NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team saw their season come to an end in a 3-0 (25-22, 25-8, 25-13) setback against No. 22 ranked Albion on Senior Day on Saturday.

 

The energy was high and the competition was tight throughout the entire first set of action. The two sides matched each other point for point early in the first stanza before Albion gained a four-point edge at 11-7. With the Brits up 13-9 a few points later, Cali Allen started a scoring spurt with a kill for the Belles. Grace Braselton put down an overpass with authority, and Karla Rigan served an ace to put Saint Mary's within a point at 13-12. The back-and-forth play continued until Patricia Settlemier, Colleen McCarthy, and Mia Shields each tallied a kill to put Saint Mary's within a point yet again at 18-17 as Albion called a timeout. Still trailing 21-17, the Belles rattled off four consecutive points while feeding off the crowd. Shields had two more kills while Saint Mary's capitalized on a pair of Albion mistakes. An attack error by the Belles and an Albion kill put the Brits ahead 23-21. The Belles continued to fight with Allen putting down a big kill to make it a 23-22 score, but an Albion kill and a block by the Brits closed out the set by a 25-22 margin.

 

A 6-2 spurt by Albion in the second set put the Brits up 11-5, and a 7-0 run a short while later distanced the visiting side for good in the stanza as Albion took the set 25-8. In the third set, Albion set the tone early with an 8-0 scoring run to gain a 12-3 lead. The Belles battled as Saint Mary's put four quick points on the scoreboard. Mia Shields had back-to-back kills, and a Delaney Martin service ace cut the deficit to six at 13-7. Albion responded with three points of their own for a 16-7 advantage. Sam Vorderer put down a pair of kills while Colleen McCarthy chipped in a kill of her own, but it was not enough to build a comeback in a 25-13 final in the set.

 

Mia Shields led the Belles with 10 kills. Colleen McCarthy had seven kills, nine digs, and an ace. Sam Vorderer and Cali Allen each put down four kills. Courtney Pelletier posted five digs, and Grace Braselton had a pair of blocks. Remington Vincent tallied 14 assists and five digs while Karla Rigan put up 12 assists and an ace.

 

The Belles conclude the season 5-19 overall and 1-7 in MIAA play.