NDC downed by Mt. Vernon, out of race for AMC playoffs
MOUNT VERNON, Ohio -- The Lady Cougars of Mount Vernon Nazarene University won their ninth consecutive match on Thursday night, topping Notre Dame, 3-0 (25-11, 25-22, 25-21), in what was the Falcons’ final American Mideast Conference match of the season. (
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The loss for Notre Dame (16-15, 5-7 AMC) comes after the Falcons had won four straight matches, including a pair of AMC contests, to put themselves mathematically in the race for one of the league’s six postseason berths. The home-court victory for the Lady Cougars halts that run and officially ends and chance for NDC to eke into the conference’s postseason tournament. The Falcons were in ninth place heading into the match with the circuit’s second-place squad, Mount Vernon Nazarene (29-7, 9-2).
MVNU outhit Notre Dame in the match, .271 to .168, and the Lady Cougars kept the Falcons off balance with eight service aces. Individually, senior
Jessica Parks led NDC in kills, with eight. No Falcon player managed 10 points on the night;
Jessica Suvak led the squad with nine points (7K-0 SA-2B).
Mandy Bastian had a team-high 15 digs.
For the Lady Cougars, Jackie Albrecht had a dominant match. The 5-foot-10 middle hitter garnered 20.5 points (16-4-0.5) and 12 digs over the three sets.
MVNU’s win over the Falcons marks their second this season - the Lady Cougars defeated NDC, 3-0, in a match on Aug. 22. Mount Vernon, a perennial contender for the AMC title, has been dominant in their series with Notre Dame. The Lady Cougars are 14-0 against the Falcons since 1999.
For Notre Dame, the shutout loss snaps what was a four-match win streak, with all four victories coming in straight sets. NDC is now 11-5 this season in three-set matches.
The Falcons’ final two matches will be non-conference affairs; the first of those will be on Tuesday, Nov. 3, when NDC visits Case Western Reserve. First serve in that tilt is slated for 7 p.m.