WHEATON, Ill. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team claimed a 25-20, 29-27, 29-27 win against North Central in their opening match of the Wheaton Invitational on Friday evening. The Belles later lost in straight sets to No. 12 ranked Wisconsin-Stevens Point by 25-15, 25-22, 26-24 scores.
Against North Central,
Meaghan Gibbons led the Belles with 14 kills to go along with 14 digs.
Katie Hecklinski chipped in a double-double with 13 kills and 13 digs.
McKenzie Todd had team-highs of 16 digs and six service aces.
Alexis Grady registered 21 assists while
Clare McMillan added 20 assists.
The win also gave the Belles their best record through the first 15 matches of the season since the 2008 season when Saint Mary's posted a 10-5 record through 15 contests. The 11-4 record matched the 2006 squad's 11-4 record through the same number of matches.
A power outage delayed the conclusion of the match against No. 12 Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Friday night. The Belles got stronger against the Pointers as the match went on, but Wisconsin-Stevens Point pulled out the late third-set win for the victory.
Katie Hecklinski had 14 kills to lead the Belles to go along with 11 digs. McKenzie Todd led all players in the match with 26 digs. Morgan Klein chipped in 10 digs. Clare McMillan had 19 assists, and Alexis Grady added 13 assists in the match.
Due to the power outage and the late conclusion of matches, all matches are starting half an hour later than originally scheduled. The Belles (11-5) will face off against host Wheaton at 12:45 p.m. CDT before playing Wisconsin-Eau Claire at 3:00 p.m. CDT.
