NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team powered their way to a 3-0 (25-19, 25-10, 25-19) home win over Beloit on Friday evening as the team celebrated their annual Dig Pink Match.

 

The opening set featured six ties early on as the Belles broke a 7-7 deadlock with a 6-1 run for a 13-8 lead. Colleen McCarthy had back-to-back aces early in the run while Mia Shields put away back-to-back kills moments later. The Buccaneers used a 5-0 run later in the set to cut the Saint Mary's lead to a point at 17-16, but a timely kill by McCarthy kept the Belles ahead. A service error again made it a one-point score at 18-17. McCarthy put away another kill, and Grace Braselton added a kill of her own for a 20-17 lead. Another kill by Braselton two points later started a quick four-point spurt as McCarthy tacked on two more aces for a 24-18 Saint Mary's lead. Braselton closed out the set with a kill for a 25-19 win in the opening stanza.

 

Saint Mary's stormed out to an 8-2 lead in the second set as Mia Shields hammered down four kills early. Beloit used a quick spurt to cut the difference to three points at 8-5 and made it 9-6 a few points later. but a Cali Allen kill was followed by blocks by Shay Theile and Sam Vorderer. That started a 9-1 run which ballooned the Belles' lead to 18-7. Saint Mary's carried that momentum throughout the remainder of the set both offensively and defensively with Vorderer and Shields adding kills while Grace Braselton collected three blocks down the stretch in a 25-10 win in the set.

 

After dropping the first point of the third set, Saint Mary's built a 6-2 lead and never trailed again. Mia Shields had three consecutive kills to get the Belles on the scoreboard. Courtney Pelletier capped off that run with back-to-back aces. The Buccaneers were within three points of the Belles, but Saint Mary's had a response each time. With the score standing at 16-13, Sam Vorderer put down a kill, and Shay Theile served three consecutive aces to shift the momentum to the Belles for good as Saint Mary's closed out the sweep with a 25-19 win in the set.

 

Mia Shields had a season-high and match-best 14 kills and hit .407 on the night to help pace the offensive efforts. Sam Vorderer added a .500 hitting effort with four kills on just eight attempts to go along with a block. Grace Braselton hit .364 out of the middle with five kills, three solo blocks, and a block assist. Cali Allen chipped in five kills with seven digs and a pair of block assists. Colleen McCarthy tallied six kills, four service aces, a match-high 14 digs, and a block. Shay Theile matched her career-high with five aces and posted seven digs, three block assists, a solo block, and three kills. Remington Vincent recorded a double-double with 17 assists and 10 digs. Karla Rigan added 14 assists and two aces. 

 

Saint Mary's had a season-best .245 attack percentage while limiting Beloit to a .097 effort. The Belles registered at least a 70 percent sideout showing in each set and only trailed one time the entire match. Saint Mary's also matched their season-best mark of 15 service aces in the win. 

 

The Belles (4-14) return to conference competition on Tuesday, October 18 when they host Olivet at 7:00 p.m.