ASHLAND, Ohio – The Notre Dame College Falcons volleyball program opened up their season with a double-header at the Ashland Invitational, on Friday. NDC swept Felician University in the first game of the double-header as Paige Staudacher added 42 assists. That number tied the Notre Dame record and is the most since the move to NCAA Division II. And then after winning the first set of game two, Ashland University came back to win, 3-1.

In the first set against Felician, five different players had at least one kill while sophomore Katie Richardson and Staudacher each had an ace. The Falcons took an 3-0 advantage but had a battle on their hands as Felician worked back into the contest, grabbing the lead. The Golden Falcons took their largest lead, 13-10, before NDC ripped off the next four points. NDC would expand their lead late with another 4-0 run, using two attack errors and two kills by freshman Kaye Dregalla.

After going back and forth for much of the first set, Notre Dame really started to roll in the second and third sets. In set number two, NDC opened up a 9-4 lead and kept that lead throughout the set. Felician pulled within two points, 21-19, but that was close as they could get after the early Notre Dame run. NDC closed out the set with four consecutive points, winning 25-19.

The third set began with three early lead changes, but NDC never relinquished their lead. Notre Dame won 25-17 to close out the match. The Falcons totaled four aces in the third set, including two in a row by Staudacher.

"In our opener against Felician, I was glad to see us come out and get a sweep with a match so early in the morning," said head coach Travis Hinkle. "Felician is a team that made us work, but Paige did a great job distributing the ball and getting our hitters opportunities to get great matchups. It was great seeing a senior leader in Mary Kate McHugh with her double digit kills, but two other freshmen joining her in their first matches in college."

Staudacher had eight digs to go along with her assists. Senior Alexandra Kaeberlein led the team with 16 digs while sophomore Amelia Kaeberlein finished with 10. Freshmen Kaye Dregalla, Sarah DeGeorge and Blaire Barr teamed up to steal the show. Dregalla led the team with 11 kills, DeGeorge had 10 kills and led the team with 12 points, while Barr ended with seven kills and a hit percentage of .583. McHugh added 10 kills.

"Paige tying the record is a testament of how hard she has worked in the off-season to get better as an all-around player," Hinkle mentioned. "She's more confident and smarter, which makes it easier for her offense to get her kills so she can get a high number of assists."

Notre Dame finished with a hit percentage of .281 against Felician, after averaging a hit percentage of .158 last season. The Falcons led in nearly all major categories, leading the Golden Falcons in points, kills, aces, blocks and assists.

For Felician, Maddie Sloan led the team with nine kills while Miquela Martinez had 22 assists and 17 digs.

Fresh off their win in the morning, NDC put the first five points on the scoreboard in game two. Ashland would make it a two point game, 5-3, but after that point, NDC maintained at least a three point lead. Early in the set, Notre Dame took advantage of Ashland shaking the rust off. Five of Notre Dame's first seven points came via service error or attack error. In total, Notre Dame had 16 kills and defeated the host Ashland in the first set, 25-20.

NDC jumped out to an early lead in the second set, as well. They led 9-8 before the Eagles rattled off six straight points. The Falcons would come back to tie the game at 18, 19, 20 and 21 before Ashland closed out the set.

The Falcons again took a lead in the third set, leading 11-10 at one point. Ashland closed out a Notre Dame run and put together a 15-7 run of their own. The Eagles won the set, 25-18. In the fourth set, AU jumped ahead early and won 25-13.

"Even though we didn't get a win against Ashland, we really have shown where we have improved after playing them in scrimmages in the Spring and just again a couple of weeks ago," Hinkle said. "We came out on fire, but that was brought from the energy of the bench, which carried on the court. Our defense did their part, but when you play a Top-40 program in Ashland, you can't afford to make too many mistakes, and our youth showed the last two sets. We will grow from this and get ready for two big matches against in-region opponents tomorrow morning."

DeGeorge had a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs while Dregalla also recorded 11 kills. Staudacher added 24 assists while junior Laura Krupar had 17, a new career-high. On defense, both Staudacher and Krupar had 10 digs, as five Falcons had double-digit digs. Junior Alexandra Kaeberlein led the team with 25 digs.

Ashland had four players reach double-digit kills with Brooke Peiffer leading the way with 19. She also had 12 digs. Zoey Peck finished with 55 assists. Mckinley Smith led the team with 24 digs.

Tomorrow, the Falcons will battle Bloomsburg University at 9 am and then California University of Pa. at 11 a.m.