ANGOLA, Ind. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team shouldered a 3-1 (25-15, 25-27, 25-11, 25-15) setback against Wooster and fell 3-1 (25-14, 22-25, 25-19, 25-21) against Hiram on day two of the MIAA/NCAC Crossover hosted by Trine.

 

After falling in the opening set against Wooster, the Belles erased an early deficit against the Scots in the second set. Trailing 7-1, Saint Mary's tied the score at 13-13 and 14-14 before taking a 15-14 lead with Cali Allen, Mia Shields, Colleen McCarthy, and Grace Braselton all contributing kills. The two sides stayed close down the stretch in the second stanza. Kills by Shields and McCarthy put the Belles up set-point at 24-23, but the Scots came back with back-to-back points for a 25-24 lead. Mia Shields put away a kill, Wooster had an attack error, and Shields served an ace to turn the deficit into a 27-25 win in the set.

 

The Scots, however, used a big run in the third set to build an insurmountable lead to go up 2-1 in the match. The fourth set saw the Belles fight to pull within 16-13 with kills by Remington Vincent, Patricia Settlemier, and Mia Shields. After a Wooster timeout, the Scots used an 8-1 run to regain a big lead before capturing the match with a 25-15 win in the set.

 

Mia Shields had 11 kills and Cali Allen added nine kills to lead the Belles against Wooster. Colleen McCarthy added seven kills, and Grace Braselton put down six kills on just 13 attempts. Allen put up 11 digs, McCarthy tallied 10 digs, and Shields posted six digs. Courtney Pelletier led the team with 15 digs. Remington Vincent had 20 assists, and Karla Rigan added nine assists.

 

In the second match of the day, the Belles again responded with a second-set win after falling in the opening stanza. With the score tied 6-6, Saint Mary's used a 6-1 scoring spurt to take the lead. McCarthy and Braselton each had two kills, and Remington Vincent added a service ace during that spurt. The Terriers edged within a point four times late in the set, but Saint Mary's had a response each time to maintain the lead. Shields put down a kill, and Allen and McCarthy each had two kills late for the Belles before Grace Braselton closed out the set with a solo block for the 25-22 win.

 

The Saint Mary's side responded to a pair of early leads by Hiram in the third set to tie the score at 8-8 and at 16-16. Cali Allen had two timely kills to keep the Belles within striking distance at 19-17 and 21-18, but a three-point spurt put Hiram up 24-18 before the Terriers closed out the set 25-19. Trailing 22-15 in the fourth set, Saint Mary's edged within four points at 22-18, 23-19, and 24-20 before making it a three-point deficit at 24-21 with another Braselton block. The Terriers used a kill on the next point to stop any late-set comeback by Saint Mary's for the 3-1 final.

 

Colleen McCarthy led all players with 19 kills and had a team-best 20 digs while Cali Allen added a double-double of her own with 16 kills and 17 digs. Mia Shields had seven kills. Courtney Pelletier picked up 16 digs, and Grace Braselton had three blocks. Karla Rigan registered 24 assists, and Remington Vincent collected a double-double with 18 assists and 11 digs. 

 

The Belles (3-5) are back on the court on Friday when they travel to Manchester to face IU-Northwest and Franklin starting at 6:00 p.m.