Despite a tough loss to conference rival No. 11 Calvin, Saint Mary's did a lot of good last night, raising money for breast cancer with their annual Dig for the Cure event.
The official amount of donations has yet to be determined, but fans and players on both sides were able to band together and support one of the most noble of causes.
The Belles (7-9, 3-5 MIAA) lost the match 25-13, 25-22, and 25-21, and have dropped three matches in a row and are not going to find relief soon as they have two more tough matches this week against Trine and Adrian.
Notable performers from last night's loss included Lorna Slupczynski, Andrea Sasgen and Stephanie Bodien. Slupczynski led the team with 11 kills while Sasgen and Bodien followed closely behind with 8 and 6 kills respectively.
On the other side of the net, sophomores Erin Vander Plas and Rebecca Kamp lead the Knights with 11 kills each.
Despite the rough outing in front of a large crowd, head coach Toni Kuschel was able to pull several positives away from the match.
"We played well tonight and were able to accomplish the things we have been working on in practice," Kuschel said. "Our middle blockers were able to take away a lot of the court so our defense could do its job."
Despite solid play, however, the Belles just never seemed to garner any momentum, especially after losing the first set 25-13.
"We were never able to capture a good lead," Kuschel added.
After improved performances in the last two sets, however, Kuschel is not worried about the direction of her team.
"We have two more tough match ups this week," she said. "And if we play our game like we did tonight we will end up with two big wins."
