This week: Notre Dame College volleyball will travel to West Liberty, WV for the MEC/PSAC Crossover. On Friday Sept. 17 NDC will play at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. against Millersville and Slippery Rock Universities. Day two of the crossover will bring Clarion and Bloomsburg University to the table for the Falcons. Those matches are Saturday Sept. 18 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. Lastly and similar to last week, Notre Dame will then play on the following Tuesday Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. on the road against Edinboro University.
 
Record: NDC enters the crossover on a three-game skid but with a healthy 6-3 record overall. Millersville is currently 2-7 and on a six-match losing streak, while also having a match scheduled for this Tuesday. Slippery Rock enters the crossover on a four-match losing streak and are 2-6 overall. Clarion is above the .500 mark at 5-3 and also on a two-match win streak. Bloomsburg has an identical 5-3 record like Clarion, but they enter the weekend winning just their last match. Edinboro is currently undefeated at 4-0 and has only dropped one set in those four matches.
 
Coaches Corner: Hannah Watson and Anthony Mezacapa are in their first season as Co-Head Coach for NDC and they carry a 6-3 record with them. Brian Smith is in his 12^th season as head of the Millersville volleyball program and carries a 164-146 record. For Slippery Rock, Laurie Lokash is in her 38^th season at the helm of their volleyball program. Lokash has 645 career wins and ranks first in PSAC history and 22^nd all-time in NCAA Division II. Jennifer Herron heads the Clarion volleyball team in her 15^th season. She holds the most wins in school history and was also named PSAC west Coach of the Year three times. Her career record is 315-145. Bloomsburg is led by Dan Kreiger who was named the programs first head coach and is in his third season with a record of 16-44. Lastly, for Edinboro is Missy Soboleski in her 16^th season with a 333-188 career record.
 
Rankings: None of these teams are ranked in the AVCA Coaches Poll.
 
Series History: NDC will face Millersville for the first time in program history. Notre Dame is 2-1 all-time against Slippery Rock since 2017, including a 3-0 sweep of the Rock on Sept. 3. The Falcons are 0-2 against Clarion University since their first meeting in 2013. NDC however is an undefeated 2-0 against Bloomsburg since 2018. Lastly, on Tuesday Notre Dame will look for their first win against Edinboro in program history as they are 0-6 since 2012.
 
Noting the Falcons: Last weekend at the Cavalier Invitational NDC saw steep competition, dropping three of four matches. They opened up the invitational with a five-set win against Mercyhurst, their first five set match of the season. Friday afternoon, brought host team Walsh University and they handed the Falcons a four-set loss, their first loss of the season. A tough Daemen College team on Saturday morning gave NDC a quick three-set loss. The weekend wrapped up with a true grind of a match that saw the Falcons go down 0-2 sets but storm back to force a fifth set. Davenport came out on top in the final set to push NDC to a three-game skid.
 
Leading the squad on the attack for the season has been Kelsie Palmer and Kaye Dregalla with 96 and 82 kills, respectively. McKenzie Andrix is the backbone for the attack as the setter has 225 assists in nine matches this year. Amelia Kaeberlein is the leader of the team and the anchor in the backline. The Libero has 203 digs to lead the team and has already set a program record this year with 40 digs in the four-set win over Lock Haven on Sept. 4. Moreover, she was also named to the Cavalier All-Tournament team from this past weekend. At the net, Katie Richardson (22), Carli Derda (19) and Palmer (16) are a wall on the frontline of defense for the Falcons, by leading the team in blocks.
 
Noting the Marauders: Millersville had a tough past weekend in Fort Lauderdale, FL for the NSU Shark Invitational by dropping all four matches. They managed to grab only two sets all weekend, both on Friday in a pair of four-set losses to Findlay and Barton. On Saturday, the Marauders were swept in both matches to Nova Southeastern and Barry University.
 
Caitlyn Callahan and Lauren Lucas lead the team in kills with 85 and 83, respectively. The two attackers are assisted by Emma Ludwig who is by far the team leader in assists with 284 to the next closest teammates 13. On defense, Becca Dalstad is the top player in digs with 118 and Callahan tops the team in blocks with 28. Callahan is the only player with double digit blocks for Millersville. 
 
Noting the Rock: Slippery Rock partook in the Hall of Fame City Challenge in Canton, OH where they dropped all four matches. Their first match was a tight five set loss to Malone University. Their next two matches on Friday evening and Saturday morning ended by way of the sweep to Seton Hill and Fairmont State Universities. Saturday evening marked their final match against Saginaw Valley State. The game ended in a four-set defeat.
 
Chelsie Wheeler (68) and Erica Selfridge (60) head the Rock's attack by posting the two highest kill totals on the team. Logan Whitaker is the facilitator with 191 assists. Kate Lachendro is the top backline player for Slippery Rock with 155 digs on the season. Lastly, Wheeler is also solid on the defensive side with a team-high 24 blocks on the season.
 
Noting the Golden Eagles: Clarion hosted the Clarion University Invitational this past weekend where they won three of four matches. They opened the invitational with a convincing 3-0 sweep of Salem. In match two Northwood handed the Golden Eagles their only loss of the weekend in four sets. Clarion bounced back on Saturday to sweep Tiffin and defeat Lock Haven in four sets.
 
Cassidy Snider is a force that must be kept in check as she leads the Golden Eagles with 110 kills. London Fuller is a key to Snider's success as she has 280 assists on the season. Abigail Selfridge has 154 digs to set the pace on the team. However, Clarion does a lot of their defense at the net. The team has five different players at ten blocks or more on the season, with Lauren Aichinger leading the pack at 27.
 
Noting the Huskies: Last weekend Bloomsburg participated in the California (PA) Vulcan Invitational where they grabbed three of four matches. On Friday they made quick work of West Liberty and California University (PA) by sweeping both teams. The Huskies then dropped the first match on Saturday to Edinboro 1-3. A strong effort in the final match of the weekend earned Bloomsburg a 3-1 win over Frostburg State.
 
On offense, Sydney Buell is the leader in kills for Bloomsburg with 79 and Bryn Stek leads in assists with 136. On defense, Alyssa Cianciulli is the digs leader with 167, while Grace Giza (29), Mia Nicholes (27) and Liz Bopp (24) headline the Huskies frontline by all posting north of 20 blocks on the season.
 
Noting the Fighting Scots: Edinboro is off to a hot start in 2021 with their first action taking place last weekend at the California (PA) Vulcan Invitational. The Fighting Scots dismantled Shippensburg and Frostburg State on Friday by sweeping both competitors. On Saturday, Bloomsburg poised the biggest threat to Edinboro by grabbing the lone set that the Fighting Scots dropped on the weekend, but still losing 3-1. West Liberty was the final opponent on the weekend for Edinboro. They proceeded to sweep the Hilltoppers notching their third sweep in four tries.
 
On offense, Bella Burrelli is the leader through four matches in kills with 46. Abby Monn and Sally Sterkel follow closely behind with 38 and 32 kills apiece. Alicia Eldredge is the lone setter for Edinboro as she has 141 assists. The next closest teammate to Eldredge in assists is Emelia Rowell with four. On defense, the Fighting Scots feature a balanced plan with Eldredge and Monn leading the team with 43 and 42 digs, respectively. Three other Edinboro players post over 30 digs each. At the net Sydnee Jones has a team high 14 blocks.