NOTRE DAME, Ind. -  Saint Mary's College volleyball defeated Kalamazoo College with a 3-0 sweep at home on Saturday, making the Belles' "Senior Day" celebration all the more sentimental. The Belles improve to 15-9 (2-4 MIAA) while the Hornets become 10-16 (1-6 MIAA) on the season. 
 
Saint Mary's held Kalamazoo down early in the first set with kills and aces from sophomore Kalli Lewkowski (Spring Lake, MI) and senior Delaney Martin (North Judson, IN). They forced multiple attack errors across the net to stay comfortably ahead, extending their lead to 6-1. The Hornets attempted to come back, but never quite found their rhythm and traded points with Saint Mary's until the Belles pulled ahead starting from 15-12 with kills from junior Caroline Carens (Naperville, IL), aces senior Karli Fegan (Orland Park, IL) and more unforced errors pushed the Belles into the 20s while Kalamazoo stayed at 15. The Hornets attempted a comeback on set point for Saint Mary's; however, a kill from freshman Shannon Rudge (Granger, IN) ended the set, 25-19. The Belles out-killed Kalamazoo 11-10 and hit a 0.241 to their 0.062. 
 
The second set mirrored the middle of the first, with both teams trading points back and forth. However, Saint Mary's held off Kalamazoo from taking the lead until they were tied at 19 a piece. From there, the Belles took control of the rest of the match with junior Abby Reese (Elkhart, In) and sophomore Giuliana Graczyk (Chicago, IL) finding senior Grace Braselton (Grand Rapids, MI), Martin, and Lewkowski for kills that led the team to a quick 25-20 win. Lewkowski hit a 0.615 for eight kills on 13 attempts, making her the most efficient hitter on both sides of the net at this point in the match. Both Saint Mary's and the Hornets had a steady defense, both digging 26 balls and recording three total team blocks heading into the third set. 
 
Kalamazoo's first lead came from the beginning of the third set when they were up 1-0; however the Belles came back and forced a tied score of 10-10 before constantly trading points for 20 rallies. Once the score was 20-20, Saint Mary's showed true grit and determination to close out the match. It started with a kill from Lewkowski, followed by a hitting error from the Hornets. Resse added another kill, and an unforced error kept the momentum for the Belles. Kalamazoo registered a kill on Saint Mary's  match point, but a service error from the Hornets sealed the match 25-21 for the Belles. 
 
Saint Mary's walked away with a very successful win on Senior Day with Lewkoski leading with 10 kills, Braselton close behind with nine, and Rudge with eight. The offense who hit a 0.295 was led by Graczyk with 24 assists and Resse with 12. The back row was defended by Rudge with 13 digs and Fegan with 12. 
 
Braselton hit an incredible .600 on the match to lead both sides while Lewkowski hit an impressive .381. Lewkowski also added four service aces to lead the match while Martin added two.
 
Saint Mary's celebrated their three seniors after the match. Seniors Delaney Martin, Karli Fegan, and Grace Braselton were all honored for their contributions to the Belles Volleyball program.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES
Saint Mary's will travel to play Albion on Wednesday, November 5th before traveling to play Olivet that Saturday. These two games will close the season for the Belles and determine post-season standings.