Saint Mary's will look to build off of a big win against Bethel College when they take on Hope tonight at 7 p.m. in Holland, Mich.
The Belles moved to 4-2 with a hard fought victory earlier this week against non-conference opponent Bethel. The win was the first time Saint Mary's had taken down Bethel since 1993.
The team is still 0-1 in conference play after losing three straight games in the conference opener to Adrian on Sept. 2. The Belles will look to keep things rolling and pick up their first MIAA win against the Flying Dutch tonight.
Saint Mary's will look to the offensive efforts of freshman standout Danielle Brink and Junior Kathleen Mills to help attack a formidable Hope defense. Mills was an integral part of the team's fifth set comeback victory over Bethel last week with a game-changing kill, and the team will count on her veteran leadership on the court to lead the team to victory.
Hope head coach Becky Schmidt picked up her 100th career victory on Saturday will look to keep her team's momentum going strong en route to a 5-1 overall record and a 2-0 record in the conference. The Flying Dutch are currently in first place in the MIAA.
Spearheading her team's strong defense is senior Meghan Winer, who pulled off a 30-dig performance in the Flying Dutch's victory this past weekend. However, Winer will have a difficult time dealing with the power of Belles senior Kaela Hellman, who leads the Saint Mary's squad with 69 kills.
Saint Mary's will dive right in to their conference schedule this week. After taking of Hope tonight they face off against Olivet at home on Thursday night. The team needs to put their rough start against Adrian behind them and build on the non-conference wins to keep momentum going this week.
No members of the team were available for comment.
