PAINESVILLE, Ohio - The Lake Erie volleyball team dropped a pair of matches in its tri-match Saturday afternoon (Oct. 10) against Notre Dame College and Wheeling Jesuit University at Athletic Center Arena.

Notre Dame (12-11) swept the Storm (7-19) in three sets (21-25, 16-25, 18-25). Lake Erie could not stop the attacking tandem of Katie Barbis and Mandy Bastian, who combined for 23 of the 43 kills for the Falcons.

Freshman outside hitter Mary Walter (Solon, Ohio/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) had one of her best matches attacking this season with a .400 hitting percentage and 11 kills on 25 attempts and just one error.  

Sophomore Michelle Naab (North Royalton, Ohio/North Royalton) and freshman Nicole Kunar (Northfield Center, Ohio/Nordonia) had three block assists each to lead the Storm's defensive attack. Freshman libero Paige Baldauf (Marion, Ohio/Marion Pleasant) tallied nine digs.  

The Storm battled in the first set of its second match against Wheeling Jesuit. Lake Erie led 20-19 in the first set, but the Cardinals went on a 6-2 run to close the set, winning 25-21. Wheeling Jesuit won the final two sets, 25-16 and 25-17.  

Senior outside hitter Erica Muniak (Geneva, Ohio/Geneva) led the offensive attack in the second match with nine kills on 29 attempts and a .276 hitting percentage. Walter and Baldauf had nine digs apiece and Kunar tallied three block assists. Sophomore middle hitter Jennifer Laureno (Lyndhurst, Ohio/Brush) notched two block solos and two block assists.  

Angela McNulty and Michelle Bonfich led a balanced offense for the Cardinals, who hit .271 for the match, including a .405 mark in the second set.  

The Storm is off to Lansing, Mich., next weekend for the GLIAC/GLVC Crossover tournament where the team will play three matches against Great Lakes Valley Conference opponents. The Storm will join the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference next season.  

In the middle match of the tri-match, Wheeling Jesuit topped Notre Dame, 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-12).