NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Saint Mary's College Volleyball hits the road this week for two Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association matches before returning home for their Morgan's Message match on Sunday, October 6.
The Belles head to Alma College on Tuesday to open the conference season with a 7pm start before traveling to Hope College on Saturday for a matchup with the #4 ranked team in the nation at 12pm. The Belles return home to host Beloit College on Sunday for their Morgan's Message match at 2pm. The match is to help raise awareness for the mental health of student athletes.
Saint Mary's comes into the week after going 0-3 at the Rose-Hulman Invitational with losses to Anderson, Illinois College, and Rose-Hulman. Sophomore Caroline Carens had a strong showing for the Belles as she was named to the All-Tournament Team after putting up 20 kills, seven blocks, and a .263 hitting percentage.
Carens leads the Belles with 124 kills on the season while freshman Kalli Lewkowski is close behind with 120, both players are averaging over 2.5 kills per set. The duo are both hitting above .300 each, Carens hitting .314 and Lewkowski at .304 respectively. Sophomore Abby Reese has been dominating the assist category for Saint Mary's as her season total reaches 271. Freshman Giuliana Graczyk has been putting in work and is at 147 on the year. Senior Cali Allen leads the team with 24 service aces while junior Delaney Martin (14) and Reese (10) are the lone others with double-figures.
Junior Karli Fegan leads the team in digs with 183 on the year while averaging 4.16 per set. Allen follows as the other Belle with triple-digits with 131. Carens leads the team in blocks with 35 while Lewkowski follows closely with 26, both lead with nine solo blocks each.
Alma Scots
Alma comes into the match with a 3-11 record and have already fallen to Saint Mary's, 3-0, earlier this season at the Manchester Invitational. The Scots have won two of their last three matches with wins over Hiram and Delta at the Alma College Triangular. Nevea Bush leads the team with 96 kills, Vicky Villarosa leads the Scots in assists with 196, Grace Steiner leads in digs with 157, while Callie Smith leads the team with 36 blocks.
Hope Flying Dutch
Hope comes into the week as the #4 ranked team in the nation with an 11-2 record. The Flying Dutch will travel to Calvin on Tuesday before hosting Saint Mary's on Saturday. Hope is on a three match win streak with all wins coming against ranked opponents, including #3 Wisconsin-Whitewater, #15 North Park, and #25 Transylvania. The Flying Dutch's only losses have come against #1 Juniata and #2 Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Hope is led by Addie VanderWeide with 162 kills, Lauren Leo with 506 assists, Samantha Seib with 161 digs, and Annie Lockett and Kamryn Burbridge with 24 blocks each.
Beloit Buccaneers
Beloit comes into the week with a 1-11 record and will travel to Grinnell College on Tuesday before Sunday's match. The Buccaneers lone win this season came against Alverno College in their second match of the season. The Buccaneers are led by McKayla Simao with 59 kills and 112 digs, Selin Tufte with 107 assists, and Camille Ledoux and Naomi Murphy with six blocks each.