Belles Sweep Quakers
Saint Mary's Stories
- The Belles hit an impressive .345 in the match with 45 kills, seven errors, and 110 attempts.
- Nicole Lukens led Saint Mary's with 12 kills while hitting .462 on the night (12 kills, zero errors, 26 attempts).
- Morgan VanderWey registered 43 assists and three blocks.
NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team picked up a 3-0 (25-22, 25-16, 25-16) non-conference win over Earlham on Friday evening.
The Quakers jumped out to an 8-4 lead to gain some early momentum. That energy quickly shifted in favor of the Belles as Saint Mary's posted the next five points to go ahead 9-8. After a 9-9 tie, the Belles used another scoring spurt to gain a 13-9 edge as Leah Buck, Lindsey Pelletier, Marielle Corbett, and Rachel Bonek all posted kills and Audrey Shannon served up an ace over that 9-1 run. Earlham battled back in the set with a run of their own, outscoring Saint Mary's 8-4 over the next stretch of play to regain the lead at 17-16. The sides were back and forth as the set saw ties at 17-17, 18-18, and 19-19. The Belles broke that last tie with kills from Corbett, Bonek, and a Morgan VanderWey ace for a 22-19 lead. The Quakers came out of a timeout with three consecutive points to tie the set yet again at 22-22. Saint Mary's, however, prevailed in the set with two kills by Bonek and one by Nicole Lukens to take the opening frame 25-22.
With the second set tied at 6-6, the Belles broke things wide open by out-scoring the Quakers 16-5 to go up 22-11. That run was capped off by an 8-0 stretch which turned a 14-11 lead into the 22-11 advantage. Earlham capitalized on some Saint Mary's miscues while also registering a pair of kills to make it 24-16, but Lukens again came through with the set-winning kill for the 25-16 win.
Much like the second set, the Belles took control of the third set with a big stretch of strong play. Holding a 5-4 lead early, Saint Mary's once again out-scored Earlham by a double-digit margin to gain a 21-13 lead. The Quakers kept things interesting with a 3-0 run to make it 21-16 and regain some energy. The Belles, however, were nearly unstoppable down the stretch. Morgan VanderWey put down a solo block, Leah Buck hammered down a cross-court kill, and the pair teamed up for the double block to end the match with the 25-16 win.
The Belles hit an impressive .345 in the match with 45 kills, seven errors, and 110 attempts. In the third set alone, Saint Mary's posted a .419 hitting percentage with 14 kills, one error, and 31 attempts.
Nicole Lukens led Saint Mary's with 12 kills while hitting .462 on the night (12 kills, zero errors, 26 attempts). Marielle Corbett chipped in 11 kills, and Rachel Bonek added nine kills. Morgan VanderWey registered 43 assists and three blocks. Audrey Shannon had a match-high 17 digs, and she and VanderWey each served two aces. Alyssa Chong was perfect on the night with three kills on three attempts.
The Belles (8-7) have a break in action and are back on the court on Friday, October 6 when they host Alma for the start of the second round of MIAA play.