ELMHURST, Ill. - Saint Mary's College Volleyball fell to Elmhurst University on Friday night in a non-conference matchup, 3-1. The Belles fall to 12-7 while the Blue Jays improve to 8-15.
The teams traded points early in the first set before Saint Mary's was able to get a couple points out in front. Elmhurst responded with a big 10-2 run to get out to a five point lead over the Belles. While the Belles tried to close the gap and make a comeback in the set, the Blue Jays ended the set on a 4-1 run to take an early 1-0 lead with a 25-18 victory.
Elmhurst fed off their momentum from the first set and got out to a hot start and got out to a strong eight point lead to try and knock Saint Mary's out of it. While the Belles battled back and traded points with the Blue Jays, Elmhurst held on to close out the second set for their second 25-18 victory, taking an early 2-0 lead.
Saint Mary's bounced back to open the third set after getting out to a quick 7-2 lead. Elmhurst would come right back and make it a one point game. The Belles extended their lead slightly and went toe to toe with the Blue Jays through the remainder of the set, as both teams would trade two points back and forth. The Belles closed the set with a 4-1 run aided by kills from senior Grace Braselton (Grand Rapids, MI) and sophomore Kalli Lewkowski (Spring Lake, MI), taking the set, 25-21, and cutting the Blue Jays lead to one.
Elmhurst got hot to open the fourth set, scoring the first eight points. While Saint Mary's tried to claw their way back into it, the Blue Jays used another 8-1 run to extend their lead to 14 at the back end of the set. While Saint Mary's finished with a couple more points in the set, Elmhurst closed out the set, 25-11, and the match, 3-1.
Freshman Shannon Rudge (Granger, IN) led the team with eight kills on the night while junior Caroline Carens (Naperville, IL) and senior Delaney Martin (North Judson, IN) added seven and six respectively. Sophomore Giuliana Graczyk (Chicago, IL) led the Belles with 14 assists while junior Abby Reese (Elkhart, IN) added nine. Senior Karli Fegan (Orland Park, IL) led the team with 15 digs while Graczyk added 11.
Carens and Lewkowski tallied four block assists each to lead Saint Mary's while freshman Maddie Taitano (Tacoma, WA) added three of her own. Lewkowski would also snag a career high four service aces.
UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES
Saint Mary's returns home for a single match on Wednesday, October 22, as they host Adrian College for a 7pm matchup. The Belles then hit the road for a tri-match at Rhodes College in Memphis, TN on October 24-25. They will take on the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, Millsaps College, and the Lynx over the two days.
