ATLANTA, Ga. - Saint Mary's College Volleyball split their final day at the Jenny McDowell Invitational, falling to the hosts in 21st ranked Emory University, 3-0, and defeating Oglethorpe University, 3-0. The Belles move to 3-2 on the year.
Saint Mary's vs Emory
While Emory got out to an early lead in the first set, Saint Mary's kept them within reaching distance throughout the majority of the set and pulled within two midway through. The Eagles then went on a 10-1 run to pull away from the Belles and finished out the set strong, taking an early 1-0 lead with a 25-13 victory. Saint Mary's was quiet offensively as they tallied just seven kills in the set, sophomore Molly Boyle (Palos Heights, IL) led the way with six digs as well.
The Eagles got out to another early lead in set two, but similar to set one, the Belles kept within striking distance as the two teams traded points back and forth. While Emory got out to a strong lead, Saint Mary's cut the deficit to just three points, 17-14. However, the Eagles bounced right back and closed out the set on an 8-1 run to win the set, 25-15, and take a 2-0 lead. Freshman Bridget O'Connell (Tinley Park, IL) led the way for the Belles, racking up six kills in the second set alone to bring her total to seven to lead the team.
The third set was a back and forth battle at the start as both teams traded points. As Emory got out to a two point cushion, they would go on an 8-1 run to extend their lead further and shut down the Belles chances of forcing a fourth set, taking the set 25-18, and the match 3-0.
O'Connell led the team with 10 kills on the morning while senior Caroline Carens (Naperville, IL) and freshman Maddy VanBlack (Tecumseh, MI) added seven each. Junior Giuliana Graczyk (Chicago, IL) led with 14 assists while senior Abby Reese (Elkhart, IN) added 11. Boyle led the team with 12 digs on the match.
Saint Mary's vs Oglethorpe
Saint Mary's and Oglethorpe battled back and forth throughout the entire first set as they traded points with neither team taking a lead larger than two points until the Belles first set point. After trailing by one late, the Belles used four straight points to reach set point, while the Stormy Petrels brought the deficit back down to one, sophomore Maddie Taitano (Tacoma, WA) closed out the 25-23 set win with a big kill. Carens had an impressive first set as she finished with seven kills on eight attacks. Reese and Graczyk put up eight and seven assists each while Boyle added 10 digs in the set alone.
The second set was the same story as the first, both teams trading points back and forth with no one getting too far ahead. Saint Mary's tried to gain control of the set as they went ahead 19-16 late, but Oglethorpe bounced back with five straight points to take a two point lead. The Belles bounced right back and after the Petrels went to set point, VanBlack led three straight points to see the Belles emphatically take the second set 26-24 and go up 2-0 in the match. Carens added six more kills to jump up to 13 on the match while three others sat at five each. Reese also added another eight assists in the set to double her total to 16.
The Belles got out to an early lead in the third set, but the Petrels battled back quickly to turn the set back into a back and forth battle. Saint Mary's would get back on track quickly, keeping Oglethorpe at a safe distance before closing out the match with a big 25-21 win and earning a 3-0 sweep to close out play in Georgia.
Carens led the Belles with an impressive 17 kill performance while hitting .424 on the afternoon. O'Connell added eight more kills while VanBlack and Taitano added seven and six. Reese and Graczyk combined for an incredible 39 assists on the game as Reese led with 20 and Graczyk with 19. Boyle picked up right where she left off yesterday with a 25 dig performance. VanBlack also led the team with four service aces.
UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES
Saint Mary's is back in action on the road on September 9 as they travel to Lisle, IL to take on Benedictine University at 6pm CST. The Belles return home on September 15 when they host Kalamazoo College for a non-conference matchup at 7pm.
