INSTITUTE, W.Va. – Upon making the Mountain East Tournament for the sixth consecutive season, the Notre Dame College volleyball team (10-15) matched up against the top-seed and host, West Virginia State University (25-4). The Falcons fought valiantly, including coming from behind to take the first set, before falling the Yellow Jackets, 3-1.
 
In the first set, WV State jumped out to a 7-2 lead, before Notre Dame produced the next four points to pull within one (7-6). Following another 4-0 run, MEC Freshman of the Year Sydney Bray gifted the Falcons a 14-13 edge with a kill. The two sides dueled back and forth until junior Samantha Comer produced three kills in crunch time to push NDC over the first set finish line, 25-22.
 
Once again, in the second set WV State opened an early lead, this time at 8-2. Four quick points, including back-to-back service aces by junior Kiley Kalina clawed the Falcons to within one. Next, Bray knotted the contest at 9-9 with one of her career-high five aces on the evening. However, WVSU put together a 14-4 run to take control of the stanza, 23-13. Despite a late 8-1 run by the Falcons, the Yellow Jackets took the second set 25-21.
 
WV State carried the momentum into the third set, amassing another 8-2 lead. Next, freshman Lilliana Mook responded for NDC to cap off a 4-0 spurt with a pair of kills (8-6 WV State). Both sides would then exchange 5-0 runs as the scoreboard read 14-12. The two teams continued to jostled back-and-forth with Bray and Comer tallying kills for Notre Dame (19-17 WV State). Despite action from both camps, the Yellow Jackets mounted a pivotal 6-3 run to take the third set 25-20.
 
West Virginia State added onto their lead in set four, moving ahead 11-1, before taking the contest 25-10.
 
Notre Dame was led on offense by Comer's team-high 12 kills, alongside a trio of freshman in Bray (8), Mook (6) and Diamond Baker (6). Junior Jayme Zoeckler set up the Falcons with a game-high 31 assists.
 
Defensively, Kalina registered a team-high 22 digs, alongside Comer with 15, Bray with 14 and Zoeckler with 12. Both Comer (6) and Zoeckler (12) post double-doubles with the performance. At the net, Comer swatted a team-best three Yellow Jacket attacks.
 
As a team, Notre Dame totaled 40 kills on a .012 attack percentage, to go with 36 assists, 76 digs, eight aces and five blocks.
 
The Notre Dame College volleyball team heads into the off-season as the 2023-24 campaign which had several program-defining moments comes to a close under first-year head coach Erica Kostelac. NDC was .500 or better inside the MEC for the second consecutive year, the first time since 2018-19. Sydney Bray became the first player in program history to earn the MEC Freshman of the Year award, and second Falcon to pick up First Team All-MEC honors. Notre Dame bested Wheeling 3-2 on Senior Night, for the first time in program history, as well as numerous match, season and career records were rewrote.