OLIVET, Mich. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team captured a 3-1 (25-15, 21-25, 25-13, 25-14) win at Olivet for the Belles' first MIAA win of the 2021 season on Wednesday evening.

 

With the opening set tied 6-6, the Belles used an 8-1 run to build a 14-7 lead against the host Comets. Claire Hennessy started the run off with a kill while Colleen McCarthy and Hannah Stacy each put away two kills. Allison Thornton capped off the momentum-swinging run with a kill to give Saint Mary's a lead they would not surrender. Olivet edged within three points on three occasions, but another big run - this time a 7-0 spurt - pushed the Belles ahead 23-13 before Saint Mary's took the set 25-15 on a Shay Theile kill.

The second set saw the host Comets gain an early edge by taking nine of the first 11 points of the stanza. The teams played a tight stretch before Saint Mary's strung together a 7-2 run to pull within 16-12, forcing Olivet into taking a timeout. A spurt of four consecutive points a short while later - including back-to-back service aces by Emma Watford - saw the Belles cut the deficit to two points at 19-17. After a Saint Mary's timeout, the Comets used a pair of kills to go up 20-17. The Belles capitalized on a ball handling error before Colleen McCarthy put away a kill. An error by the Comets made it a one-point set as Olivet continued to lead 21-20. The Comets, however, put the next three points on the scoreboard to go up set-point 24-20. McCarthy put down a kill to keep the Belles alive, but a kill by the Comets closed out the 25-21 set.

Neither side was able to establish more than a two-point lead through the first 22 points contested in the third set. With the score tied 11-11, Saint Mary's used a pair of Olivet errors and a double block by Courtney Pelletier and Molly Pooler to gain a 14-11 advantage. Olivet came out of a timeout with a kill, but Saint Mary's responded with the next nine points for a commanding 23-12 lead. During that span, Pooler put away a pair of kills and teamed up for two block assists as the Belles took over control of the set. The Comets got a kill to break up the scoring run, but a kill by McCarthy and an attack error by Olivet gave the Belles the 25-13 win in the set.

The Belles jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the fourth set before ballooning their advantage to 10-2. The Comets cut the deficit to six points, but the Belles squelched any thought of a comeback by responding with the next five points. In the midst of that five-point spurt was a lengthy point which saw Allison Thornton and Colleen McCarthy team up for a block for a 15-6 lead. On the next point, Thornton and Stacy paired up for a block for a 16-6 advantage. Claire Hennessy served up an ace, and the Belles led by at least eight points down the stretch en route to the 25-14.

Colleen McCarthy had a match-high 14 kills and added 16 digs, two block assists, and a service ace. Courtney Pelletier had a .500 attack percentage on the night with 11 kills and a team-high 17 digs. Molly Pooler put away 10 kills with three block assists, and Allison Thornton tallied four block assists. Claire Hennessy added a double-double with 39 assists and 10 digs. Emma Watford picked up 15 digs, and Hannah Stacy chipped in 10 digs in the win.

 

The Belles (5-8, 1-2 MIAA) travel to in-state foe Trine for a non-conference match against the Thunder on Friday starting at 7:00 p.m.