NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team had a 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-17) setback against Manchester on Wednesday evening.

 

The Belles fell behind 10-4 in the opening stanza but battled back to pull within two points at 11-9. Colleen McCarthy, Grace Braselton, and Mia Shields each had kills while Remington Vincent had a service ace during that same spurt. Three quick points by Manchester gave the Spartans a 14-9 advantage. The visiting Spartans extended  the lead to seven points at 18-11 and 21-14. Four consecutive kills by Colleen McCarthy, however, shifted the momentum to the home side as the Spartans called a timeout clinging to a narrow 21-18 lead. Manchester took the next two points for a 23-18 lead, but the Belles scrapped their way to within two points at 23-21 with another McCarthy kill and a pair of Manchester miscues. A service error and an attack error by the Belles, however, gave the Spartans the 25-21 first-set win. 

 

Manchester stormed out of the gates in the second set with a 10-2 lead. The Belles dug their heels in and chipped away at the deficit with spurts of points. Emma Watford had an ace, Mia Shields had a kill, and Colleen McCarthy added another kill to her total as Saint Mary's still trailed midway through the set. Down 19-9, another McCarthy kill jump-started a 7-0 scoring run for the Belles. Grace Braselton and Mia Shields each added a kill, and Remington Vincent served up back-to-back aces. Braselton and Shields teamed up for a double block, and an attack error saw the Belles pull within three points at 19-16. Manchester put a stop to the run with a kill, and a three-point spurt put the Spartans up 24-17 before Manchester closed out the set 25-19.

 

The Spartans were able to string together points in the third set for a 9-5 lead, and an 8-0 run a short while later extended Manchester's advantage to 19-7. Mia Shields put away a kill, and the Belles continued to fight down the stretch. McCarthy collected a kill, Shields and Shay Theile teamed up for a block, and Shields hammered another kill to make it 20-13 as the Spartans called a timeout. Saint Mary's was able to edge within six points late in the set, but the Manchester lead was too much to overtake late in a 25-17 final.

 

Colleen McCarthy led all players with 14 kills. Mia Shields had six kills on a .357 hitting effort out of the right side to go along with a pair of block assists. Grace Braselton added four kills and a block. Cali Allen tallied a pair of kills with six digs. Emma Watford led Saint Mary's with nine digs. Courtney Pelletier and Remington Vincent each posted four digs. Vincent had a match-high four aces to match her single game season-high mark, and the freshman tallied 11 assists. Karla Rigan chipped in nine assists.

 

The Belles (3-10) host North Park on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. in a non-conference contest.