This weekend, the Saint Mary’s Belles were handed their first two losses of their season in a tri-tournament involving Manchester University and North Central College.
Manchester jumped out to a strong start against the Belles with three players racking up aces to keep Saint Mary’s off-balance. Trailing by five, the Belles responded with a four point surge mid-set with kills for freshman outside hitter Shannon Rudge and senior middle hitter Grace Braselton, plus an ace from freshman setter Maddie Taitano. Trailing 16-15, Saint Mary’s was unable to complete the comeback as Manchester went on a 9-3 scoring run to close the set 25-18.
The second set started in more promising fashion as the Belles led 6-2 lead due to unforced errors from Manchester and kills from Taitano, sophomore middle Kalli Lewkowski and senior outside Delaney Martin. Manchester made a very strong comeback, evening the score to 19-19, after being down 18-10. Tied at 23, Manchester sealed the set 25-23 with an ace and a kill from freshman outside Adelyn Figley to lead 2-0.
The third set was very similar to the second for the Belles, getting a quick 5-0 lead from blocks from junior middle Caroline Carens and kills from Martin. Manchester and Saint Mary’s would trade off points, struggling to find a convincing lead. With the score even at 22-22, Manchester scored three in a row with the help of an ace to sweep the Belles and hand them the first loss of the season.
Manchester had eight more kills than Saint Mary’s (35 to 27), and aced the Belles 14 times in comparison to just two.
After the disappointing loss against Manchester, Saint Mary’s faced North Central College, where they had a better start. Jumping ahead to a 7-3 lead, the Belles hoped to bounce back. The run was aided by early kills from Martin and Lewkowski and an ace from Taitano. The Cardinals came back when sophomore setter Sarah Harevy had six-straight aces, but lost the lead with clutch swings from Rudge and Braselton. A three point run at the end of the set helped the Belles win 25-22 on a 0.536 hitting percentage with 16 kills.
The second and third sets were very similar to how the Belles played against Manchester College, as they let their opponent take an early start to the set, battle to tie the set and ultimately lose the tie at the end. North Central went on a 6-1 run to win the second and cleanly finished 25-20 in the third. Saint Mary's struggled with control of serving and blocking down the stretch in both sets.
The Belles would completely dominate the fourth set, going on a 10-1 run, while having a better serving record, offensive balance and more pressure than the Cardinals. The 20-7 lead, turned into a 25-12 fourth set win to force a tiebreaker.
North Central got out to a very strong 8-0 lead behind Harvey’s serving, and the Belles never fully recovered. Despite efforts from Carens, the Cardinals controlled the board, finishing the set with kills from senior opposite Danni Moser and junior middle Lauren Benson. North Central took the final set 15-8 and the match 3-2.
Alma preview
Despite their losses over the weekend, Saint Mary’s is heading into their home game this week with very strong numbers behind them. Carens has 168 kills on the season so far and is very close surpassing her season totals from the last two years. With conference play just beginning, this number will be shattered in a matter of a couple of matches. Aside from Carens, the Belles have seen a fantastic season start from Rudge who currently has 118 kills and 142 digs, making a huge impact on the roster as a first-year.
Although Alma College is 7-9 on their season, they will prove to be a challenge for Saint Mary’s coming off the back-to-back losses. The Scots have talented players including freshman outside Emily Carlin with 130 kills, senior middle hitter Madison Munely with 107 kills and a 0.246 attack percentage and senior Natalie Dutton with 102 kills. Munely and Dutton will run the offense for Alma have proven to be aggressive at the net. If a ball gets through the Alma block, sophomore libero and defensive specialist Grace Steiner will be there to pick it up and add to her already 254 digs on the season.
First serve against Alma is Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Angela Athletic and Wellness Center.
