WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University volleyball team dropped a hard-fought 3-2 decision to Notre Dame (Ohio) in a mutual Mountain East Conference opener that stretched well past the 2 1/2-hour mark Tuesday night inside the ASRC.
    Coach Riley Schenk's Hilltoppers (9-8, 0-1) came out strong, coasting to a 25-20 win in the opening set and following that up with a marathon 30-28 win in the second set to take a commanding 2-0 lead.
    The visiting Falcons (10-6, 1-0) refused to fold, battling back to knot the match with back-to-back 25-22 wins. West Liberty opened up a 14-11 lead late in the fifth set but Notre Dame fought off three straight match points to stay alive and went on to complete the comeback with an 18-16 decision.
    The Hilltoppers' Nina Billotto had a strong match with 18 kills and 9 blocks while hitting at a .341 clip. Maddie Clayton added 10 kills, 4 blocks and a service ace while Kirsten Bogunovich charted a double-double with 44 assists and a dozen digs to go along with 4 blocks.
    Katelynn Fritz added 7 kills, 22 digs and a pair of blocks and Jenna Caskey chipped in with 24 digs and 2 service aces. Nyia Setla led WLU with 37 digs while Laura Gamel picked up a double-double with 11 assists and 13 digs.
    The Black and Gold hit the road on Friday for a 7 p.m. match at Alderson Broaddus.