Saint Mary's finished the weekend with a 2-1 record, defeating conference foe Trine 3-2 on Friday, while splitting games against Franklin and Manchester on Saturday. The Belles dropped a 3-2 contest against Franklin before defeating Manchester 3-2.
"[Friday's win] was a big win," Belles coach Toni Kuschel said. "We really played well as a team and fought hard for the fifth set. We were very happy with the way we played."
The win put Saint Mary's (10-9, 5-4 MIAA) over .500 for the season, and moved the tesm into a fourth-place tie with Trine. Kuschel said she hopes her team can use the win to keep the momentum rolling into the tournament.
"We are looking forward to the competition that is coming our way," Kuschel said. "Everyone is playing well right now in the MIAA. Every match we play will matter [in the conference standings] going forward."
After a dramatic win over rival Trine, the Belles had a quick turnaround Saturday, traveling to Manchester for a pair of non-conference matches.
"Going 15 sets in two days was a lot for our team," Kuschel said. "After losing in five sets against Franklin, it would have been easy to give up. We proved to be very resilient and forgot about the loss and came back with the big win verses Manchester."
Though not conference matches, Kuschel believes her team can still take a lot away from Saturday's results and work to improve for the future.
"We felt good about how we played at times on Saturday," Kuschel said. "The biggest thing we need to work on is our serve receive and serving going into this week."
The Belles will face Albion next in a big conference match. The match will also serve as a fundraiser match for the Belles.
"Wednesday will be a big match for us as it is our 'Crush for the Cure' night," Kuschel said. "The team will be raising funds for a Saint Mary's alumna Anne Blair Payne in her courageous battle against lymphoma. We hope that you will all come and wear white to our match in support of Anne."
Saint Mary's takes on Albion at home Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
Contact Nick Boyle at nboyle1@nd.edu
