ANGOLA, Ind. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team was on the wrong side of a 3-0 (25-17, 25-23, 25-17) conference match at Trine on Saturday afternoon.

 

The host Thunder jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the opening set, but the Belles battled their way right back into the thick of things as a 6-0 run tied the score at 9-9. Cali Allen started the run with a kill, served an ace, and Colleen McCarthy put away two kills to give Saint Mary's a burst of momentum. Trine called a timeout and took the next point to retain the lead. A Grace Braselton solo block and a kill by the freshman middle hitter put the Belles within two points at 14-12, but a 5-0 spurt by Trine pushed the Thunder lead to 19-12. Another Braselton kill broke the scoring run, and an error by Trine put the Belles within five points at 19-14. Trine, however, used two quick points to lead by seven and held at least a five-point advantage down the stretch in a 25-17 win in the opening stanza.

 

The Belles strung three points together to tie the score at 8-8 in the second set with a Delaney Martin kill, a Colleen McCarthy kill, and an ace by Martin. After ties at 9-9, 10-10, and 12-12, Trine edged ahead 18-14. Saint Mary's stayed the course and continued to fight back each time the Thunder attempted to go on a run. Down 21-17, the Belles pulled within a point at 22-21 on another kill by Martin. Trine countered with back-to-back blocks on the next two points to go ahead 24-21, but the Belles fought off set point twice with a block by Braselton and Martin along with another kill by Martin. The Thunder, however, closed out the set with a kill for the 25-23 decision. 

 

Trine went ahead 8-2 in the third set, but the Belles came back to pull within a point at 13-12 with Braselton, Martin, McCarthy, and Mia Shields all registering kills. Three consecutive points by Trine started a 7-1 run by the Thunder that saw the home side build a 20-13 advantage. Saint Mary's cut the deficit to as few as five, but the Belles were unable to overtake the Thunder down the stretch in a 25-17 final.

 

Mia Shields and Colleen McCarthy shared match-high honors with 13 kills apiece. Shields hit a .407 on the day and added two digs. McCarthy picked up a double-double with 11 digs to go along with an ace and a block assist. Delaney Martin put down six kills, and Grace Braselton added four kills. Braselton had a solo block and a block assist, and Martin posted an ace with three digs and a block assist. Emma Watford put up 11 digs while Courtney Pelletier collected seven digs. Karla Rigan tallied 25 assists, and Remington Vincent added six assists.

 

The Belles (3-13, 0-4 MIAA) travel to Alma on Wednesday for a 7:00 p.m. conference match against the Scots.