FROSTBURG, MD – A close five-set affair on Friday evening between the Notre Dame College volleyball team (8-14, 6-7 MEC) and Frostburg State University (15-13, 5-7 MEC), led to a career-high 14 kills from Lilliana Mook and season-high 28 digs by Kiley Kalina. However, the Falcons fell 3-2 in the match.
 
Frostburg State jumped out to an early 16-6 lead before Notre Dame claimed six of eight points to pull the score to 18-12. FSU closed out the first set with the last four points, 25-15.
 
NDC rebounded with an early 4-1 lead in set two as Jayme Zoeckler picked up back-to-back aces. FSU quickly tied the contest at 5-5 before the two sides dueled to a 14-13 Bobcat lead. The Falcons then secured nine of the next 12 points as freshmen Sydney Bray and Diamond Baker produced a pair of kills each (22-17 NDC). Notre Dame ended the second set with kills by Mook and Kelsie Palmer, 25-22.
 
Frostburg State claimed the first five points of the third set, before Notre Dame rattled off a 6-1 spurt, tying the frame at 11-11. NDC held a narrow 17-16 edge until FSU produced five straight points to lead 21-17. Next, the Falcons bounced back with a 5-1 run to knot the match up at 22-22. However, FSU stole the final three points in the stanza, 25-22.
 
Grace Smotek and Notre Dame opened the fourth set ahead 14-9, as the junior served up a pair of aces during a 4-0 run. NDC moved in front 19-12 before FSU cut the Falcon advantage to one (20-19). Needing to win this set, Notre Dame anchored down to claim five of the final six points, punctuated by a Palmer kill, 25-20.
 
In the fifth set, Frostburg State took an 8-4 lead before Mook generated a mini 3-0 NDC run on back-to-back kills, trimming the Bobcat advantage to one (8-7). FSU quickly retook an 11-7 edge, as Notre Dame once again clawed the contest back to 12-10. Despite the battle, Frostburg State took the final three points, 15-10.
 
As aforementioned, Mook paced the NDC offense with a career-high 14 kills, alongside Bray with 14 and Samantha Comer with 11. Zoeckler set up a game-high 43 assists, as the Trinity High School product becomes the fifth player in program history to eclipse 2,000 career assists. The Northfield, Ohio native surpassed Kate Verhoff (1,994) from 2008-09 for the fifth-most assists in NDC program history.
 
Defensively, libero Kiley Kalina grabbed a game-high and season-high 28 digs, as Bray (16) and Zoeckler (15) registered their team-leading 10^th double-double each this season.
 
As a team, Notre Dame owned 56 kills on a .145 attack percentage, to go along with 53 assists, 91 digs, eight aces and six blocks. Frostburg State posted 44 kills on a .129 attack percentage, to go along with 38 assists, 66 digs, 16 aces and 12 blocks.
 
The Notre Dame College volleyball team will be back in action tomorrow, Saturday Nov. 4 at noon at Salem University.