ANGOLA, Ind. - The sixth-seeded Saint Mary's volleyball team saw their 2019 season come to a close with a 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-20, 25-17) loss to third-seeded Trine on Tuesday evening in the first round of the MIAA Tournament.
Neither team established larger than a four-point lead in the opening set of play. With the Belles up 12-11 after a
Nicole Lukens kill, the Thunder put the next three points on the scoreboard to start a 7-2 run as Trine gained an 18-14 lead. Saint Mary's came right back with a kill by
Megan Collantes and a block by
Morgan VanderWey and
Lindsey Pelletier. Still trailing at 22-19, Lukens and Collantes put down back-to-back kills before Lukens served up an ace to knot the score at 22-22. The teams traded points to push the score to 23-23, but a service error by Saint Mary's was followed by an ace by Trine as the Thunder took the first set 25-23.
The Belles fell behind early in the second set as the Thunder built a 6-2 lead through the first eight points of play. An error by Trine helped start a 5-0 spurt for Saint Mary's as the Belles claimed a 7-6 lead. Much like the first set, neither team was able to establish much wiggle room in terms of a sizable advantage as the lead traded hands four times over the next stretch of play. The Belles, however, were able to push ahead by three points at 18-15, 20-17, and 22-19 before claiming a four-point lead at 23-19 on a Trine miscue. The Thunder came out of a timeout to take the next three points to make it a 23-22 score, but a Trine attack error was followed by a
Megan Collantes kill as the Belles took the set by a 25-22 margin.
Saint Mary's carried that momentum over to the start of the third stanza as the Belles built a 10-5 lead early against the Thunder. A four-point spurt by Trine quickly put the home side back in the mix. Over the remainder of the set, neither team held greater than a five-point lead. With the Belles down 15-14, Pelletier pounded down another kill to knot the score at 15-15. An attack error by Trine was followed by a
Morgan VanderWey kill and a
Megan Collantes kill as the Belles pushed ahead 18-15. The Thunder, however, responded with the next three points to draw even at 18-18. Collantes and Lukens regained the lead for Saint Mary's with consecutive kills, but Trine put the next seven points on the scoreboard for the 25-20 win in the set.
That late surge gave the home side a lot of momentum going into the fourth set as Trine surged out to a 7-1 lead. Saint Mary's continued to fight and used short spurts to pull within three points at 10-7. Back-to-back Trine kills, however, but the Thunder up 12-7. A spurt by Trine pushed the advantage to 16-9 for the home side. Saint Mary's out-scored Trine by a 6-4 margin over the next stretch of action as Lukens and Collantes each picked up another kill to pull the Belles within five points at 20-15. The deficit, however, proved to be too much to overcome late in the set as Trine took the 25-17 set for the four-set decision.
Each of the first three sets on the night featured nine ties as the opening three stanzas combined for 14 lead changes.
The Belles end the season 13-16 overall.
