On Wednesday, Saint Mary’s College volleyball continued its perfect season with a win over Olivet College, moving to 12-0 on the season as Olivet fell to 4-10. Although some aspects of the game were slower than the normal, fast-paced games the Belles host, setter and opposite Maddie Taitano and defensive specialist Lexi Szymanski came out of their freshman shells and made a name for themselves on the already-stacked Saint Mary’s roster.
Throughout the first set of the game, the Comets struggled to execute many plays, causing lots of unforced errors such as net calls, missed serves, attacking errors and doubles, all of which caused the Belles to gain a very early 14-5 lead. Due to an injury, junior setter Abby Reese wasn’t playing this match. Instead, Taitano stepped in for the offense and was a very entertaining setter to watch. She’s a very analytical setter, taking time before she sets to watch the other side of the net and read the defense before she decides which hitter to set or if she dumps the ball. This added to the strength of the Saint Mary’s offense and only left a real challenge in the middle for the Belles since the Olivet middle blocker was very effective in shutting down any ball. Throughout this entire set, senior libero Karli Fegan was explosive in the back row, always on her toes and was ready for any ball that the Comets sent over the net.
The second and third sets were harder on both teams, as there was always a struggle to grab the score and pull ahead, meaning it could’ve been won by either team. Saint Mary’s gave up the last three points at the end on aggressive decisions to swing hard instead of playing timidly, like it had been before, ultimately letting Olivet walk away with the second set win. The third set started very similarly, until six points in when Fegan scored big aces and led her team to a 10-6 lead before the score started going back and forth once again. Head coach Denise Van de Walle subbed in Szymanski halfway through the set, and it completely shifted the momentum of the game. The Comets played less aggressively than they had before, which ultimately led them to end the set on unforced errors.
The fourth set had a very slow start, with junior middle hitter Caroline Carens struggling to find the floor on Olivet’s side of the net, and many unforced errors from both teams. Halfway through the set, Carens hit a “3” ball and shifted the momentum completely for the team, which led to three straight kills for freshman outside Shannon Rudge and another kill for sophomore middle Kalli Lewkowski. The match couldn’t have ended more perfectly for Taitano, as she scored the match point on a textbook setter dump in her first full-game appearance.
Weekend preview
The Belles will face Manchester University for the second time this season on Saturday, which will be a very anxious game for anyone in the stands. Last time the two faced off in South Bend, the Spartans almost handed Saint Mary’s its first loss of the year, and they are hungry to serve up the loss this time on their home court. Manchester only had two fewer kills than Saint Mary’s and have actually out-dug them 63-62, meaning that every point either team gets will be highly sought after and very competitive.
Saint Mary’s will also face North Central, which is currently 12-3 on the season, on Saturday. The Cardinals are led offensively by senior outside hitter Danni Moser, who has 134 kills on the season so far, and defensively by senior libero Aleesa Zebold, who has 173 digs. Both will prove to be a challenge for the Belles.
Saint Mary’s volleyball will travel to Manchester University to play Manchester and North Central in a tri-tournament on Saturday before returning home to host Alma on Sept. 30 at 7 p.m.
