The fall sports season is winding down for Saint Mary's. The Belles cross country team had its conference championships Saturday, while volleyball played its penultimate home game of the season Friday.
Cross Country
The Belles slightly improved on their performance in the MIAA Championships from a year ago, finishing fifth out of nine schools. Saint Mary's held their best for their last MIAA event of the year, with all nine Belles posting personal records (PR) in the event. Senior Amanda Tracy led the way once again, breaking her previous PR from earlier this season. Tracy placed 14th overall with a time of 22:23.0, which earned her Second Team All-MIAA honors. The last time a Belles runner earned such a distinction was back in 2016.Senior Haley Greene and freshman Savannah Paulson also notched top-40 finishes, coming in 27th and 37th respectively. They were followed by freshman Cecilia Conrad, junior Susannah Bernovich, freshman Jordan Siminski, sophomore Isabelle Auch, sophomore Mary Weber and freshman Ellie York, in that order. All finished in under 27 minutes, with the top seven Belles each finishing in less than 25 minutes.
The Belles season isn't over yet, though. Saint Mary's will travel to Silver Creek Metro Park in Norton, Ohio, on Nov. 11 for the NCAA Great Lakes Regional Race. The Belles finished 19th out of 34 schools in the competition a year ago.
Volleyball
Saint Mary's honored its lone senior, setter Karla Rigan, on Friday the right way with a 3-1 win over Kalamazoo. The victory ended the Belles' stretch of losing seven of their last eight. Rigan delivered a breakout performance in the match, notching a career-high 10 kills.The Belles set the tone early, winning the first set by a dominant 25-8 margin. Although the Hornets responded in the second set to even the match, Saint Mary's regained control of the match and didn't let go. The Belles closed out the third set with a 6-2 run after letting an early lead briefly slip away. A dominant 10-4 run in the middle of the fourth set gave Saint Mary's an edge they wouldn't lose, winning by a comfortable 25-18 margin.
The final home game of the season for the Belles comes Wednesday at 7 p.m. against Albion. Saint Mary's wraps up its season on the road on Saturday at 1 p.m. against Albion.
