Saint Mary's avenged last month's loss to Adrian with a five-set victory Tuesday. Tonight, the Belles will look to win another rematch, this time against Hope.
Hope swept Saint Mary's 30-14, 30-20, 30-17 Sept. 6. Head coach Julie Schroeder-Biek said she hopes her team will show the same drive against Hope that it did Tuesday over Adrian, which one month earlier, beat Saint Mary's 30-25, 30-28, 30-11.
"In our win against Adrian, we really brought our game to the next level," Schroeder-Biek said. "The intensity and drive to win was amazing. We now only carry the confidence gained from that win along with the momentum into our Hope match."
Hope, which ranks third in the MIAA standings, has a strong defense that will test the Belles often.
"Hope has a strong outside attack and they have great hustle on defense," Schroeder-Biek said. "These will be the big threats to watch for in facing them."
The Belles will look to eliminate the unforced errors that have plagued them in their last three matches. They average nine services errors per game during that span.
"Consistent serving is our biggest weakness," Schroeder-Biek said. "We are definitely working on our focus when it comes to serves."
Against Hope, Schroeder-Biek does not plan to make changes in the lineup that took down Adrian.
"We have been bordering on this type of play all season," she said. "The mental game has been our battle from the beginning. We are making huge strides in mastering it and we can't let up now - just keep working at being a great team."
The Belles are 4-5 in league play and 7-10 overall while Hope is 6-2 in the MIAA and 11-5 overall. The teams will face off tonight at 7 at the Angela Athletic Facility.