Northwestern sent an early message - but Notre Dame of Green Pond had a response.

The Tigers came out strong and took the opening set, and then led for most of the second set to let the Crusaders know they weren’t to be taken lightly.

But Notre Dame answered by rallying to pull out the second set and went on to post a 17-25, 26-24, 27-25, 25-13 victory Thursday night in a match between two of the top teams in the Colonial League.

“I couldn’t ask more from the girls tonight. We were coming off a tough loss the night before, but we came out on fire tonight,” said Northwestern coach Mike Maston. “We were in control during the early part of the match.

“Bailey Murray had a big night for us, as did our setter Shannon Green. We played a lot of good volleyball tonight. I couldn’t ask for more.”

In the opening set, the Crusaders led to 12-8, before a service run by Mckinleigh Osbourne helped the Tigers grab a 14-12 edge. A kill from Norah Silfies was the key play during the run.

Northwestern never looked back from there as Murray and Silfies both made several big plays at the net to send the message that Northwestern was ready to take on the perennially strong Crusaders.

The second set was tied early before Silfies took over on service and Murray caught fire at the net, collecting three kills during a six-point Tiger run that gave them an 11-5 advantage.

Notre Dame gradually chipped away until a kill from Carly Campbell at set point pulled the Crusaders to within 24-23. Abby Calon then took over at the service line and Campbell took control at the net to rally ND for the 26-24 win.

Shaking off the late loss in the second set, Northwestern gained an early advantage in the third set before a kill by Nicola Murabet brought Notre Dame within two at 11-9.

By the time Northwestern broke serve, the Crusaders had gone up 13-11. They would stay in front until Northwestern went ahead 24-23 on a serve by Silfies.

For the second straight game, Notre Dame had to fight off a set-point - this time doing it twice - before Murabet was able to serve the final two points and finished off the 27-25 win.

“We were a little flat in that third set, but we got the lead back and were point-for-point with them at the end of the set,” said Maston.

After a short-lived lead by Northwestern in the fourth set, Murabet again worked her magic as she dropped in three aces and got a key block to put Notre Dame up 10-4. Northwestern didn’t have an answer this time as Notre Dame cruised home to take the hard-fought victory

“I think we had just run out of gas in that fourth set,” said Maston. “We had played a lot of volleyball against a very good team, and at that point we were just tired and it started to show.”

NUMBERS ... Kylie Nagle finished the night with 48 digs and two kills for Northwestern, while Murray had 23 kills and 12 digs. Shannon Green had 45 assists.

RECORDS ... It was the first league loss for Northwestern (2-1 Colonial, 2-3 overall), while Notre Dame (3-0, 3-0) remained undefeated

TOUGH SCHEDULE … Northwestern fell to Panther Valley (3-0 Schuylkill, 5-0 overall) in three sets Wednesday night before facing Notre Dame. It will face Saucon Valley (2-1, 2-1), and then have a showdown with Southern Lehigh (3-0, 5-0) on Wednesday.