NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team came up on the short side of a 3-1 (21-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-22) final against Illinois Tech on Friday night in the Belles' home opener.
Trailing 12-10 in the opening set, the Belles used a kill by
Molly Pooler and a service ace by
Shay Theile to knot the score at 12-12. A three-point spurt a few moments later gave the Belles a 16-14 edge, and Saint Mary's extended the lead to 20-16 with a kill by
Hannah Stacy and an ace by
Allison Thornton. The Scarlet Hawks used a pair of errors to make it a 22-20 score late, but the Belles responded with kills by
Molly Pooler and
Colleen McCarthy before an Illinois Tech attack error gave the home side the 25-21 win.
Illinois Tech broke open a tight second set with an 8-0 run to build a 16-7 lead. Saint Mary's cut the deficit to four points at both 19-15 and 23-19 before back-to-back ball handling errors by the Scarlet Hawks kept the set alive for the Belles at 24-21. Illinois Tech, however, closed out the set on the next point with a kill to even the overall score at one set apiece.
The Belles held an early 7-6 advantage in the third stanza, but a quick four-point spurt gave Illinois Tech a lead they would not relinquish throughout the set. A
Hannah Stacy kill pulled the Belles within two at 18-16, and a big double block by
Colleen McCarthy and
Allison Thornton made it 23-21. The Scarlet Hawks put down consecutive kills after the block for the 25-21 win in the set and the 2-1 edge overall.
Saint Mary's had their sights set on forcing a decisive fifth set as the Belles stormed out to a quick 5-0 lead in the fourth frame. Illinois Tech responded with a 13-3 run of their own to take over the momentum and the lead. After a pair of hitting errors by Illinois Tech,
Shay Theile put away a kill to help Saint Mary's to a 6-0 run as the Belles regained the edge at 14-13. The visitors countered with a 5-0 run as the two sides traded figurative punches. Saint Mary's cut the deficit to a point at both 19-18 and 20-19 with kills by
Karla Rigan and
Shay Theile. Back-to-back errors by Illinois Tech then tied the score at 21-21. The Scarlet Hawks put the next two points on the scoreboard, but
Colleen McCarthy put away a kill after a timeout to make it a 23-22 set. Illinois Tech, however, closed out the set and the match with the next two points.
The Belles (4-4) travel to North Manchester, Indiana on Saturday to take on IU-Northwest and host Manchester at 2:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., respectively.
