Belles Hang Tough Against Ninth Ranked Flying Dutch
Saint Mary's Stories
- Meaghan Gibbons led all players with 12 kills while tacking on 12 digs.
- Kaylin Szucs led the Belles with 14 digs to go along with a pair of aces.
- McKenzie Todd posted seven kills and eight digs.
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team held their own in a 3-0 (28-26, 25-13, 27-25) loss to No. 9 ranked Hope on Saturday afternoon.
Neither team had a lead larger than four points during the first set of action. The Flying Dutch established a three-point edge at 14-11, but the Belles came right back with a four-point run to go up 15-14. The teams stayed close until Saint Mary's claimed the largest lead of the set with a 5-0 run to go ahead 21-17. Hope, however, returned the favor with a 6-0 run to push the score to 23-21 in favor of the Flying Dutch. Two points later, Hope went ahead 24-22, but Rachel Bonek and Colleen Kilgallon came up with a double block to keep the Belles alive. A ball handling error by Hope followed by a block by McKenzie Todd and Leah buck put Saint Mary's a point within winning the set at 25-24. The Flying Dutch used a ball handling error against the Belles and a kill to sway the score in their favor at 26-25, but McKenzie Todd put down a kill to knot the score at 26-26. The Flying Dutch, however, put down a kill of their own and capitalized on a hitting error by Saint Mary's to take the opening set 28-26.
Hope turned a 7-6 lead in the second set into a 16-10 lead to set the tone in the set. The Belles cut the deficit to four points at 17-13, but the Flying Dutch rattled off the next eight points in a row to decisively close out the second set with a 25-13 win. The Belles were held to a .000 hitting percentage in the set with six kills and six errors on 34 attempts. The Flying Dutch posted their best hitting percentage of the match with a .308 effort on 17 kills and five errors with 39 attempts.
Undeterred, the Belles came out strong in the third set and claimed a 6-2 lead. Hope made it a 6-5 score a few points later, but Kaylin Szucs served up consecutive aces before Bonek and Buck put down a block for a 10-5 Saint Mary's lead. The Belles continued to find an answer for the Flying Dutch while maintaining a multiple-point lead for much of the set. Saint Mary's looked to be on their way to forcing a fourth set as the Belles held a 21-15 lead late in the set. Hope, however, got right back in the mix with a 6-0 run to knot the score at 21-21. The two sides traded points back and forth with the Belles going ahead set point at both 24-23 and 25-24 only to see the Flying Dutch respond with kills to keep the match alive. A pair of miscues by the Belles late in the set gave Hope the 27-25 set win and the 3-0 match decision.
Meaghan Gibbons led all players with 12 kills while tacking on 12 digs. Kaylin Szucs led the Belles with 14 digs to go along with a pair of aces, and McKenzie Todd posted seven kills and eight digs. Alexis Grady had 20 assists for the Belles. Colleen Kilgallon was part of five blocks with four kills, and Rachel Bonek contributed to four blocks.
The Belles (12-13, 8-5 MIAA) travel to Olivet on Tuesday, October 25 for a 7:00 p.m. match against the Comets.