It's been a roller coaster season so far for the Saint Mary's volleyball team, but the Belles hope to get out of their current valley as they travel to the Tri-State University Triangular this weekend. Saint Mary's will face Tri-State University at 11 a.m. Saturday and the University of Michigan-Dearborn later that day at 1 p.m.The Belles (10-10) started the season 8-4, but since then, inconsistent play has dropped the team back to a .500 record. Saint Mary's is currently mired in a three-game losing streak, but this tournament could be just the boost they need to get out of that slump.Saint Mary's played Tri-State at home earlier this year in the SMC Triangular and defeated the Thunder in straight sets. Despite this fact, Belles coach Julie Schroeder-Biek isn't expecting a cakewalk at all."Looking at their website, they've beaten some good teams recently including [MIAA member] Albion," she said. "We're not taking anything for granted."The Belles are coming off perhaps one of their most-competitive matches of the year, losing in five games to MIAA leader Calvin Tuesday night at home."After the Kalamazoo loss [when the Belles lost in straight sets Oct. 4] we had a good long talk about how we have to stay strong and build on our successes," Schroeder-Biek said. "Against Calvin we had a lot of successes, and we need to improve on those and take them into this weekend."The Belles hope to be successful at the Triangular and carry that positive streak into their next conference game Tuesday at home against MIAA-opponent Adrian.
