The Flying Dutchmen of Hope killed any hope Saint Mary's had Thursday of winning, dominating the Belles 3-0.
Once Hope - which entered the match third in the MIAA - gained a lead in a game, it never relinquished it. The 3-0 sweep made it the seventh consecutive match Saint Mary's, which entered the match fifth in the conference, has lost to Hope.
Hope was unstoppable, sending kill after kill to the feet of the Belles. Leading attackers for Hope were junior outside hitter Nora Slenk with 17 kills and sophomore middle blocker Teresa Borst with 15. Hope had a combined 60 kills in the match.
Saint Mary's tried to ward off the Flying Dutchmen with a team-high 46 digs and 12 blocks. Sophomore libero Laura Morris led the defensive effort with 11 digs. Team offensive leaders were sophomore outside hitter Lorna Slupczynski with 12 kills and junior middle blocker Kaela Hellman with 11. The Belles combined for 38 kills on the night.
Besides the deadly attacks by Hope, the Belles also faced some internal struggles.
"It was the mental part of the game, lack of trust, and lack of unity on the court, which was our greatest weakness," head coach Julie Schroeder-Biek said.
In order to fix these internal struggles, Schroeder-Biek said, the Belles are going to need to make some changes within their team.
"We need more desire to play to our ability," she said. "We need to bring our game."
The Belles head to Olivet College on Tuesday.
