KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team nearly had the reverse sweep in their conference opener at Kalamazoo but fell just short in a 3-2 (25-22, 25-23, 25-27, 23-25, 15-12) final against the Hornets on Tuesday night.
Kalamazoo claimed an early lead in the opening set of play before the Belles came back to tie the set 7-7 with back-to-back kills by
Caroline Carens. The Hornets used a kill and a service ace to gain the lead. Saint Mary's continued to battle and stayed within striking distance. Trailing by four, Saint Mary's used a kill by
Cali Allen, a Kalamazoo attack error, and a kill by
Shani Russell to pull within a point at 17-16. The Hornets took the next point and later extended their lead to 24-19. The Belles continued to fight and stay alive. A pair of errors by the Hornets were followed by a
Mia Shields kill to make it a 24-22 score, but Kalamazoo claimed the set with a kill for the 25-22 final.
The second set saw Kalamazoo claim a 13-7 lead and held an 18-13 advantage a short while later. A service error by the Hornets sparked a run by the Belles as Saint Mary's got right back into the thick of things. Kalamazoo had a pair of attack errors, and
Grace Braselton served up an ace before another error by the Hornets tied the score at 18-18. Kalamazoo put away a kill before the Hornets capitalized on two errors for a 21-18 lead as the Belles called a timeout. Two more points for the Hornets gave Kalamazoo a 23-18 advantage. A late push again by the Belles - spurred by a
Caroline Carens kill and a service ace by
Kennedy Oselka - made it a two-point score at 23-21.
Cali Allen kept the set alive two points later to pull the Belles within one at 24-23. The Hornets came out of a timeout and used a kill to gain a 25-23 win in the set.
The third set featured 10 ties and four lead changes. The Belles gained a five-point lead at 10-5 after a block by Carens and
Cali Allen followed by a
Kennedy Oselka kill. The Hornets flipped the lead with an 8-2 spurt for a 17-16 advantage. The two sides went back-and-forth throughout the remainder of the set as the teams were tied 17-17, 18-18, 19-19, 21-21, and 23-23. Oselka gave the Belles set point with a kill, but a miscue tied the game at 24-24. Oselka put away another kill before a service ace tied the score 25-25. For the third time late, Oselka's number was called and collected yet another kill for a 26-25 lead, and the freshman then stepped back to the service line and delivered an ace for the 27-25 win.
The fourth set saw 13 ties with eight lead changes. Trailing 17-13, the Belles came back to knot the score 18-18 before using a Kalamazoo error and a
Delaney Martin service ace to gain a 20-18 lead.
Grace Braselton put away a kill to tie the score at 22-22. A lengthy rally on the ensuing point went the other way, but Braselton found another kill on the next point to knot it up at 23-23. Braselton put down a solo block for set point, and
Abby Reese put a kill down to lift the Belles to a 25-23 win to force a fifth set.
Saint Mary's came out with a lot of momentum and translated that into a quick 4-1 lead in the decisive stanza.
Caroline Carens,
Delaney Martin, and
Shani Russell all had early kills. Things were tied up at 4-4 and 5-5, but a
Shani Russell ace and an
Abby Reese kill gave the Belles an 8-6 lead as the teams switched sides. Ties at 8-8, 9-9, 11-11, and 12-12 meant that the match was either team's to win, but a Kalamazoo kill followed by a pair of attack errors gave the Hornets a 15-12 decision to take the five-set win.
The Belles (4-6, 0-1 MIAA) are on the road on Friday when they travel to Calvin for a 7:00 p.m. conference match.
