Kalamazoo defeated Saint Mary's in four games Wednesday night to hand the Belles their fourth straight loss to begin a winless season. Falling behind two games to zero, the Belles found a way to win the third but still came up short in the end.Following Wednesday's game, the Belles are 0-4 this season and 0-3 in the MIAA.Saint Mary's only lost the first game 34-32, but after losing 30-22 in the second game, their fate was all but sealed. As in previous games, the Belles began the match slowly and were unable to overcome the deficit.The Hornets outscored them in total attacks over the four games and had almost 20 more kills than the Belles on the evening. Given the opportunities, Kalamazoo capitalized and took early leads.Once again, junior Michelle Turley led the way for Saint Mary's. In four games, she registered 15 kills and 44 total attacks. On defense, she had 15 digs and teammate Amanda David collected 10 on the night. Junior Shelly Bender also did her part with nine kills and 29 attacks, while David added 20 attacks of her own against Kalamazoo.However, the team's overall communication is still lacking. Earlier this week, captain Michelle Gary mentioned communication was a crucial area for the Belles to improve upon in order to have a successful season.Along with this, slow starts have plagued Saint Mary's. In every game this year they have fallen behind after the first contest. From here, the Belles must prepare themselves for the Saint Mary's Triangular, which begins this Friday at 4:00 p.m. Calvin College and Tri-State University will compete. Kalamazoo lost to Saint Mary's at the 2003 Triangular and will not join the field of three this season.Last year, Saint Mary's swept their two tournament games, beating Kalamazoo and Tri-State in succession. The Belles defeated the Hornets in five games, 30-26, 18-30, 17-30, 30-24, 15-10. Saint Mary's dispatched of Tri-State in just three games, 33-31, 30-24, 30-26.
