ALMA, Mich. - Saint Mary's College Volleyball fell to Alma College on Tuesday night to open the conference season, 3-2. The Belles fall to 7-8 (0-1 MIAA) on the year while the Scots improve to 4-11 (1-0 MIAA) on the season.
It was a back and forth match in the first set, however Alma was able to pull away at the end, 26-24. Both teams played fairly even in the set, but it was three service aces for the Scots that led them past the Belles. Senior Cali Allen led the team after the set with four kills while freshman Giuliana Graczyk put up eight assists.
The second set was another story of back and forth action, but Alma was able to halt a late Saint Mary's run to take the set, 26-24. While the Belles outkilled the Scots in the set, it was a slight advantage in errors that helped propel the Scots to the victory. Allen and freshman Kalli Lewkowski both finished the set with seven kills while sophomore Abby Reese joined Graczyk with double-digit assists, Reese with 11 and Graczyk with a match high 14.
The Belles would bounce back in the third set with a 25-22 victory. Saint Mary's would dominate in the set with a .429 hitting percentage and were backed by Lewkowski doubling her kill total to 14 while Reese doubled her assist total to 23.
While the fourth set was the closest of them all, Saint Mary's would pull away from Alma to take the set, 26-24, to send the match to a fifth set. Three Belles moved into double-digit kills while Lewkowski had 18 and Reese had brought her assist total to an incredible 36.
The story of the match continued into the fifth and final set, both teams going back and forth and it being as even as can be. But the Scots were able to pull away at the end and take down the Belles, 17-15, to secure the match victory to open the conference season.
Lewkowski led the Belles with a team season-high 24 kills while sophomore Caroline Carens followed with 14, Allen finished with 12 and junior Delaney Martin rounded out the double-digit kills for Saint Mary's with 10. Reese finished the match with a career high 48 assists to lead the Belles and the match. Graczyk would finish with 16. Allen would lead the team with 26 digs while junior Karli Fegan finished with 20, Reese finished with 19, and Martin finished with 17 a piece.
UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES
Saint Mary's continues the road swing on Saturday with a trip to Hope College to take on the #4 ranked team at noon. The Belles return home on Sunday to host Beloit College at 2pm for their annual Morgan's Message match.