It took the Belles five games to get the victory against Tri-State University Tuesday, but a win the in the left column is better than a loss in the right. The Thunder had yet to earn a win in the MIAA, but gave the Belles a run for their money. But in the end the Belles triumphed over the last-place Thunder. Coming into the match, Saint Mary's was in desperate need of a win. Tri-State came out ready to play and captured the first two games of the match, 30-25 and 30-27. But the Belles kept their composure and did something they haven't done all season. They were able to win a match after losing the first game. In the third game, the Belles bounced back with some impressive play and prevailed by a score of 30-22. Still down 2-1 in the match, they fought back and pulled out an exciting victory, winning 30-28. In the final contest, the Belles turned the tables and secured the win by beating the Thunder 15-10 in the tiebreaker. A number of players rose to the occasion for the Belles to help them avoid their third straight loss. Elise Rupright had a fine game on offense as she contributed 13 kills. Shelly Bender added another 11 kills and teammate Michelle Turley continued her dominance with a team-high 18 kills. On defense, some spectacular play from Anne Cusack and Michelle Gary helped the Belles mount the comeback. Cusack led the team with 28 digs on defense, and Gary tallied up another 25, preventing the Tri-State offense from scoring. The win keeps the Belles in the thick of MIAA and gives them some much-needed motivation as they prepare to finish up their conference play. Saint Mary's is now 5-10 overall and improves to 5-7 in the conference. With four more conference games left on their schedule, the Belles are still in striking distance of Hope and Albion who are both only a couple games ahead of them in the division. Saint Mary's will now have some time to polish up its play this week to prepare for Sunday's game against Adrian. From here on out, every game will be like a playoff game for the Belles.
