This week: For the second time this season and the first time since September 10, Notre Dame College volleyball will play in Murphy Gymnasium as they take on Fairmont State University, September 27, at 6 p.m. The Falcons then host a tri-match on September 28. NDC will play Frostburg State University at 12 p.m. and Salem University at 4 p.m.

Records: Notre Dame is 9-4, and their first conference matchup of the season will take place on Friday. Fairmont State is 6-6, Frostburg State holds a record of 6-3 and Salem is currently 0-16.

Coaches Corner: Travis Hinkle is in his second season as head coach at Notre Dame and has a record of 25-21. Courtney Materazzi holds a record of 110-63 (56-24 MEC) in six campaigns with Fairmont State. Becky Fletcher is in her ninth season at Frostburg State with 102 wins, while Ashley Ziegle is in her third season as head coach at Salem.

Rankings: None of the teams are ranked in the AVCA Coaches Poll.

Series History: Since 2011, Notre Dame has a record of 3-13 against Fairmont State and since 2017, the Falcons are 4-0 against Salem, which includes a 3-0 win earlier this season. Saturday's matchup will be the first between Frostburg State and Notre Dame.

Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame went 1-3 in the Atlantic Region Crossover last weekend. They swept Slippery Rock, but fell to Shippensburg, Mercyhurst and Clarion. Alexandra Kaeberlein broke the NDC three set record with 31 digs against Slippery Rock University. That same game, Notre Dame broke the program record with 90 digs. Kaeberlein ranks ninth in NCAA Division II in total digs with 259 digs and 16th in digs per set with 5.89. Paige Staudacher also is 19th in DII with 439 assists. Kaye Dregalla leads the squad with 126 kills, while Mary Kate McHugh is not far behind with 116. Notre Dame's defense has been very strong ranking seventh in the nation in team digs (880) and tenth in digs per set (19.56). They rank first in both of those categories in the MEC. They also lead the conference in aces (87) and aces per set (1.93). They rank second in the conference with assists per set (12.31), hit percentage (.223), kills per set (13.09).

Noting the Fighting Falcons: Fairmont State is coming off a 2-2 week. They were also at the Atlantic Region Crossover last weekend, defeating Mercyhurst and Shippensburg, while falling to Clarion and Slippery Rock. Rebecca Feeney is first in the conference with a .369 hit percentage. She leads the team with 131 kills and 2.73 kills per set. Lilianna Keber has 21 aces, which is at the top of the MEC and she has 254 assists, which leads the team. Julia DiPaola has 160 digs on the season, while Feeney leads the team in blocks with 49, which is 22 more than anyone else on the team. Fairmont State has found success with their blocks. They rank third in the MEC with 87 blocks and blocks per set with 1.86.

Noting the Bobcats: After starting the season 4-0, Frostburg State has gone 2-3. Between last weekend and this week, the Bobcats went 2-2, as they defeated Chaflin University and Bowie State by a combined score of 6-1. Their sweep of Bowie State on Tuesday was the Bobcats' second sweep of BSU this season. However, they lost to Chowan University and Paine College, last week. Haley Altemus leads the team with 80 kills, as the team has totaled just 361 on the season. Edwyna Lainez has recorded 226 assists, or 7.29 per set. Defensively, Cori Smothers leads the team with 4.42 digs per game. No one else on the team averages more than 2.6 per set.

Noting the Tigers: Salem has had a very tough start to their season. They have not won a set in any of their games this season. At the Daemen College Tournament last week, the Tigers were swept by Daemen, Lock Haven and Wilmington. This week, Salem has taken on two MEC teams, losing to Davis & Elkins as well as Glenville State.