KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team nearly had the reverse sweep in their conference opener at Kalamazoo but fell just short in a 3-2 (25-22, 25-23, 25-27, 23-25, 15-12) final against the Hornets on Tuesday night.

 

Kalamazoo claimed an early lead in the opening set of play before the Belles came back to tie the set 7-7 with back-to-back kills by Caroline Carens. The Hornets used a kill and a service ace to gain the lead. Saint Mary's continued to battle and stayed within striking distance. Trailing by four, Saint Mary's used a kill by Cali Allen, a Kalamazoo attack error, and a kill by Shani Russell to pull within a point at 17-16. The Hornets took the next point and later extended their lead to 24-19. The Belles continued to fight and stay alive. A pair of errors by the Hornets were followed by a Mia Shields kill to make it a 24-22 score, but Kalamazoo claimed the set with a kill for the 25-22 final.

 

The second set saw Kalamazoo claim a 13-7 lead and held an 18-13 advantage a short while later. A service error by the Hornets sparked a run by the Belles as Saint Mary's got right back into the thick of things. Kalamazoo had a pair of attack errors, and Grace Braselton served up an ace before another error by the Hornets tied the score at 18-18. Kalamazoo put away a kill before the Hornets capitalized on two errors for a 21-18 lead as the Belles called a timeout. Two more points for the Hornets gave Kalamazoo a 23-18 advantage. A late push again by the Belles - spurred by a Caroline Carens kill and a service ace by Kennedy Oselka - made it a two-point score at 23-21. Cali Allen kept the set alive two points later to pull the Belles within one at 24-23. The Hornets came out of a timeout and used a kill to gain a 25-23 win in the set.

 

The third set featured 10 ties and four lead changes. The Belles gained a five-point lead at 10-5 after a block by Carens and Cali Allen followed by a Kennedy Oselka kill. The Hornets flipped the lead with an 8-2 spurt for a 17-16 advantage. The two sides went back-and-forth throughout the remainder of the set as the teams were tied 17-17, 18-18, 19-19, 21-21, and 23-23. Oselka gave the Belles set point with a kill, but a miscue tied the game at 24-24. Oselka put away another kill before a service ace tied the score 25-25. For the third time late, Oselka's number was called and collected yet another kill for a 26-25 lead, and the freshman then stepped back to the service line and delivered an ace for the 27-25 win.

 

The fourth set saw 13 ties with eight lead changes. Trailing 17-13, the Belles came back to knot the score 18-18 before using a Kalamazoo error and a Delaney Martin service ace to gain a 20-18 lead. Grace Braselton put away a kill to tie the score at 22-22. A lengthy rally on the ensuing point went the other way, but Braselton found another kill on the next point to knot it up at 23-23. Braselton put down a solo block for set point, and Abby Reese put a kill down to lift the Belles to a 25-23 win to force a fifth set.

 

Saint Mary's came out with a lot of momentum and translated that into a quick 4-1 lead in the decisive stanza. Caroline Carens, Delaney Martin, and Shani Russell all had early kills. Things were tied up at 4-4 and 5-5, but a Shani Russell ace and an Abby Reese kill gave the Belles an 8-6 lead as the teams switched sides. Ties at 8-8, 9-9, 11-11, and 12-12 meant that the match was either team's to win, but a Kalamazoo kill followed by a pair of attack errors gave the Hornets a 15-12 decision to take the five-set win.

 

Caroline Carens led the team with 12 kills and added six total blocks with five digs. Cali Allen had seven kills and 15 digs, and Kennedy Oselka chipped in seven kills with two block assists and six digs. Shani Russell put away five kills and had a double-double with 32 assists and 16 digs. Bethany DiSilvestro picked up a match-high 18 digs on the night, and Grace Braselton added two service aces.

 

The Belles (4-6, 0-1 MIAA) are on the road on Friday when they travel to Calvin for a 7:00 p.m. conference match.