WHEATON, Ill. - Saint Mary's College Volleyball fell in their two matches at the final day of the Marilyn Scribner Invitational on Saturday, falling to the hosts Wheaton College, 3-1, and to Aurora University, 3-0. The Belles fall to 6-5 on the year.
Saint Mary's vs Wheaton
Neither team could get any separation from the other early in the first set, when one team would take a lead, the other bounced right back with a run of their own. Neither team held a lead of more than two points throughout the entire set. As Wheaton took a late one point lead, Saint Mary's battled back with four of the final five points in the set to take the first win of the day, 25-23. Senior Caroline Carens (Naperville, IL) led the team with four kills while sophomore Shannon Rudge (Granger, IN) added three. Carens also led the team with four block assists and a solo block to kick off a hot day defensively for the senior.
The two bounced points back and forth early in the second set as they did the first. The Thunder used a 5-1 run to get out to a short lead but not before the Belles cut it in half quickly. Wheaton then went on a 9-3 run to really open their lead midway through the set. After trailing 22-14 late, Saint Mary's used a 6-0 run of their own to cut the deficit back down to two. The Thunder held strong late, scoring the final three points to take a 25-22 win in set two and tie the match at one. Carens added six more kills to her total to reach double figures early with 10 while freshman Bridget O'Connell (Tinley Park, IL) added three.
Both teams continued their trend of trading points early in the sets before Wheaton got out to a four point advantage midway through. Saint Mary's bounced back after the teams traded points and took a 19-18 lead late in the set. The Thunder would put up a strong 7-3 run at the end of the set to close out a tight 25-22 win in the third set and take a 2-1 advantage. Carens jumped up to 14 kills on the morning while Rudge added four more to her total to bring her to nine. Defensively, Carens jumped up to an incredible nine block assists and two solo blocks in the match.
The Belles and Thunder swapped leads back and forth in the fourth set before Wheaton would use a 7-0 run to open the game and never looked back. While Saint Mary's battled back and cut the deficit to two with a 5-0 run of their own, they couldn't get back into the match, seeing Wheaton take the fourth set, 25-21, and win the match 3-1.
Carens led the team offensively with an impressive 19 kills on the match, averaging almost five a set and finished the match with 27 points. Rudge joined her in double figures, setting a season high for the second day in a row with 12 kills. Junior Giuliana Graczyk (Chicago, IL) and senior Abby Reese (Elkhart, IN) led the team with assists, combining for 43 as Graczyk led with 23 and Reese had 20.Â
Defensively it was a record setting day for the Belles. Carens set the program record for blocks in a match with 12 total blocks while also setting the record for block assists in a match with 10. As a team, the Belles also set the program record for blocks in a match with 18 and block assists in a match with 30. O'Connell and sophomore Lexi Szymanski (Walker, MI) both added five block assists each while Rudge, Reese, and sophomore Maddie Taitano (Tacoma, WA) added three each. Sophomore Molly Boyle (Palos Heights, IL) led the team with 21 digs while Reese added 15 and Rudge with 12.
Saint Mary's vs Aurora
Saint Mary's took an early lead in the first set before they saw it disappear after Aurora would go on a strong 8-2 run to take an early five point advantage. While the Belles bounced back and cut the deficit to just two, the Spartans used another 8-2 run to pull away from the Belles and never looked back before closing out the set with a 25-15 victory to take a 1-0 lead. Carens led the team with four kills in the set while Graczyk added five assists.
The Belles got out to a strong five point lead early in the second set. Saint Mary's held onto their lead but not before Aurora was able to bounce back and tie the match at 13 before taking the lead. The two sides traded one and two points back and forth as neither team was able to get any real space. While the Spartans found themselves on match point, the Belles bounced back to cut the deficit to just one before a strong kill from Aurora closed out the set, 25-23, and saw them take a 2-0 lead. Carens added seven more kills in the set to jump up to 11 while O'Connell tallied four. Graczyk also added seven more assists to bounce in double figures with 12.
Aurora came out strong in the third set, getting out to an early 10-4 lead. They then went on a big 7-1 run to pull themselves away from Saint Mary's and took their strong lead to the end, winning the third set, 25-17, and taking the 3-0 victory.
Carens finished with a team high 12 kills while O'Connell notched eight. Graczyk led with 14 assists while Reese finished with 10. Defensively, Boyle finished the match with a team high 16 digs.
UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES
Saint Mary's returns home for back-to-back matches next week as they host Dominican University on Tuesday at 7pm. The Belles will host their annual Red Glasses Game against the Stars. They close out the weekly homestand on Friday as they host Beloit College at 7pm for Grade School/Camper Night.
