For the third straight match things didn't go the Belles' way as Saint Mary's lost a non-conference match to the University of Chicago Wednesday night. The loss makes the Belles 1-8 on the season and 1-5 in the MIAA. Their chances of making the conference tournament are slowly slipping away with each new loss.The Maroons came into this game with a record of 9-5 and this win extends their streak to five straight during September. The Belles lost three in a row for the fifth time this year. They dropped the first game by a score of 30-23. However, it did not get any better for the team as they only managed to score 21 points in the second game, and ended up losing 30-27 in the final game. Saint Mary's gave up at least 15 or more kills in each of its three games against Chicago. Once again, the defense appeared to struggle throughout, while the offense proved to be rather ineffective especially in the first two games. The Maroons' defense was too much for the Belles as they posted a total of 55 digs and 13 blocks on the evening.Currently in seventh place in the league, they still have a chance of making the tournament if they can end the season somewhere in the top six. At the present time, Hope holds the sixth spot with a mark of 1-3 in the MIAA, putting Saint Mary's two games back in the loss column. Saint Mary's will not take the floor again until Saturday in the Hope College Triangular. The Belles are set to play two matches, both being against conference opponents. The first game begins at 11 a.m. against Hope College, and the second is against Olivet and starts at 1:30 p.m.
