Saint Mary’s entered Wednesday’s match at Benedictine with a 4-0 record, looking to keep their undefeated streak alive. The Belles did not disappoint in the back-and-forth game and will return to Saint Mary’s at 5-0 to play Benedictine again on Sept. 9.
Benedictine started off strong and jumped out to an early lead over the Belles in the first set. The Saint Mary’s defense held Benedictine to a 0.23 hitting percentage. Nearing the middle of the set, after multiple forced errors on Benedictine and a kill from junior middle hitter Caroline Carens, the Belles found themselves leading 18-14. The Belles maintained their lead and took the first set 25-19. Carens led the team on the court with a total of six kills, followed by freshman setter Maddie Taitano with three.
Benedictine made it clear that they would not back away from a fight and quickly earned a 4-0 lead. With a kill, Carens put Saint Mary’s on the board 4-1, but Benedictine stormed ahead. Three more kills from Carens brought the score to 16-9 and helped Carens earn double-digit kills for the fifth straight match. Benedictine took the second set 25-15 to even the match at 1-1.
Saint Mary’s stepped back on the gas in the third set with a strong collective effort. Benedictine tied the score early, but the Belles responded with eight straight points to leap out to a 15-8 lead. Five players finished the third set with three or more kills, including Carens, freshman outside hitter and defensive specialist Shannon Rude, senior outside and middle hitter Delaney Martin and sophomore setter Giuliana Graczyk. Junior setter Abby Reese and Graczyk also had double digit assists to help the Belles win the third set 25-18 and lead 2-1 moving into the fourth.
The fourth set opened in a back-and-forth manner with multiple lead changes that found the Belles trailing 16-11. Saint Mary’s bounced right back from the deficit and went on a huge 10-4 run to finish the set. Kills from Rudge, Martin, Carens and others allowed the Belles to catch fire and retake the lead. Finally, two kills from Carens, a kill from Martin and a kill from Graczyk helped the Belles pull through with the fourth-set win 25-23, and match win 3-1.
Carens led the Belles with a season-high 18 kills. Rudge finished right behind with nine kills while Martin and Graczyk both contributed with five apiece. Graczyk also led the team with 24 assists while Reese added 14.
Now 5-0 on the season, the Belles will return to South Bend for their home opener and begin a three-game homestand by rounding out the two-part series against Benedictine. The game will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m.
