ANGOLA, Ind. - Saint Mary's College Volleyball fell to Trine University on Wednesday night, 3-1, in a back and forth in-state battle. The Belles fall to 12-5 (0-3 MIAA) while the Thunder improved to 6-12 (1-1 MIAA).
Early in the first set, both teams traded points back and forth as neither team could get a strong lead bigger than a few points. Midway through the set, Trine used a 10-2 after Saint Mary's tied the match to extend their lead to eight points, not looking back as they would take the first set, 25-17. Juniors Caroline Carens (Naperville, IL) and Abby Reese (Elkhart, IN) tallied a team best three kills in the set while sophomore Giuliana Graczyk (Chicago, IL) added four assists.
While the teams continued to trade points early in the second set, the Thunder used a 9-1 run to extend to a seven point lead. The Belles stormed back with a 10-0 run of their own to take the lead back with some incredible service from freshman Lexi Szymanski (Walker, MI) who tallied three service aces in the stretch alone. While Trine kept it close, Saint Mary's would close out the set, 25-22, with kills from Carens and sophomore Kalli Lewkowski (Spring Lake, MI) and freshman Shannon Rudge (Granger, IN). Carens added five kills in the set to bring her total to eight while Graczyk added 10 assists to bring her total to 14.
After getting down early in the third set, Saint Mary's battled back to take the lead and wouldn't let go through the first half of the third set. While the match stayed close, Trine was able to go on a 6-1 run and take the lead back and try to keep the Belles out of reach. The Belles battled right back making it a one point game, coming down to the final point until the Thunder were able to close the set out, 25-23, to take a 2-1 lead in the set. Carens improved to 12 kills on the night while Rudge brought her total to nine. Graczyk added seven more assists to bring her tally to 21 while also adding two service aces in the set. Reese also brought her assist total to double-figures with 11.
As the teams continued to trade points early in the fourth set, the Thunder would start to pull away as they began picking points from the Belles and keeping them a few points away at all times. They also used a 9-1 run to extend their lead to seven points and never looked back, closing out the set, 25-17, to win the match, 3-1.
Carens led the team with 15 kills on the night while Rudge and Lewkowski joined her in double-figures with 11 and 10 respectively. Carens also hit an incredible, and match high, .419 on the match. Lewkowski also had an impressive night, hitting .320.
Graczyk led the team with 24 assists while Reese added 15 of her own. Reese also led the team with 17 digs while senior Karli Fegan (Orland Park, IL) added 15 and Graczyk added 13. Graczyk and Szymanski would have a strong serving night as they totalled seven service aces between the two of them, four for Graczyk and three for Szymanski.
UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES
Saint Mary's continues the road trip as they travel to Calvin University on Tuesday, October 14, before finishing the trip with a non-conference matchup at Elmhurst University on October 17. The Belles return home for a single game on October 22 as they host Adrian College.
