SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The 2019 Notre Dame College volleyball team has reminded everyone throughout this season to expect the unexpected. On Tuesday night, the Falcons made a "big statement" with a comeback victory over West Liberty University, winning the final three sets in a 3-2 win.

To win three consecutive sets after falling down 0-2 has not been accomplished by NDC since September 6, 2017 against John Carroll University. Tonight was also NDC's first win over West Liberty since September 20, 2016. The Falcons had lost six straight matches to WLU.

"This feels amazing," head coach Travis Hinkle said, after the match. "To see those girls play for each other and play for the team and the heart they showed, I couldn't be prouder. West Liberty has turned into an elite program and we just made a really big statement to the conference, that we're getting there."

The momentum might have started hours before the game, when senior Natalie Spadaro received a text from Hinkle.

"Coach texted me this morning, telling me that he needed me to play good and I told him that I would do it for him," Spadaro said. "The adrenaline from telling him that I was going to play well helped me to play to my full capability."

West Liberty jumped out to a 2-0 match lead, winning 25-18 in the first set and 25-20 in the second set. The Hilltoppers, who swept the Falcons earlier this season, looked sharp hitting for a percentage of .289 in the first and .140 in the second with 14 kills in each set.

The feeling began to change late in the third set. West Liberty jumped out to a 6-3 lead, before NDC tied the set at six. Later, with WLU leading 13-12, Notre Dame went on a 6-2 run to take a three point lead. The Hilltoppers then grabbed the lead right back with four consecutive points. A Notre Dame service error pushed the home team to the edge, as West Liberty had match point, leading 24-23. However, two Hilltopper attack errors and a kill by senior Lauren Toman gave NDC a 26-24 win.

"I think we showed that we had more energy than West Liberty did [in the final three sets], so that energy never fell," Spadaro said. "In the first two sets, the energy wasn't there and we definitely picked it up."

"We made some adjustments [in the fourth and fifth set], and everyone came in and did their part," Hinkle said. "Everyone played for each other. Nobody played scared. They played like we do in practice every day. When you come in and make adjustments and pull off a win, that tells your team that they are dynamic. A team that can do different things, they make it a little more special."

Early in the fourth set, the teams traded the lead back and forth four times. But once NDC grabbed a 15-14 lead, the Falcons never gave that lead up and never even allowed the Hilltoppers to tie the set. The Falcons won 25-21, posting a .316 hit percentage and a game-high 14 kills.

Throughout the first half of the fifth set, it seemed the game was either tied or West Liberty would be taking a quick lead. The Falcons trailed 9-7, before closing out the set with an 8-3 run to win 15-12. NDC held a .286 hit percentage and only committed two attack errors.

"I have a lot of really proud coaching moments, but this might be number one… In the past, we've played not to lose, but today, we played to win," Hinkle mentioned. "We took big shots, we didn't let the ball hit the ground, we stayed aggressive. I think that was the biggest difference in the Davis & Elkins game a couple weeks ago. We played to win."

Notre Dame now has 20 wins on the season, which is the most since they won 21 games in 2007. Their nine home wins is the highest mark in Murphy Gymnasium since 2016.

Spadaro finished the match with a season-high 16 kills, including six in the second set. She also had a season-high 18.5 points along with five blocks. After being limited to just 11 sets played last season due to injury, she feels like she is back to form.

"It feels really good," Spadaro said. "It stunk not playing last year, so I'm starting to finally get back in my groove from freshman and sophomore year."

Along with Spadaro, the senior class stepped up. Mary Kate McHugh, who was honored before the game for reaching 1500 career kills, had 15 kills, three aces, 13 digs and three blocks. Erin Daugherty had a season-high seven kills, as well. Paige Staudacher gave NDC 39 assists and 17 digs. Laura Krupar gave the Falcons 11 assists, her second highest amount this season. Alexandra Kaeberlein helped out with 28 digs.

Next up, NDC will travel to Columbus to battle Ohio Dominican University on November 8. The match is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.