After a win during its home opener, the Saint Mary's volleyball team traveled to the Manchester Invitational tournament, where it went 2-1 with a loss against Franklin on Friday. However, despite the Friday loss, the Belles bounced back with two wins over Manchester and Alma on Saturday.
Franklin
The Belles played one game on Friday against the Franklin Grizzlies but took the 3-1 loss.
Franklin took the early lead, taking the close, 25-22 win in the first set and another close, 25-20 win in the second set.
However, the third set went in favor of the Belles as they battled back and took a 25-17 win over the Grizzlies. Sophomore middle hitter Caroline Carens led on the court with 12 kills, sophomore setter Abby Reese contributed with a team high of 18 assists, freshman setter Giuliana Graczyk added 11 assists, senior outside hitter Cali Allen had three service aces and junior libero Karli Fegan led on the court with 17 digs.
Heading into the fourth set, the Belles struggled to maintain their momentum, as Franklin narrowly claimed a 25-23 victory over Saint Mary’s.
Manchester
The first team that the Belles faced on Saturday was the Manchester Spartans. The Belles came out and took the 3-2 win over the Spartans.
Saint Mary's wasted no time in the first set, taking a 25-20 victory over the Spartans by taking advantage of Manchester errors. Starting out strong, the Belles went on an 8-1 spree. Multiple players hit double-digit kills for the Belles, but Carens led the team on the court, starting the set with three kills.
With a similar 25-20 score, Manchester took the second set of the match. Both teams played well, going back and forth throughout the set. Carens finished the set with a total of five kills for the day, and Reese brought up her assist total to nine.
Saint Mary’s regained control in the third set, taking a huge, 25-14 win over the Spartans. The Belles went for a 12-2 run, setting their lead at an all-time high of 15 points during the match. Reese took charge on the court, contributing seven more assists to bring her total to 16 for the match.
With the exact same 25-14 score, Manchester was quick to respond in the fourth set, tying the overall score at 2-2 and forcing the match to go into a fifth set.
Heading into the fifth set, both teams fought hard but Saint Mary’s came out on top taking its first win over Manchester since 2018. The Belles out-killed Manchester overall 13-9, causing the Spartans to create four errors. Junior hitter Grace Braselton led with 12 kills, while Carens and junior Delaney Martin each had 11. Reese raised her assist total to 23, and Graczyk added 18.
Alma
Saint Mary’s kept its momentum going, taking a 3-0 sweep over the Alma Scots.
As both teams went back and forth during the first set, the Blues managed to put pressure on the Scots and took the close, 25-23 win.
The Belles kept the ball rolling heading into the second set, pulling ahead 2-0 right off the bat. The Belles kept short runs which ultimately helped them take the 25-18 win over the Scots, making the overall score 2-0 in favor of the Belles.
Saint Mary’s did not stop there as it went into the third and final set. The Belles finished the final set with a 25-15 win, finishing the match overall at 3-0.
Carens led on the court with 13 kills, freshman hitter Kalli Lewkowski hit double digits with 10 kills, Reese contributed with 21 assists, Graczyk added 19 assists, Fegan also was a leader with 25 digs and Martin added 12 digs to help the Belles.
After finishing with a successful weekend, the Belles get ready to host Kalamazoo on Sept. 18th. The match is set to begin at 7 p.m.
