NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team fell in a tight 3-2 (25-17, 22-25, 29-31, 25-21, 18-16) conference match against Adrian on Wednesday night.

 

The Belles came back from a pair of deficits in the opening set. Karla Rigan and Delaney Martin registered kills, and an attack error by Adrian put the Belles up 14-13. A short while later, another kill by Martin and a big solo block in the middle by Caroline Carens knotted things up at 17-17. The Bulldogs, however, rattled off eight unanswered points to capture the set 25-17.

 

An early run by Saint Mary's in the second set put the home side up 9-4. Delaney Martin picked up two more kills, Mia Shields served up an ace, and Caroline Carens put down a kill. Adrian edged within a point at 10-9 before Grace Braselton tallied a kill. Saint Mary's continued to have an answer throughout the set. Up by just one point at 19-18, Braselton had another timely kill, and Caroline Carens served an ace for a 21-18 lead. A late push by the Bulldogs kept the set alive until an attack error by Adrian closed out the 25-22 win for the Belles.

 

The largest lead of the third set was a margin of four points after the Belles led 7-3, 10-6, and 11-7. In a back-and-forth stanza from start to finish, Saint Mary's led 15-13 before five points by Adrian put the Bulldogs ahead 18-15. The Belles responded with six of the next eight points for a 21-20 lead after a block by Patricia Settlemier and Shay Theile. Caroline Carens gave the Belles set-point with a kill for a 24-22 advantage, but the Bulldogs stayed alive after a service error and a block. The Belles gained set point three more times while the Bulldogs were a point away from capturing the set twice before the score was tied up at 29-29. Shay Theile served a big ace, and Caroline Carens put away an overpass for a kill and the 31-29 set win. Carens hit .667 in the set with four kills on six swings while Cali Allen hit .455 with five kills on 11 attempts to help pace the offense.

 

The momentum shifted back to the Bulldogs early in the fourth set, however, as Adrian established a quick 9-3 lead. The Belles chipped away at the deficit to pull within three points at 14-11 and 15-12. Three quick points by Adrian made it 18-12. Saint Mary's made a late push to again pull within three at 20-17 after an ace by Shay Theile and a kill by Delaney Martin, forcing the Bulldogs into calling a timeout. Adrian used two points for a 22-17 advantage. Saint Mary's continued to fight down the stretch. Caroline Carens and Patricia Settlemier teamed up for a block, and Abby Reese served an ace to make it 22-19. The Bulldogs, however, limited the Belles to just side-out points down the stretch as Saint Mary's could not make a run in a 25-21 setback in the fourth.

 

Trailing 7-4 in the fifth set, the Belles stormed right back with a five-point run that started with a Caroline Carens kill and was capped off with a Cali Allen kill. Play went back and forth over the next several points as the teams were knotted up at 11-11. The Bulldogs took the next three points for a 14-11 advantage and multiple match points late, but the Belles did not back down and rattled off three consecutive points of their own with kills by Allen and Delaney Martin. Saint Mary's fought off yet another match-point at 15-14 with a kill by Shay Theile. Martin gave the Belles a match-point lead at 16-15 with a kill. Adrian drew even on the next point and went ahead on a kill of their own before a block lifted the Bulldogs to the 18-16 decision and the 3-2 win.

 

Overall, the match featured 34 ties and 18 lead changes combined across all five sets. 

 

Delaney Martin posted career-highs for kills and digs with 16 and 17, respectively, to register her first collegiate double-double. Caroline Carens put away 11 kills and tied for the third-most blocks in a match in the rally-scoring era in program history with eight on the night. Cali Allen chipped in nine kills with 10 digs and two aces. Karli Fegan picked up a team-high 19 digs. Patricia Settlemier had four block assists, and Shay Theile added three block assists and three service aces. Shani Russell had three blocks and 44 assists with six digs. Abby Reese tallied two aces and nine digs. 

 

The Belles (6-13, 1-6 MIAA) travel to Albion on Saturday for their regular season finale. The match begins at 1:00 p.m.