Coming off a successful week, the Belles travel to the campus of Michigan State today to take on conference rival Adrian.
The team rolled to two straight wins last week, breezing past Bethel, 7-2, and edging Alma, 5-4.
Belles coach Dale Campbell said the pair of wins was a great confidence booster for the team, which will look to keep that momentum going into Saint Mary's (8-5, 3-1 MIAA) matchup against Adrian (7-8, 0-4).
"We were very pleased with the results this past week," Campbell said. "It's important to keep the streak to have momentum going into conference tournament."
The Belles will look to build on the strategy that made them so successful earlier in the season - aggressive doubles play.
Against Alma, the Belles struggled in doubles, managing to win one of three doubles games.
According to Campbell, the focus for the Belles will be on reinvigorating the doubles lineup through strong doubles play and aggressive net play.
"We hope to work on sharpening our doubles play, attacking first ball and going for our shots a bit more," Campbell said. "Setting our partner up at the net by taking a bigger first shot is certainly one way."
Campbell said the focus on doubles play would give the Belles an advantage early in the match.
"We are pretty much set for the year with our lineup, but we are still examining our doubles play," Campbell said. "However, I think we will work towards winning all three doubles matches so we can get an early start."
Adrian comes in with a four-game losing streak. Sophomore co-captain Audrey Kiefer said the Belles have beaten Adrian before without much problem, but after losing her match Saturday against Alma, she said preparedness would be key to winning today.
"Adrian shouldn't be too tough, but we always have to be prepared for matches and expect close matches like Alma," Kiefer said.
Campbell said his team won't make any assumptions against Adrian, as the Belles should always be mentally prepared for a grueling match.
"Adrian has not fared well in the conference, but we will not overlook them," Campbell said.
The Belles hope to stay focused in conference plah.as they take on Adriay today at 4 p.m. at the Michigan Athletic Club in East Lansing, Mich.
Contact D.H. Kim at dkim16@nd.edu
