Saint Mary's (3-9) lost a tough one to MIAA conference foe Kalamazoo (7-5) last night by a score of 1-3 (10-25, 25-16, 12-25, 29-31), dropping the Belles to 1-3 in conference action.
The Belles' offensive consistency didn't quite match that of the Hornets, as Kalamazoo held a slight edge over with 23 errors to Saint Mary's 27.
"We just needed to be more consistent," Belles head coach Toni Kuschel said. "We had really high highs and really low lows. Our team did a lot of things right, we just came out a little short in the end."
There were key momentum shifts throughout the entire match, as the Belles came out slowly in the first game (10-25), won the second game decisively (25-16), went down hard in the third game (12-25), and almost took the fourth and final game, losing by just two points in a competitive 29-31 battle.
"We came out flat in the first set. We passed and hit really well in the second and fourth sets and passed the ball really well in the second set," Kuschel said. "In the third set we were just inconsistent and had way too many ball-handling errors. The unforced errors really hurt us. In the fourth set we went point for point with Kalamazoo."
Senior Ellen Huelsmann did a lot in the match, bringing in a block assist, an ace, 14 digs, three assists, six kills and a team-high attack percentage of .294. Senior Meghann Rose had a match-high 28 digs, while freshman Hailee Leitz came up with a match-high 32 assists.
"We're a young team and are working on how to play together, said Kuschel. "We showed a lot of heart."
