NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team fell in a 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-14) final against a North Park side that is receiving votes in the latest AVCA Coaches' Poll. 

 

The first set was a back-and-forth battle between the two sides as the teams had five ties and a pair of lead changes through 18 points of play. The Vikings shifted the momentum in the opening stanza after an 8-0 run put North Park ahead 15-9. A kill by Colleen McCarthy, an attack error by the Vikings, and a kill by Mia Shields pulled the Belles within 15-12. The teams traded points with one another. North Park had another spurt for an 18-13 lead before closing out the set with a 6-0 run for the 25-14 win.

 

Saint Mary's turned a 6-3 deficit in the second set into a 10-9 lead with points off of kills by Cali Allen, Grace Braselton, and Colleen McCarthy along with some miscues by the Vikings. North Park countered with a 7-2 run for a 16-12 lead as the Belles called a timeout. Cali Allen tried to get the Belles back on track with a kill on the next point, but the Vikings took three of the next four points for a 19-13 advantage. Saint Mary's continued to battle while staying within striking distance. A kill by McCarthy, an attack error by North Park, and a service ace by McCarthy edged the Belles within two points at 22-20. After calling a timeout, the Vikings used three consecutive kills for the 25-20 win in the set.

 

North Park shifted the momentum again in the third set by using a 7-2 scoring run to take a 12-8 lead. A service error by the Vikings followed by a solo block by McCarthy put the Belles within two points at 12-10. The Vikings rattled off four consecutive points before extending their lead to 21-12. Grace Baselton and Shay Theile each had a kill late in the set, but the deficit was too large to overcome in the 25-14 final in the set.

 

Colleen McCarthy led the Belles with nine kills and added nine digs, two aces, and two solo blocks. Cali Allen chipped in six kills and six digs. Mia Shields put down four kills, and Grace Braselton added three kills. Emma Watford had a team-high 11 digs. Remington Vincent put up 11 assists and eight digs, Karla Rigan added 10 assists and a solo block, and Courtney Pelletier collected seven assists.

 

The Belles (3-11) return to conference competition on Tuesday when they travel to Hope for a 7:00 p.m. contest.