Following a break after they faced Manchester, the Belles headed to Terre Haute where they went 0-3 heading out of the Rose-Hulman Invitational.
Anderson University
The first match of the invitational was against the Anderson University Ravens. During the first set, the teams went back and forth as they battled for the lead, but the Ravens would come out with a 25-23 win. Freshman Kalli Lewkowski led on the court with four kills followed closely by sophomore Caroline Carens with three kills.
The second set of the match looked almost identical as both teams battled for the lead. Saint Mary's kept the score to a two-point lead throughout the second set. However, Anderson went on an eight point run to finish the match 25-16 over the Belles. Lewkowski finished the second set with six kills and sophomore Abby Reese finished the set with eleven assists.
The two teams battled it out in the third set as Saint Mary’s added pressure on the Ravens as they took a three-point lead later in the set. The Ravens managed a nine point run over the Belles, making the final set score 25-20 and the final overall score 3-0 in favor of the Ravens.
Lewkowski left the court with 12 kills, junior Grace Braselton added eight kills, Reese finished with 14 assists, junior Karli Fegan added 11 digs and junior Delaney Martin and senior Cali Allen would both record multiple service aces. Martin had three with Allen at two.
Illinois College
Heading into Saturday, the second match for the Belles was against the Illinois Lady Blues. The first set went in favor of the Lady Blues as they took the first set 25-17 over the Belles. Carens totaled five kills and Reese tallied six assists.
The second set looked stronger as Saint Mary's stayed close behind the Lady Blues, battling them for the lead. Ultimately, the Lady Blues took the close 25-20 victory. Carens led the team on the court with a total of eight kills.
Illinois rounded out the match in the third set taking the 25-16 win over the Belles. Carens continued to shine on the court and continued her personal lead with a total of eleven kills, juniors Grace Braselton and Patricia Settlemier followed with seven and six kills, Martin and Lewkowski tallied five each, freshman Giuliana Graczyk led the team with 14 assists and Reese finished with 12.
Rose-Hulman
Heading into the third and final match of the invitational, Saint Mary's took their third loss of the weekend to the Rose-Hulman Engineers.
Taking advantage of six errors created by the Belles, the first set went in favor of the Engineers as they took the 25-14 win. Lewkowski tallied five kills and Graczyk recorded five assists during the first set.
The second set looked tough for both teams as the teams totaled 17 errors throughout the set. Despite the errors, the Belles battled back against Rose-Hulman but was still unable to come up with a win. Reese tallied a total of eight assists during the set.
Rose-Hulman kept rolling during the third set taking a 25-19 victory over the Belles to win the match 3-0 overall. Lewkowski led the team with nine kills, Braselton recorded six, Caren had five and Reese finished with 18 assists. Reese has hit double digits in assists during 13 out of the 14 matches that the Belles have played so far.
Now 7-7 on the season, the Belles stay on the road as they travel to Alma College to kick off the conference starting at 7 p.m. on Oct. 1.
