The Belles extended their winning streak to four matches over the weekend, as Saint Mary’s knocked off both Franklin and host Manchester on Saturday. The pair of victories put the Belles above .500 for the first time this season.
Against Franklin, the Belles (7-6, 4-3 MIAA) traded sets with the Grizzlies (11-5, 2-0 Heartland) for the first two frames, before Saint Mary’s went on a run. The Belles utilized a seven point swing in the third set to take a 21-9 lead and then held on for a 25-19 victory in the set. Saint Mary’s would win the fourth set by a convincing 10-point swing of 25-15 to take the match.
The Belles’ match against host team Manchester (4-13, 0-1 Heartland) went down to the wire, with the Spartans forcing the game into the fifth set on the heels of a strong comeback in the fourth. After being pushed to the brink, down 15-23, the Spartans scored nine of 11 points to force a 24-24 tie. After that, the Spartans would hang on to complete the rally in extra play, winning 28-26.
The fifth set was relatively close, with the score tied at 6-6 early on. However, from there on out, the Belles scored 10 of the last 14 points to go ahead 15-10 and take the set and match.
Against the Spartans, the Belles had an attack percentage of .248, their third consecutive match with a .200 attack percentage or higher. The victory in the fifth set also marked the second time in the past week that the Belles have won a match pushed to the fifth and final set.
Senior Kati Schneider played well for the Belles against Franklin, recording a team-leading 25 kills and adding 11 digs. Senior Melanie Kuczek added 15 kills and a team-leading six blocks. Sophomore Meaghan Gibbons led the team in digs against Franklin with 28.
Against Manchester, junior Katie Hecklinski led all players with 23 digs, paired with 13 kills. Freshman Leah Buck got in on the action by hitting a team-leading .583 attack percentage, with eight kills and only one error.
The Belles return to action Tuesday, when they travel to Holland, Michigan, to take on the top-ranked Hope. The match is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
