MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Saint Mary's College Volleyball dropped both matches to open the weekend in Memphis, falling to the University of Wisconsin-River Falls 3-0 and falling to Millsaps University 3-0. The Belles fall to 13-9 while the Falcons improved to 11-14 while the Majors improved to 15-13.

Saint Mary's vs River Falls

Saint Mary's got out to an early lead in the first set before River Falls was able to climb back and tie the match. Both teams traded points throughout the majority of the set, the Belles went on a five point run to take a four point lead late in the set. The Falcons bounced right back and closed out the set with an 8-2 run to take the first set of the match, 25-23.

It was a similar story in the second set, both teams continued to trade points and hold even with one another throughout the majority of the set. River Falls extended their lead to five points late in the set which knocked Saint Mary's down as the Falcons took the second set, 25-19, and a 2-0 lead on the match.

While River Falls took the lead early in the third set, Saint Mary's kept them close and battled back to tie the match twice late. While the Belles battled their way back into the set, the Falcons held strong and closed out the final set with a 7-3 run to take the set, 25-21.

Junior Caroline Carens (Naperville, IL) led the team with eight kills while sophomore Kalli Lewkowski (Spring Lake, MI) added seven. Sophomore Giuliana Graczyk (Chicago, IL) led the team with 18 assists while also leading with 11 digs.

Senior Karli Fegan (Orland Park, IL) tallied three service aces on the match, tying a career best that she set earlier in the season against the University of Olivet.

Saint Mary's vs Millsaps

Saint Mary's and Millsaps played almost identical in the first set as they traded points, neither team being able to pull away. The Majors would go on a 5-0 run late in the set to pull away from the Belles and never looked back, taking the first point of the match, 25-21.

After Saint Mary's got out to a quick lead in the second set, Millsaps used another 5-0 run to take the lead themselves. After that run, the set would play similarly to the first as both teams continued to trade points back and forth. The Majors started to separate themselves from the Belles, eventually taking the set, 25-20, and going up 2-0 on the match.

The Majors took advantage of their strong start and led that into the third set. Millsaps got out to an early five point lead and held Saint Mary's at bay throughout the set. While the Belles pulled close multiple times during the set, the Majors played strong and kept their lead, taking the final set, 25-19, and winning the match 3-0.

Carens led the team with 10 kills while hitting an impressive .308. Lewkowski would add eight kills on the night. Graczyk led with 16 assists while Fegan led with 12 digs. Carens also added four total blocks on the night.

Freshman Chloe Aalfs (Buchanan, MI) made her first collegiate appearance for the Belles in the third set and tallied her first collegiate kill shortly after entering the game.

UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES

Saint Mary's returns home for the final time on Saturday, November 1, as they host Kalamazoo College for their regular season home finale as the team celebrates Senior Day against the Hornets. The Belles close out the season with back-to-back road matches at Albion College on November 5 before closing the season at Olivet on November 8.