NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-19) at No. 7 ranked Calvin on Friday night.

 

After Calvin took the opening three points of the first set, the Belles rallied to tie the score at 5-5. Shay Theile put away a pair of early kills while Saint Mary's capitalized on miscues by the Knights. Calvin used a four-point spurt to regain the lead. Delaney Martin had a kill, and the Belles edged within two at 9-7 with an attack error. The Knights, however, distanced themselves with a 9-2 run before taking the first set 25-14.

 

The second set was back-and-forth throughout the first 20 points played as neither side held more than a three-point lead. Mia Shields, Caroline Carens, and Cali Allen all recorded kills, and Carens and Allen teamed up for a block as the Belles trailed just 9-8. Another kill by Shields and back-to-back Calvin errors put Saint Mary's within a point a short while later at 12-11. A quick four-point run saw the Knights go ahead 16-11, and another four-point spurt pushed the lead to 20-13 as Calvin went on to claim the 25-15 win in the set.

 

Saint Mary's came back from an early four-point deficit in the third take a 13-10 lead. Kennedy Oselka, Shay Theile, Grace Braselton, and Cali Allen each had at least one kill early. Calvin tied things up at 13-13 before another kill by Theile put the Belles up 14-13. A kill by Grace Braselton stopped a three-point run by the Knights as Saint Mary's pulled back within one at 16-15, and Caroline Carens kept the Belles within striking distance at 19-16 with a kill. The Knights pushed their lead to 22-16, but another push by Saint Mary's made it a four-point difference late with a Carens ace to make it 22-18 and a block by Allen and Theile to push the score to 23-19. Back-to-back kills by the Knights, however, gave Calvin the 25-19 set and the match.

 

Shay Theile led the Belles with six kills on 12 attempts and added a block assist. Mia Shields had four kills and three digs, and Cali Allen put down four kills and picked up four digs. Caroline Carens tallied four kills with a block assist and a service ace. Shani Russell posted 20 assists, two digs, and an ace. Karli Fegan paced the team with five digs.

 

The Belles (4-7, 0-2 MIAA) are back on the court on Wednesday, October 4 when they travel to Manchester for a 7:00 p.m. match.