NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team suffered a 3-1 (20-25, 25-18, 25-19, 25-22) setback against Trine on Senior Night.

 

The opening set featured seven ties and five lead changes as neither side built more than a three-point advantage until late in the stanza. The visiting Thunder used a scoring spurt to erase a 16-13 Saint Mary's lead as Trine edged ahead 20-18. The Belles responded in a big way late in the set. A service error made it 20-19, and Saint Mary's caught fire over the final stretch with the next five points on a pair of kills by Megan Collantes, a trio of attack errors, and a block by Collantes as the Belles took the opener 25-20.

 

After a handful of ties in the second set, Trine used three consecutive kills to snag a 13-10 lead. Molly Pooler put away a big solo block in the middle, and an attack error put the Belles within a point at 13-12. Saint Mary's kept close as the two teams traded points back and forth, but a four-point spurt by the Thunder put the visitors ahead 20-15. After a timeout, Collantes and Colleen McCarthy put down consecutive kills for Saint Mary's to pull the home side back within three points. Another four-point scoring run by Trine, however, made it 24-17 before Trine took the set 25-18 to make it one set apiece.

 

The Thunder took a 15-11 lead in the third set, but the Belles kept within striking distance as McCarthy put away a pair of kills, Hannah Stacy tallied a kill, and a service ace by McCarthy helped make it 17-15. The teams split the next two points, but Trine used four points to take a 22-16 lead. Allison Thornton put down a kill, and an attack error by the Thunder made it 22-18. Another kill by Thornton two points later kept the Belles close at 23-19, but a service error and an attack error gave the set to Trine by a 25-19 score.

 

Trailing 15-9 in the third set, the Belles refused to go down quietly against the Thunder. Claire Hennessy registered a kill, Hannah Stacy added a kill of her own, and Lexi Degnan served up an ace to make it a 15-12 score. Trine regained a 22-15 lead a short while later, but again Saint Mary's continued to battle. McCarthy and Pooler put away back-to-back kills. Moments later, a pair of Collantes kills sandwiched an attack error by Trine, and Collantes put away another kill to pull Saint Mary's within two points at 23-21. The Thunder pulled ahead 24-21 with a kill, but the Belles stayed alive with a block by Thornton and Hennessy. Trine, however, put away the set and the match with a kill on the next point for the 25-22 win.

 

Megan Collantes led the Belles with 14 kills while registering a double-double with 12 digs. Colleen McCarthy chipped in a double-double of her own with 12 kills and 14 digs. Molly Pooler put away five kills, two solo blocks, and a block assist. Hannah Stacy had her fourth consecutive match with double-digit digs as she tallied 14 digs, Courtney Pelletier picked up 11 digs, and Allison Thornton posted 10 digs. Claire Hennessy narrowly missed a double-double with 32 assists and nine digs on the night.

 

The Belles (7-13, 2-5 MIAA) close out the regular season on Saturday with a match at Kalamazoo with the top-six MIAA Tournament looming on the horizon next week. The match is scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m.