WHEATON, Ill. - Saint Mary's College Volleyball split their first two matches at the Marilyn Scribner Invitational including a 3-0 win over Concordia University Chicago, and fell to Central College, 3-1. The Belles move to 6-3 on the year.
Saint Mary's vs Concordia Chicago
While the two teams traded points early, Saint Mary's would use a strong 8-2 run to extend their lead to five. While Concordia Chicago thought they could bounce right back into it, the Belles used a 9-0 run to blow the lead wide open with some incredible serving from sophomore Lexi Szymanski (Walker, MI) who tallied four service aces in the run alone. Saint Mary's closed out the set with a 4-1 run thanks to three errors from the Cougars to take the first set, 25-12. Szymanski's four aces sparked the run for the Belles while senior Caroline Carens (Naperville, IL) added six kills on just seven total attacks.
The Belles dominated the second set as they got out to a quick 8-0 run before the Cougars could muster a point. That point wouldn't slow down the Belles as they would go on another 10-0 run to get out to a dominating 18-1 lead. While Concordia Chicago tried to mount any form of comeback, Saint Mary's closed out the set with an impressive 25-6 victory to a 2-0 lead in the match. Carens added five more kills to her total to bring her to 11 on the afternoon while junior Giuliana Graczyk (Chicago, IL) added seven more assists to move into double figures with 14.
The third set brought more domination from the Belles, getting out to a strong 8-3 lead early in the match once again. Saint Mary's controlled the third set with four separate runs of at least three points. While the Cougars put up a strong fight in the middle of the set, the Belles closed out a 25-15 win to earn the 3-0 sweep.Â
Carens led the team with 14 kills on the match while hitting a lucrative .700 hit percentage. Szymanski would add seven kills but shined from the serving line as she totalled an incredible eight service aces to tie the program record for aces in a match. Graczyk led the team with 20 assists while senior Abby Reese (Ekhart, IN) added 10.Â
Defensively, freshman Bridget O'Connell (Tinley Park, IL) led the team with three block assists while sophomore Molly Boyle (Palos Heights, IL) tallied a team high 13 digs.Â
As a team, the Belles hit an incredible .431 on the match while hitting .552, .440, and .333 across each set. They also held Concordia Chicago to just a .013 hitting percentage while forcing them into 20 errors including 10 in the third set alone.
Saint Mary's vs Central
Both teams fought back and forth early in the match as Central took a short two point lead in the early portion. Saint Mary's bounced right back to flip the script on the Dutch as they went on a 6-1 run to take a 13-10 lead. The two went back to trading points before another 7-1 run for the Belles forced Central to burn both of their timeouts just three points apart. Saint Mary's would hold their lead strong to take a 25-19 win in the first set. Carens led the team with five kills in the set.
Saint Mary's came out and took an early lead in the second set before Central used a 7-1 run of their own to climb right back ahead of the Belles midway through the set. The Dutch held the Belles at bay for the majority of the set before the Belles used a strong 5-0 run to knot the match at 24 and send it into a tiebreaker. The two traded points up to 26-26 before Central closed out the set with a 28-26 victory. Carens added another five kills to bring her total to 10 while Reese and sophomore Shannon Rudge (Granger, IN) added four each. Reese and Graczyk both moved into double figure assists with 11 and 10 respectively.
The third set was a game of runs for both teams as they combined for eight runs of three or more points throughout the set. While Central had the slight edge through the first part of the set, Saint Mary's bounced back with an 8-3 run to tie the match at 17. While the teams went back and forth through the remainder of the set, the Dutch had the slight edge and took the third set, 25-22, to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Rudge added three more kills to her total while Graczyk tallied six assists.
Saint Mary's led throughout the majority of the fourth set, taking quick runs to keep ahead of Central. But a strong run from the Dutch saw them take the lead for the first time in the set and never look back. After the Belles retook the lead, the Dutch went on a 7-2 run to close out the match, 25-21, and take the 3-1 win.
Carens led the team with 14 more kills on the evening while Rudge added a season best 10 kills. Graczyk led the team with 21 assists while Reese chipped in 13. Carens would also add two service aces to her tally.
Defensively, Carens led the team with four block assists while freshman Maddy VanBlack (Tecumseh, MI) added two. Boyle led the team with 19 digs while Szymanski added 11 and both Rudge and Graczyk added 10.
UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES
Saint Mary's is back in action tomorrow for day two of the Marilyn Scribner Invitational. The Belles will take on the hosts Wheaton College at 11am EST before closing out the weekend against Aurora University at 4pm EST.
