ANGOLA, Ind. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team was tripped up in a 3-1 (22-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-20) contest against DePauw on day one of the MIAA/NCAC Crossover at Trine University's MTI Center.

 

Saint Mary's broke a 14-14 tie in the opening set with four consecutive points. Colleen McCarthy put down a kill, Delaney Martin served up an ace, and the pair repeated the process again as the Belles built an 18-14 lead. Saint Mary's held a 23-17 advantage a short while later after kills by Grace Braselton and Mia Shields, but DePauw cut into the lead to make it a 23-22 score with a 5-0 run. A service error by the Tigers gave the Belles set-point, and Mia Shields served an ace to give the Belles the set at 25-22.

 

The second set featured nine ties through the first 24 points played as both sides battled for momentum. With the score knotted at 12-12, a service error and an attack error by the Belles gave DePauw a 14-12 advantage. A Tiger service error put the Belles back within a point, but DePauw took the next four points for an 18-13 lead. McCarthy tallied a much-needed kill, and Shields delivered another ace. The Tigers countered with two consecutive points for a 20-15 lead. Delaney Martin put the serve back in the hands of Saint Mary's with a kill, but DePauw closed out the set with a five-point run for the 25-16 win.

 

Saint Mary's fell behind by five points in the second set but continued to chip away at the deficit. Martin had a solo block and a kill, McCarthy added a kill, and Braselton used a kill to make it 17-15. Moments later, Karla Rigan took advantage of being in the front row with a kill, and McCarthy and Braselton teamed up for back-to-back kills to make it a one-point deficit at 19-18 as DePauw called a timeout. The Belles drew even at 20-20 with a McCarthy kill and a DePauw attack error. The Tigers, however, regained momentum late in the set with three consecutive points for a 23-20 lead. Cali Allen kept the Belles alive with a kill, but back-to-back DePauw kills gave the Tigers the third set by a 25-21 score.

 

The Belles showed their resilience yet again by erasing a deficit in the fourth set. Down 10-6, Saint Mary's out-scored DePauw 9-2 for a 15-12 advantage. Mia Shields put away a kill three points later to keep the Belles ahead at 16-14. An error by Saint Mary's, a DePauw kill, and an ace saw the lead trade hands to the Tigers at 17-16. Cali Allen knotted things right back up with a kill. Back-to-back DePauw points, however, gave the Tigers a lead they did not relinquish down the stretch in a 25-20 final.

 

Colleen McCarthy led all players in the match with 18 kills and picked up her fifth double-double of the year by tallying 15 digs. Cali Allen led the Belles with 17 digs and had eight kills on the night. Mia Shields registered her second double-digit kill effort of the year with 10 kills on a .304 hitting performance. Grace Braselton collected five kills and three solo blocks. Delaney Martin led all players with a season-best five service aces to go along with a solo block and three kills. Remington Vincent put up 21 assists and five digs, and Karla Rigan had 15 assists and two kills. Emma Watford chipped in eight digs. 

 

The Belles (3-2) are back in action at the MTI Center on Saturday at noon against Wooster before taking on Hiram at approximately 2:00 p.m. on day two of the MIAA/NCAC Crossover.