Home cookin'
Falcons ace Streaks in home opener

Julia Szabo lead NDC with 13 kills in their win against JCU

SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The Notre Dame Volleyball team snapped a two game losing streak with a 3-0 victory over cross-town rival John Carroll University. The Falcons are now 2-4 on the season and the Bluestreaks dropped to 3-2.

After a slow start of trading points back and forth in the first game, Katie Barbis (So/Mentor, OH) made a kill to finally get the Falcons up 12-10 and there was no looking back. While John Carroll rallied numerous times, NDC was able to pull ahead to secure the first game win. In addition to a strong defensive effort, Barbis, Julia Szabo (Sr/Lorain, OH) and Leslie Rodriguez (Sr/Pecos, TX) combined for 13 of 17 Falcon kills in game to give them the 30-25 score.

Game two proved to be another chance to showcase more power hitting for the Falcons as Barbis and Szabo provided eleven kills between the two. Barbis not only helped with the Falcon scoring but also played a huge role in the stifling backcourt in game two. Barbis, Debbie Beatty (Sr/Massillon, OH) and Holli Reyna (Sr/Amarillo, TX) tallied sixteen digs.

In what would be the final game of the evening, both teams saw a total of nine ties before the Falcons broke free after a 28-28 deadlock. Both teams exchanged hits and blocks for a lot of back and forth play but in the end the Falcons were able to secure the game point for the sweep.

Szabo finished the day with a team high 13 kills. Defensively, Beatty and Reyna finished with 18 and 19 digs, respectively.

“I think it was a great game. John Carroll always presents a challenge and I was proud with the way we were able to rally and stay in the game. There was a lot of great work on the court tonight both offensively and defense,” Head Coach Mark Ridley said.

The Falcons head to central New York on Friday, Sept. 6 to participate in the Houghton College Invitational where they will face Pikeville (KY), Faulkner (AL) and tournament host Houghton College.