Franklin Box Score - Manchester Box Score
NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team fell 3-2 (25-16, 19-25, 25-17, 18-25, 15-11) to Franklin before rallying to win 3-2 (26-28, 25-22, 18-25, 25-23, 15-11) against Manchester on Saturday.
In the first match of the day against Franklin, the Belles were led by a 16 kill, 18 dig effort by Kati Schneider. Melanie Kuczek added 11 kills in the five-set loss, and Katie Hecklinski led the team with 22 digs. Samantha Grady chipped in 18 digs of her own in the match. Danie Brink added 42 assists and 10 digs for Saint Mary's.
Against Manchester, Melanie Kuczek was tough to stop as the sophomore hit .441 with 20 kills and only five errors on 34 attempts. She also added a solo block and a pair of block assists at the net. Kati Schneider added 17 more kills to her total on the day to go along with 20 digs, three block assists, and a solo block. Katie Hecklinski also tallied a double-double with 11 kills and a team-best 23 digs defensively. Meredith Mersits and Samantha Grady were just as strong defensively with 19 and 16 digs, respectively, in the win. Angela Bukur had four aces for the Belles. Danie Brink added 29 assists while Abby White chipped in 25 assists of her own.
The Belles (10-9) have reached the double-digit win plateau for the first time under head coach Toni Kuschel and will look to add to that total when they host Albion on Wednesday, October 10 for a 7:00 p.m. conference match.
