SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – The West Liberty University volleyball team remained unbeaten in Mountain East Conference play here Tuesday night with a 3-2 win against upset-minded Notre Dame at Murphy Gymnasium.
    Coach Kayla Mull's Hilltoppers (12-3, 3-0) were on the comeback trail from the start as the host Falcons (6-8, 0-1) opened the match with a 25-18 win in the first set. West Liberty evened the match with a 25-19 verdict in the second set but the hosts put WLU on upset alert with a dominant 25-14 blowout in the third set.
    The Hilltoppers trailed for much of the fourth set but reeled off four straight points to rally from a 23-21 deficit and force a fifth and deciding set. The Falcons jumped out to another early lead but West Liberty refused to fold and walked out a winner with a 15-11 nod.
    It took a balanced attack for the Black and Gold to break through against the defensive-minded hosts, who were charted with 14.0 blocks on the night. Stephanie Leonard, Raimey Benson and Madison Clayton had 10 kills each for WLU with Leonard also collecting a team-high 6 blocks.
    Freshman Abbi Gillson added 9 kills while Kendall Souder posted a double-double with 27 assists and 13 digs. Renee Lemke just missed a double-double with 16 assists and 8 digs while Kailee Cunningham led all players with 26 digs.
    The Hilltoppers return to MEC action on Friday when they travel to Urbana to take on a red-hot Blue Knights squad that is riding a 10-match winning streak. First serve is set for 6 p.m. at the Grimes Center.