HOLLAND, Mich. - Saint Mary's College Volleyball fell to Hope College, 3-0, on the road Friday night. The Belles fall to 12-10 (1-3 MIAA) while the Flying Dutch improve to 14-6 (4-0 MIAA).
Early in the first set it was a back and forth battle as the teams traded points back and forth as Saint Mary's took a one point lead heading into the technical timeout midway through the set. As it seemed like Saint Mary's had momentum flowing their direction, Hope would go on a dominating 11-3 run to close out the set and take a 25-18 win. The Belles totalled just five kills in the set as sophomore Lexi Szymanski (Walker, MI) led with two and junior Giuliana Graczyk (Chicago, IL) added three assists.
Hope carried their momentum into the second set as they got out to an early 11-1 lead with help from a 7-0 run. While Saint Mary's used short runs of two to three points each, the Dutch held strong throughout and ended up with a convincing 25-13 win to take a 2-0 lead. Senior Caroline Carens (Naperville, IL) added two kills to join Szymanski at three each. Graczyk jumped up to seven assists on the night.
After some quick point trading early in the third set, the Belles got out to a strong five point lead heading into the technical timeout. After some traded points, the Dutch would rip off a 7-0 run to take the lead in the latter portions. While Saint Mary's knotted the match back up at 19, Hope would score six of the final nine points to take a 25-22 set victory, clinching their 3-0 win.
Szymanski would lead the team with five kills on the night while Carens and senior Abby Reese (Elkhart, IN) added four. Sophomore Maddie Taitano (Tacoma, WA) and freshman Maddy VanBlack (Tecumseh, MI) contributed three each. Graczyk would put up a team high 11 assists while Reese added eight.
Defensively, sophomore Molly Boyle (Palos Heights, IL) added 10 digs while VanBlack added seven and Reese had six. Carens led the team with five block assists while Reese added three. Freshman Bridget O'Connell (Tinley Park, IL) added the lone solo block for the Belles.
UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES
Saint Mary's returns home on October 23 as they host the University of Olivet for a 7pm matchup. The Belles then hit the road for the final time in the regular season with trips to Alma College on October 30 and Adrian College on November 4. The Belles close out the regular season at home on November 7 as they host Trine University for a 1pm matchup and celebrate Senior Day.
