BALTIMORE, MD—The Highlanders went on the road to face off against Notre Dame of Maryland University on Saturday and walked away with a 3-1 loss. 

In the first set, Notre Dame (16-6, 7-3 United East) started hot with a 9-4 lead over Cairn (16-7, 7-2 United East). Just when the Gators looked to extend their lead out of reach, freshman outside hitter Marah Lehman (Chambersburg, PA / Chambersburg) managed to get two kills alongside junior setter Anna Dow's (Syracuse, NY / Faith Heritage School) ace to cancel out the Gators momentum. The Highlanders pushed to close the gap as the score became 11-15 in the Gators' favor. Notre Dame found their foot and stormed off with a 5-score run as the score became 22-12. The Highlanders pushed for a comeback but fell short as the set went to the Gators, 25-16. 

The second set started out with the appearance that Notre Dame would have full control, but Cairn did not allow it and forced the score to even up 6-6 after an ace from freshman opposite Bella Manthe (Manila, Philippines / Faith Academy). Cairn pushed harder and managed to take a 10-7 lead after two Gator errors and an ace from Lehman. The Highlanders made their lead larger after junior middle blocker Georgianna Thorpe (Southampton, PA / William Tennent) teamed up with two of her teammates to get back-to-back blocks. Cairn turned their momentum into a 23-15 lead after senior defensive specialist Payton Cline (Falling Waters, WV / Heritage Academy) set up sophomore middle blocker Maddie Shackelford (Warrington, PA /Plumstead Christian School) and sophomore libero Liliana Magazzu set up Lehman for kills. Lehman called set 25-18 with an assist to Magazzu. 

The third set was a back-and-forth battle as neither team looked to let up any momentum. The Highlanders and the Gators matched point for point and run for run as the score ranked up to 8 points a-piece. Notre Dame found the missing piece and took an 11-8 lead. Manthe and Lehman fought hard to stop Notre Dame but failed to close the gap as the score slowly turned into 16-14. The Gators managed to get a 4 point run before Cairn stormed back with their own run as Manthe set up junior outside hitter Bridget Dahn (Smithsburg, MD / Heritage Academy) for two kills. Cairn fought hard but ended up falling short as Notre Dame took the set 25-20. 

The fourth set started huge for the Gators as they established a 7-2 lead, but Cairn wouldn't have it and turned around to make the score 6-7 with a kill and an ace from Lehman. The Gators looked to gain back momentum, but Dahn, Thorpe, and Lehman would push back for kills each time as the score turned into only a 13-14 lead for Notre Dame. Just as the Gators took a 19-15 lead, they lost their footing as Cairn forced 3 straight errors. Cairn's efforts did eventually fall short as the Gators took the set 25-20 and the game, 3-1. 

 Lehman led the way in kills with 17 as she and Dahn both got 2 aces. Thorpe led the blocks category with 4 as Manthe got the most assists for Cairn with 23. Lehman led digs with 19. 

Cairn's regular season comes to an end, but they move on to the United East Championship with a rematch against Notre Dame of Maryland in the Quarterfinals on Saturday the 8th at 1pm in Baltimore.