Saint Mary's looks to halt its losing streak at three games today as they take on Kalamazoo College at home. Having struggled to find its place early on in the season, the Belles will once again try and win its first game this year.
The Hornets are currently in first place in the MIAA with a record of 2-0 and 4-2 overall. In 2003, Kalamazoo beat Saint Mary's in three consecutive games. The Belles are keeping the game in perspective, but still seek to make some headway in the conference.
"I don't think our team's success will be defined or determined by just one game," said outside attacker Michelle Turley. "However, it is a conference match that we would like to win and are taking very seriously."
This season, Saint Mary's has been led by the consistently good play of middle hitter Elise Rupright on offense. Turley continues to excel on the court both offensively and defensively. Middle hitter Shelly Bender and outside attacker Ann Carpenter have also improved and should get even better as the season progresses.
Hopefully, the Belles will recover from their losses and find a way to build upon their strengths and improve any weaknesses. Lack of communication has been one major factor so far. However, if the team can find a way to solve this problem they have enough talent to still win a lot of games this season.
"I feel that after our loss against Albion, we all decided that personal responsibility is going to play a large role in our future success," said Turley. "I think that our match against Albion showed the team some areas of weakness that we can strengthen during practice, before we face Kalamazoo on Wednesday."
This will be the third conference match-up of the year for Saint Mary's. With a bit of luck, they should knock off the Hornets and start another streak in the opposite direction. The Belles will take on the Hornets at home tonight at 6 p.m.
