NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team fell in a nailbiter of a conference opener as the Belles shouldered a 3-2 (25-21, 15-25, 19-25, 29-27, 15-10) loss against visiting Kalamazoo on Tuesday night.

 

Kalamazoo used a 6-1 run in the opening set to gain an 11-4 lead over Saint Mary's. Trailing 17-10 in that same set, the Belles went on a run of their own to battle their way right back into the thick of things. Karla Rigan started the run off with a kill, and Rigan and Shay Theile teamed up for a block two points later. Colleen McCarthy put away back-to-back kills, and an attack error by the Hornets saw the Belles pull within two points at 17-15. Kalamazoo responded with four points in a row for a 21-15 advantage. Saint Mary's continued to make things close by cutting the deficit to 21-18 before three consecutive points pulled the Belles within two at 23-21 on a Mia Shields kill. A kill and a block by Kalamazoo, however, gave the Hornets the opening set by a 25-21 score.

 

With the Belles trailing 3-2 early in the second set, Colleen McCarthy, Mia Shields, and Cali Allen all had kills to give the Belles a 6-3 lead. Another kill by Shields and two more from Allen followed by back-to-back service aces for Shields pushed the lead to 13-5 for Saint Mary's. Some big blocks by Grace Braselton, Karla Rigan, and Shay Theile kept the momentum on the Belles' side, and Saint Mary's continued to find success both offensively and defensively in the second stanza. The Belles capped off a decisive win in the second set with another Shields ace and back-to-back kills by Cali Allen for a 25-15 victory.

 

The third set saw Saint Mary's erase an early deficit with a big 8-0 run. A pair of Shay Theile service aces served as bookends to a Grace Braselton kill, two kills by Colleen McCarthy, and a pair of Kalamazoo attack errors as the Belles took a 14-9 lead. Saint Mary's had a response to the Hornets down the stretch to keep Kalamazoo at bay. Shay Theile had a kill and an ace, and Cali Allen again shut the door on the set with a kill for a 25-19 win.

 

The fourth set proved to be just as wild as the 13 lead changes and 20 ties it featured as neither side ever held more than a three-point lead. With the set tied at 23-23, the Belles had a chance to close out the match after a Kalamazoo service error. The Hornets then put down a kill and had a service ace to go up set-point at 25-24. Saint Mary's returned the favor with a Mia Shields kill and a bad set by Kalamazoo for a 26-25 lead. A block by Kalamazoo kept the set and the match alive, but an attack error by the visitors put the Belles ahead 27-26. The Hornets, however, put away three consecutive kills for the 29-27 win in the set to force a fifth and deciding set.

 

The fifth set stayed close early. A kill by Shields and a solo block by Shay Theile tied things up at 5-5. Kalamazoo put the next three points on the scoreboard to take an 8-5 lead as the teams switched sides of the court, but the Belles built momentum with a kill by Colleen McCarthy and back-to-back aces by Theile. The Hornets called a timeout and took the next four points after that break to shift the momentum for good in the set while building a 13-9 lead. McCarthy put away a kill to make it 13-10, but a kill by Kalamazoo and a ball handling error against Saint Mary's closed out the set 15-10 in favor of the visitors.

 

Cali Allen led all players with 16 kills on the night and picked up a double-double with 13 digs. Colleen McCarthy posted a double-double of her own with 13 kills and 15 digs. Mia Shields added double-digit kills with 11 while collecting three aces and a pair of block assists. Sam Vorderer tallied 10 digs, and Courtney Pelletier picked up nine digs. Grace Braselton had six kills and four blocks (two solo, two block assists). Shay Theile matched her career high mark of five service aces and added a career-high six blocks (two solo blocks, four block assists). Karla Rigan led the Belles with 26 assists, and Remington Vincent put up 22 assists on the night. 

 

The Belles (3-8, 0-1 MIAA) are set to host Calvin on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. in Angela Athletic & Wellness Complex.