Alma
On Tuesday, Saint Mary’s College was handed their first loss at home against Alma 3-0, falling to 12-3, and 0-1 in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association. The Scots, meanwhile, improved to 8-9. This game was the Belles’ annual celebration of the Red Glasses Movement, which, as senior middle hitter Grace Braselton described, is about acting on your passions and spreading kindness in your communities. Even after defeating Saint Mary’s, Alma stayed after the game to celebrate with the Belles.
Throughout the first set, Alma College had control of the net, tallying an impressive 0.400 hitting percentage with 13 kills and only one error. Meanwhile, junior middle hitter Caroline Carens led the Belles with five kills of her own, hitting 0.571 — more efficient than Alma’s overall team hitting average. Despite the Scots’ control of the net, Saint Mary’s defenders were flying all over the back court, digging the blistering, fast-paced shots seemingly destined for the floor, but also the strategic throws aimed at the corners.
The second set was extremely difficult for the Belles, as Alma swung hard and hit a 0.250 percentage. The Belles attempted to respond but only managed 10 kills and seven errors, finishing with a 0.077 — one of the least efficient sets of the season. Their lowest mark came from when they hit a 0.100 against North Central in their second loss of the season.
In the third set, Saint Mary’s lost confidence and began to falter in their plays. They started to make lots of unforced errors, were more susceptible to being aced and were missing key digs. Toward the very end of the match, Carens and sophomore outside hitter Kalli Lewkowski fought the blockers to get kills that put the Belles back in the game; however, freshman outside hitter Emily Carling came back with a big swing and won the game for Alma 25-23.
Alma controlled the stat sheet, finishing with 40 kills to Saint Mary’s 34, along with a 38 to 34 edge in assists. The Scots also out-dug the Belles 47 to 37 and outscored them 48 to 43. Saint Mary’s was able to dominate the serving line, recording six aces while Alma only had five.
Hope
The Flying Dutchmen are currently 12-4 on the season and riding the high of an eight-game win streak. Hope College is led by three big hitters, all with over 140 kills on the season so far, a statistic that Carens boasts for the Belles with 179. Senior setter Lauren Lee controls the offense with 574 assists on the season, the highest number from any team facing off against the Belles. Defensively, junior defensive specialist Kathryn Oates leads with 268 digs, anchoring a back row that has been pivotal in Hope’s success on the season.
Saint Mary’s will host Hope College for their annual Dig Pink game on Friday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m. The Belles will then go on the road for three matches at Trine University, Calvin University and Elmhurst University.
