SMC Volleyball: Belles get pair of victories
By: CHRIS FEDERICO
Sports Editor
After dropping a competitive match to MIAA leader Alma last weekend, the Saint Mary's volleyball team enjoyed a week of non-conference competition this week.
The Belles rolled through Manchester College in straight sets Tuesday night 31-29, 30-21 and 30-22.
The Belles used some dominating serves from outside hitter Alison Shevik to pull ahead of Manchester in the first game.
"Alison was a key player for us in that first game." Saint Mary's coach Julie Schroeder-Biek said. "She went back to the line to serve with us down 20-27 and single-handedly turned it around. She served seven points in a row and was very aggressive to give us that victory."
Shevik finished the match with eight kills for the Belles. Freshman Heidi Superczynski paced the squad in kills with 12. She committed no errors and had a season-high .632 hitting percentage.
Sophomore setter Bridget Wakaruk had 11 assists and four aces for Saint Mary's.
Thursday night, the Belles swept an overmatched Tri-State University squad 30-24, 30-20, 30-26. The victory marks the second time this season the Belles have beaten Tri-State, the first time coming in Saint Mary's second match of the season in the Alma College Tournament.
"We saw Tri-State once this year in the Alma tournament and beat them then as well," Shroeder-Biek said. "They have gone through a lot of transition in the last two years with three coaching changes, so their program is not the strongest right now."
Superczynski again paced the Belles in kills with eight. Wakaruk contributed 15 assists, 10 digs and had four aces for her second consecutive match. Shevik led the team in digs with 13, while sophomore libero Jenny Wilkins finished with 12.
"Everybody got significant playing time in this match," Schroeder-Biek said. "We've really been improving through the last four matches, even with the losses to Alma and Calvin, who are at the top of the conference. We've celebrated a lot of successes in those matches."
After the week off from MIAA competition, Saint Mary's returns to conference play Wednesday at Kalamazoo at 7 p.m. Kalamazoo is currently in third place in the MIAA with a 13-5 record, 5-2 in conference play.
"We've had a week of from MIAA play, but we're excited to be getting back to conference this week with Kalamazoo," Schroeder-Biek said.
With the victories, Saint Mary's moves to 5-14 on the season.
All Sports Stories for Friday, October 4, 2002
