This Week: The Notre Dame College volleyball team heads to the Mountain East Conference tournament for the sixth consecutive season, as the Falcons will face West Virginia State University in Institute, W.Va. on Thursday Nov. 16 at 5 p.m.
 
MEC Tournament: NDC and WV State line up in the quarterfinals as the No. 4 seed in the MEC North Division and No. 1 in the MEC South Division, respectively. The other quarterfinal match-ups are No. 2S Charleston against No. 3N Fairmont State at noon. Followed by No. 1N Wheeling vs. No. 4S Frostburg State at 2:30 p.m. NDC and WV State play at 5 p.m., before No. 2N West Liberty play No. 3S Concord at 7:30 p.m. to round out the evening.
 
On Friday Nov. 17, the winner of NDC/WVSU takes on the winner of WLU/CU at 5 p.m. in the semifinal round. At 7:30 p.m. the winners of UC/FSU and WU/FSU will square off in the other semifinal.
 
The MEC Championship game is set for Saturday Nov. 18 at 5 p.m. with the winners of each semifinal.

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Coaches Corner: Erica Kostelac is in her first season as head coach of the Notre Dame College volleyball program. Hillary Hurley is also in her first season at the helm of WV State.
 
Rankings: Neither team is ranked according to the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll.
 
Series History: NDC is 4-8 all-time against WV State, dating back to their first meeting in 2013 and including the Yellow Jackets straight set victory in Institute, W.Va. back on Oct. 20. The match was tight despite the sweep, 25-21, 25-23, 25-22.
 
Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame College carries momentum into the MEC Tournament, following a program-defining five-set win over Wheeling on Senior Night. Lilliana Mook enjoyed a career-day touting a career-high 18 kills and 14 digs. The win snapped WU's 13-match unbeaten streak which stretched 38 consecutive sets won. Moreover, the win marks the first for the Falcons over the Cardinals in program history.
 
Freshman Sydney Bray headlines the Notre Dame College offense, recently becoming the first player in program history to be named the MEC Freshman of the Year. Bray also claimed First Team All-MEC honors, the second Falcon to ever earn the award, and first since 2019. The Woodstock, Ga. native powers NDC with 3.85 kills per set, leading the team and the Mountain East Conference, while ranking 29^th in NCAA Division II. The Etowah High School product posts 4.54 points per set, the top mark on the team and in the MEC, while being 23^rd in DII.
 
Notre Dame adds two more All-MEC performers in juniors Samantha Comer and Jayme Zoeckler. Comer is second on the team with 235 kills at 3.09 kills per set, ranking 10^th in the MEC. Zoeckler facilitates the NDC offense with 857 assists, at 9.56 assists per set, ranking second in the MEC. The Trinity High School product is seated fourth in the MEC with 0.44 aces per set.
 
Mook (159), Kelsie Palmer (126) and Diamond Baker (98) offer additional offensive support, ranking third, fourth and fifth, respectively, on the team in kills.
 
Defensively, libero Kiley Kalina ranks atop the team and sixth in the conference with 3.89 digs per set, totaling 342 on the year. Bray (245), Zoeckler (217), Comer (178) and Mook (100) aid Kalina in the backline. At the net, Palmer (52), Bray (49) and Baker (47) are the Falcons leaders in blocks.
 
As a team, Notre Dame averages 12.1 kills per set on a .179 attack percentage, to go along with 11.4 assists per set, 15.3 digs per set, 1.7 aces per set and 1.7 blocks per set.
 
Noting the Yellow Jackets: West Virginia State enters the week on a 10-match unbeaten streak, last falling to Charleston in four sets on Oct. 10. On Monday, the Yellow Jackets bested WV Wesleyan in straight sets, before grabbing revenge over the Golden Eagles in five sets on Thursday. Diamond'Nique Young led the team on both occasions with 11 and 20 kills, respectively.
 
WV State deploys a quality attack, led by the one-two punch of Young (3.65) and Jacklyn Simms (3.49) who rank fourth and sixth in the MEC in kills per set. The duo is also top 10 (4^th and 9^th) in the league in attack percentage at .317 and .278, respectively. However, teammate Baby Moleni owns a team-best .340 hit percentage, third in the MEC. Moleni (2.32) and Kaitlyn Cabral (2.48) also tout marks north of 2.00 kills per set.
 
Kiersten Eggleton is the team's primary setter, with 711 assists at 8.27 assists per set, fifth in the MEC. In addition, Eggleton is tied sixth in the conference at 0.41 aces per set.
 
Four players post north of 200 digs in Alex Darby (267), Ashlynne Davis (236), Cabral (210) and Simms (203). Darby anchors the team at 4.24 digs per set, ranking sixth in the league.
 
At the net, the Yellow Jackets post a significant threat as three players rank inside the top 10 in the conference in blocks per set. Natalie Beer (1.26) leads the MEC, as Young (0.98) and Valencia Wilder (0.90) are fifth and ninth, respectively.
 
As a whole, West Virginia State averages 13.8 kills per set on a .274 attack percentage, to go along with 12.5 assists per set, 15.4 digs per set, 1.9 aces per set and 2.3 blocks per set. Amongst NCAA Division II, the Yellow Jackets rank t-7^th in attack percentage, 20^th in kills per set, 26^th in blocks per set and 27^th in assists per set.