NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team fell in a 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-19) non-conference match against in-state foe Trine on Tuesday evening.

 

After Trine jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead, the Belles chipped away at the deficit to force a tie at 6-6 before claiming a 7-6 lead on a bad set by the Thunder. A block by Cali Allen and Shay Theile tied the set at 8-8 a short while later, and a kill by Colleen McCarthy made it a 10-10 score. The Thunder responded with a quick scoring spurt, but the Belles came right back with four consecutive points for a 17-16 lead as Trine called a timeout. Cali Allen put away another kill for an 18-16 lead, but errors by the home side turned the lead to the Thunder as the Belles called a timeout trailing 20-18. Allen and McCarthy each put down a kill to keep the Belles within striking distance at 21-22. A kill by Trine, however, made it a 23-20 score two points later, and a Belles error and a Thunder kill gave the visitors the opening set by a 25-20 score.

 

Grace Braselton opened the second set with a kill, and an attack error by the Thunder gave the home side a quick 2-0 advantage. Trine tallied the next four points, but the Belles stayed the course and used another kill by Braselton along with kills from Cali Allen, Colleen McCarthy, and Karla Rigan to pull within a point at 10-9. A few points later, McCarthy rattled off three consecutive service aces to put the Belles ahead 14-12, and Saint Mary's continued to find a response each time Trine scored. McCarthy used kills to give the Belles the lead at both 19-18 and 20-19, and Grace Braselton put away a solo block for a 21-19 lead late in the set. An error by the Thunder gave the Belles a 22-19 edge, but a kill, a block, another kill, and a service ace quickly pushed the Thunder ahead 23-22. Saint Mary's fought off set-point with a block by Mia Shields and Braselton to tie the set at 24-24, but a pair of miscues by the Belles saw Trine take the set 26-24 after 11 ties and five lead changes.

 

Trailing 10-6 in the third set, the Belles continued to battle as Saint Mary's drew even at 10-10. The Thunder used a 7-1 scoring run over the next stretch of play for a 17-11 advantage. Saint Mary's came right back with a 6-0 run, which included two kills by Grace Braselton, to knot the game at 17-17. Three kills and an ace by the visiting side put Trine back on top, but Braselton again put away a timely kill to make it 21-18. Down the stretch, however, the Belles were unable to string enough points together aa Trine took the set 25-19 for the 3-0 decision.

 

Colleen McCarthy narrowly missed out on a double-double with nine kills and 10 digs on the night while also serving up three aces. Grace Braselton posted a solid .438 attack percentage in the middle with seven kills on 16 attempts with no errors as the freshman put down a block and assisted on another block. Cali Allen added five kills, and Delaney Martin registered four kills. Emma Watford paced the Belles with 18 digs. Remington Vincent tallied 15 assists and seven digs, and Karla Rigan collected eight assists.

 

The Belles (3-2) travel to Trine to take part in the MIAA/NCAC Crossover Tournament hosted by the Thunder on Friday and Saturday. The first match for Saint Mary's is against DePauw on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at the MTI Center.