SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Inside a lively Murphy Gymnasium, the Notre Dame College volleyball team (7-10, 1-0 MEC) continued their excellent play by capturing their fourth consecutive victory to remain undefeated at home this season. The Falcons defeated West Liberty University (10-6, 0-1 MEC) on Tuesday evening, 3-1. The win ensures a 1-0 start to the conference season for Notre Dame for the fourth straight season, including an MEC opening win over WLU each of the last three years.
 
"We told the girls going in that they ranked us fifth and that really put a fire under them," mentioned co-head coach Riley Coleman postgame. "I think we came out and proved everyone wrong. We came out knowing that we had nothing to lose, they were the ones with something to lose. We had a really good game plan going into it and I think everyone executed it nicely… It was a huge win and we are ready to play the rest of the conference."
 
The match started with a back and forth battle which including seven ties, until the scoreboard read 15-15. The Falcons then rattled off a 5-0 run, grabbing a 20-15 lead and the first momentum of the match. Another back and forth sequence would happen as a result of the run, until NDC claimed set one, 25-20 via a Brittany Miller kill. It is worth noting that senior Carli Derda's serve was a key factor to Notre Dame's victory in the first set.
 
Notre Dame carried their momentum into the second set, by grabbing a quick 4-0 lead. West Liberty flipped the script with a 5-0 run to grab the lead 5-4. The Hilltoppers would refuse to relinquish the lead for the remainder of the stanza, 25-18.
 
After dropping the second, Notre Dame geared up and came out firing during the third set, jumping in front 15-4. Again, Derda's serve played a key roll in the Falcon run as NDC also generated nine kills during the stretch. Notre Dame controlled the remainder of the frame as the score was never closer than a nine-point difference. Freshman Ryleigh Ronald secured the third set with a kill (25-14).
 
The Falcons used the same energy from set three to begin the final set of play. NDC jolted out to a 15-3 lead as junior Kelsie Palmer produced four kills during the run. Notre Dame held a 19-8 advantage before the Hilltoppers started to gain some traction. WLU tallied a 5-0 and 6-0 run in the latter half of the set to wind up within with two points of NDC (24-22). Despite a surge from West Liberty, Notre Dame's Palmer put the finishing touches on an electric victory inside Murphy Gymnasium.
 
"I think being ranked low within the conference already lit a fire under us," exclaimed Ronald after her big game. "Then coming out and beating West Liberty in four sets, it is definitely going to be a good push going into the rest of conference this year."
 
The Notre Dame offense was led by senior Kaye Dregalla's game-high 17 kills, tying her season-best. Palmer added 13 kills to contribute to the attack. Sophomore Jayme Zoeckler facilitated a game-high 40 assists for the NDC attack.
 
Defensively, NDC featured a balanced effort from sophomore Kiley Kalina (18), Zoeckler (14) and sophomore Grace Smotek (11) who all posted double digit digs. At the net, Ronald sent back a career-high seven WLU attacks to lead the game.
 
Notre Dame generated 52 kills on a .222 hit percentage to go with, 51 assists, 67 digs, nine blocks and eight service aces.
 
"I think the most important thing for this game was they played together as a team, rooting for each other. They showed they can do a great job doing that," stated co-head coach Kathleen Egan. "For the rest of the season, if they continue to play for each other and play together, then they will have a very successful season."
 
The Notre Dame College volleyball team will be back in action on Friday Sept. 20 at 3 p.m. on the road against Fairmont State University.