a defensive first team, we're going to get a touch on every ball," Hinkle explained. "We're not going to let you score easy points and we're going to make you work. But, West Virginia State is the same way, they don't let balls die."

The third set was competitive early, with the two teams tying the game seven times. NDC would fall down by as many as six points, but worked their way back to make it a two point difference, 21-19. West Virginia State closed it out with two consecutive kills in a 25-21 win.

"We fought every set, but [West Virginia State] went on a few runs on us," Hinkle said. "They went on the last run in three of the four sets."

The Yellow Jackets held a .395 hit percentage in the fourth set, committing just one attack error. NDC kept the pressure on West Virginia State, until the Yellow Jackets went on a 6-0 run which opened up a 16-10 advantage. The Falcons battled back, once again, to draw within two points, but a 5-1 run closed out the set, and WVSU won, 25-19.

"I think both teams played their hearts out," Hinkle mentioned. "It was a very competitive, defensive match. Congratulations to West Virginia State, they played a great match today."

NDC's McHugh led the way with 20 kills, which is tied for 10th most in NDC program history in a four-set match. She also had a hit percentage of .263 and totaled 15 digs. Freshman Sarah DeGeorge had nine kills to go along with a season-high 24 digs. Senior Alexandra Kaeberlein joined her at the top of the squad in digs with 24 of her own. With that total, Kaeberlein reached 2,500 for her career. Senior Paige Staudacher added 42 assists and 10 digs. Notre Dame totaled 94 digs, which is tied for eighth most in a four-set match.

The coach reflected on this season and the team that he calls family.

"I was so proud of how our seniors welcomed our freshmen," Hinkle said. "Also, my freshmen were quick to adapt. We started the season very fast. We got a few wins and started rolling. Then we had some slumps, but we always pushed through and we always persevered. Reflecting on the season, we broke all these records and we had three seniors who have milestone after milestone. That's a testament to them."

The team says goodbye to nine seniors. The senior class exits with a combined 68-67 record over their four seasons with the Falcons, along with 29 conference victories. In the four years prior to their freshman campaign in 2016, the program won a combined 24 games.

"My seniors built the foundation for this program," Hinkle said. "When I came in, less than two years ago, I knew this team was special when I met them. [The seniors] are leaving this program, after helping to make Notre Dame volleyball very competitive in the Mountain East."

McHugh holds the program record in kills, Staudacher holds the program record in assists and Alexandra Kaeberlein holds the program record in digs. At the moment, Kaeberlein is also the all-time digs leader in MEC history.