PAINESVILLE, Ohio – Notre Dame College volleyball grabs it's seventh win in their first ten matches this season with a 3-1 victory over Lake Erie College on Tuesday evening. The win moves NDC to 7-3 and drops LEC to 2-6.
The first set saw NDC in command the entire time and was polished off by a
Grace Smotek service ace to win 25-18. Set two was much of the same for Notre Dame with a 25-20 set victory, once again ended by Smotek, this time via the kill. The Storm fought hard grabbing back set three 20-25. In response, the Falcons ensured the match ended in four sets with a decisive 25-14 victory.
On offense,
Kaye Dregalla stood out tonight for NDC with a team and season-high 16 kills. Smotek (9),
Kelsie Palmer (9) and
Blaire Barr (7) were the other key contributors for the Falcon attack. Setters
Jayme Zoeckler and
McKenzie Andrix positioned the Falcon attack perfectly with 23 and 17 assists, respectively.
On the defensive side, the former MEC Defensive Player of the Week
Amelia Kaeberlein, paced the game with a match-high 20 digs. Smotek (14), Dregalla (13), Andrix (9) and Zoeckler (8) added several digs of their own to ensure the Storm steer clear of the scoreboard. In addition, Dregalla and
Carli Derda blocked two balls each, with Palmer and
Katie Richardson stuffing one apiece.
In total, NDC posted better numbers than LEC. On offense, NDC recorded 162 attacks, converting that into 51 kills (.185 hit percentage), while LEC saw 144 attack opportunities and 41 kills (.146 hit percentage). In addition, the Falcons facilitated 47 assists to the Storm's 38 and they snagged six more service aces than the team in green. The defensive side saw Lake Erie post slightly inflated numbers due to the repeated pressure from the Notre Dame attack. In comparison, Lake Erie had 78 digs to Notre Dame's 71, while also out blocking the Falcons by one.
Notre Dame College volleyball will be back in action for the MEC/PSAC Crossover hosted by West Liberty on Friday and Saturday Sept. 17 and 18. The Falcons will play four matches over the weekend with the first match scheduled for 3 p.m. this Friday against Millersville University.
