Volleyball
The Belles dropped their match against Alma at home over the weekend 3-0 (25-23,25-21, 25-14). Although the Belles got ahead early in the first set with a five point lead, Alma quickly pulled off a four point run to come within a point of Saint Mary’s. Junior middle hitter Lindsey Pelletier recorded a clutch kill following the Alma run, but Alma would go on to score three points in a row to gain a 12-11 lead. The match would eventually be tied at 23, but Alma came up clutch in the end to gain a 1-0 lead on the match.
The Belles came back with a vengeance in the second set, however, and they gained a 10-4 lead quickly, thanks in large part to the efforts of senior outside hitter Nicole Lukens, who recorded four consecutive kills on the run. The Scots would come back, taking a 19-18 lead during the homestretch, and although the set would be tied at 20-20, Alma would pull away with a four point run before ending the set with a 25-21 victory.
Although the Belles pulled within a point of the Scots at three separate points early on in the third set, the Scots would eventually go on an eight point run to gain an 18-10 lead. They pulled away with the set, and the match, following the run, winning the final set by a score of 25-14.
Soccer
The Saint Mary’s soccer team dropped a close match against the Alma Scots at home over the weekend by a score of 4-3.
Sophomore forward Lexi Trombly struck first for the Belles, as she handed Saint Mary’s an early 1-0 with a goal in the 18th minute. Freshman defender Sophia Fleming would add to the lead in the 25th minute, making it 2-0 with plenty of game to play. The Scots would respond before the half was over, however, making the score 2-1 heading into the first half.
The Belles came out with a good pace in the second half as well, as sophomore forward Rose Stackhouse scored after the ball deflected off the goalkeeper in the 56th minute. It was Stackhouse’s 10th goal of the season and it gave the Belles a solid 3-1 lead. The Scots would respond with a goal of their own two minutes later, however, and they went on to carry that momentum to victory, scoring in the 77th and 79th minutes to win 4-3.
The Belles will play at home again tonight against Calvin at 7:00 p.m.
Cross Country
The Saint Mary’s cross country team posted a 15th place finish on Friday at St. Patrick’s County Park in the Bethel Invitational.
First and second places were earned by fellow NAIA members no. 8 Indiana Wesleyan and no. 19 Huntington.
The Belles posted five scorers in the contest. Sophomore Riley Swope lead the Belles in individual scoring, posting a 20:54.4 in the race, which was a 5k. Freshman Alexa Zeese was next for the Belles, improving her 5k time by roughly 27 seconds from the National Catholic Invitational to place 80th overall with 72 points.
Freshman Julia Bobosky placed 90th overall with 77 points and a time of 21:02 as she passed a runner from Cornerstone near the end of her race. Sophomore Emily Blank posted a time of 21:19.6 to earn 86 points and a 103rd place finish for a personal record 5k time. Sophomore Brigid Conmy rounded out the top five scorers for the Belles, all of whom contributed to the team score, as she posted a time of 21:22.4 to earn 88 points and 107th place. The time marked an improvement of 54 seconds on her 5k time.
The Belles will head next to the Oberlin Inter-Regional Rumble this weekend for their next event.
