WHEELING, W.Va. – The Notre Dame College volleyball team (3-10, 2-3 MEC) ran into Wheeling University (10-7, 3-1 MEC) on the road on Friday evening, falling in straight sets. Freshman
Sydney Bray turned in a record-setting performance with 23 kills, the most in a three-set match in NDC program history.
The contest started with a 6-6 tie after back-to-back points from Bray and
Kelsie Palmer. Later in the set, Wheeling opened a 17-11 lead following a 7-2 run. The Falcons pulled the frame back to 20-18 WU, but the Cardinals polished off the set 25-22.
NDC started off the second set up 5-3, before Wheeling put together a 10-1 run to lead 13-6. Once again, Notre Dame battled back, clawing the frame back to 20-18 WU after an exchange of kills from Bray and
Grace Smotek. Despite 10 kills in the second set by Bray, the Falcons surrendered set two 25-21.
The third set begin with back-and-forth action as the scoreboard read 10-8 WU. However, Wheeling strung together 13 of the next 18 points to leap in front 23-13, before winning 25-17.
As aforementioned, Bray carried the Notre Dame College offense on the day, registering a game-high 23 kills on a career-high .474 attack percentage. The freshman from Woodstock, Ga. continues to rewrite the NDC record book by posting the most kills in a three-set match in program history, besting Melissa Maczuzak's 22-kill performance on Oct. 28, 2017 against West Virginia State.
Samantha Comer (6) and Smotek (4) added kills for NDC, as
Jayme Zoeckler dished out a team-high 36 assists for the offense.
Defensively, freshman
Shay Monahan tallied a game-high and career-high 14 digs, alongside Bray's double-double performance with 10. At the net, freshman
Diamond Baker tied a career-high with four blocks, as Bray and Palmer added three apiece.
As a team, Notre Dame posted 42 kills on a .148 attack percentage, to go with 41 assists, 43 digs, three aces and seven blocks. Wheeling flashed 44 kills on a .292 attack percentage, to go with 44 assists, 53 digs, four aces and seven blocks.
The Notre Dame College volleyball team will be back in action on Tuesday Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. when the Falcons welcome Salem University into Murphy Gymnasium for a non-conference bout.
