Box Score La Plume, Pa.  --  The Notre Dame of Maryland University volleyball team took Keystone College to an extended fifth set, but ultimately fell to the Giants 3-2 in the first round of the Colonial States Athletic Conference Playoffs.  

The sixth seed Gators captured the first set 25-21, but dropped the next two sets 19-25 and 25-27.  They then rebounded to capture the fourth set 25-21 to send it to a fifth set.  In the deciding set, Notre Dame jumped out to a 6-2 lead, but Keystone responded to make it 7-6 when Notre Dame called time out.  The Gators answered by taking back a 10-7 advantage, but again Keystone answered and tied the set at 12-12.  The teams continued to battle to a 15-15 tie, but the hosts powered through with two straight kills to win the set 17-15, and the match at 3-2.    

Notre Dame was led by sophomore Ashley Pasker's (Newark, N.J./University) 18 kills while junior Cassidy Keller (Sparks, Md./Perry Hall) chipped in with 11.  Sophomore Jamie Reyes (Yorba Linda, Calif.) notched 38 assists to aid the offense.  She also paced the team with six aces, with junior Cleaya Antes (Carson, Calif./California Academy of Math and Science) added three.  

Defensively, Antes led the way with 18 digs.  Reyes posted 16 and sophomore Stephanie Roche (Baltimore, Md./Perry Hall) contributed 16.  Reyes also tied for the squads led in blocks, tying sophomores Brooke Bowman (Garden City, Mich.) and Bobbi McDowell (Shady Side, Md./Bishop McNamara) each finished with three total blocks.   

The playoff appearance was the third-straight for the volleyball team and their 15 wins are the most in a season since the 2010 season.  The two set victories are also the first time the program has won a set in playoff action, having appeared in four CSAC playoffs.  They also posted their best CSAC record since 2010.  For the season, the team posted 13 sweeps.  This years team also finished with a better hitting percentage, more aces and more digs than last year's squad.  Their opponents .078 hitting percentage is ranked second in all of Division III volleyball and are ranked 10th in aces per set.  Individually, the Gators saw much success, as Antes is ranked fifth in aces per set, 14th in total aces, and 12th in digs per set.  Her 14 aces against Trinity Washington University are the second best performance in the country.  Pasker's .762 hitting percentage against Trinity Washington early in the season is the fourth best showing  in the nation with over 20 attempts.