Belles Fall in Five-Set Heartbreaker to Scots

Box Score

ALMA, Mich. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team lost a five-set heartbreaker to Alma 3-2 (25-15, 11-25, 17-25, 25-19, 15-9) on Tuesday.

Saint Mary's trailed Alma 10-8 in the first set before the Scots pulled ahead 15-10. The Scots went on to finish the first set with a .406 hitting percentage and the 25-15 decision while the Belles hit just .051 in the opener.

The second and third sets were all Saint Mary's. Behind 4-3 in the second set, the Belles took command with a six-point run followed shortly by an 11-point explosion to take a 20-5 lead. Alma took a few points back, but the Belles evened the match at one-set all with the 25-11 win in the second set. Trailing 4-2 in the third set, the Belles took four consecutive points on kills by Stephanie Bodien and Kati Schneider and an Alma miscue. The Scots got within a point at 8-7, but the Belles rattled off four more points to go up 12-7. Saint Mary's extended their lead to as much as nine points before the 25-17 win in the third set.

In the fourth set, the teams tied the match 11 times while the lead changed hands on nine occasions. Unfortunately for the Belles, it would be Alma who would break a 15-15 tie with a big seven-point run to take momentum in the set and the match with the 25-19 win.

In the deciding set, the Scots took four of the first five points and never gave up their lead once they got it. Saint Mary's was within three points of the lead at 7-4 and 8-5, but the Belles were unable to make a run or cut further into the lead as Alma won the five-set match at home.

Stephanie Bodien had a match-high 15 kills for the Belles while also adding 13 digs and a pair of block assists. Allison Zandarski notched 12 kills while surpassing the 100-block plateau in a Saint Mary's uniform with a solo block and two block assists. Kati Schneider joined Bodien with a double-double with 11 kills and 16 digs in the match. Meghann Rose had match-high honors for digs with 23 while Danie Brink tallied 43 assists and 18 digs. Annie Bodien, meanwhile, was the fifth Saint Mary's player with double-digit digs with 11.

The Belles (7-14, 5-7 MIAA) return home to host in-state MIAA rival Trine on Friday, October 21 for a 7:00 p.m. contest against the Thunder.