ATLANTA, Ga. - The Saint Mary's volleyball team was on the wrong side of a 3-2 (19-25, 22-25, 25-17, 25-14, 15-13) match against Averett at the Emory Classic on Saturday afternoon.

 

The Belles opened the match with the first seven points of the contest for a quick 7-0 lead. Colleen McCarthy had a kill and an ace, Grace Braselton put down a solo block and added a kill, and a trio of attack errors by the Cougars put Saint Mary's ahead. A 6-0 run a short while later by Averett cut the Belles' lead to two at 10-8, but Saint Mary's responded with a five-point run of their own for a 16-10 advantage. Another five-point spurt later in the set put the Belles up 23-14. A late push by the Cougars made it a 24-19 score before McCarthy closed out the set with a kill.

 

Saint Mary's picked up right where they left off in the second set with a 5-0 run. Karla Rigan opened up the stanza with an ace, Mia Shields put down back-to-back kills, Colleen McCarthy tacked on another kill, and an error by the Cougars gave the Belles the 5-0 edge. Averett, however, tied the set 5-5 with a run of their own. A service error by the Cougars and an ace by McCarthy put the Belles ahead, and kills by Shay Theile and Cali Allen gave Saint Mary's a 10-6 advantage. Another kill by Allen, a block by Theile and McCarthy, and a McCarthy kill saw the Belles go up 14-8. The Cougars cut the Saint Mary's lead to two late in the set at 22-20, 23-21, and 24-22. The Belles came up with answers each time with kills by McCarthy and Shields before a service error saw Saint Mary's take the set 25-22.

 

With the score at 15-14 in favor of Averett in the third set, the Cougars took the next three points for an 18-14 advantage. The Belles got back on track with a Cali Allen kill, and a service error two points later kept Saint Mary's within striking distance at 19-16. An Averett kill, a Saint Mary's attack error, and a block and a kill by the Cougars, however, put Averett ahead 23-16. Saint Mary's got a point back on an error to make it 23-17, but the Cougars used an error by the Belles and a kill to take the set 25-17.

 

The Belles held a 9-8 lead early in the fourth set before the Cougars shifted the momentum of the set for good with a 12-1 run to gain a 20-10 lead. Mia Shields and Colleen McCarthy had a kill each down the stretch, but the Belles were unable to put together a comparable run in a 25-14 set.

 

Saint Mary's took the first four points of the deciding fifth set and maintained the lead a short while later at 8-3. Mia Shields had a kill and an ace to make it 10-4 in favor of the Belles, but four quick points by the Cougars put Averett right back in the thick of things at 10-8. Kills by Cali Allen and Colleen McCarthy kept Saint Mary's ahead at 11-8 and 12-10. The Cougars rattled off three consecutive points to gain a 13-12 edge. McCarthy put away a kill to knot the score at 13-13, but a kill by the Cougars and a miscue by the Belles gave Averett the set and the match with a 15-13 decision.

 

Colleen McCarthy led all players with a career-high 27 kills, which ties the junior for the fourth-highest kill total in a five-set match in the rally scoring era in program history. McCarthy added 13 digs, a team-best three service aces, and two block assists while reaching 500 career digs. Cali Allen had a double-double of her own with 11 kills and 15 digs. Mia Shields chipped in eight kills. Courtney Pelletier led the Belles with 20 digs and had two aces. Shay Theile registered five blocks - a solo and four assists - while Grace Braselton put away three solo blocks and a block assist. Karla Rigan added a double-double with 41 assists and 12 digs.

 

The Belles (5-17) return to conference play on Wednesday when they travel to Adrian for a 7:00 p.m. match.