Nov. 4, 2008

Final Stats

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The volleyball squad won earlier this season at Saint Mary's and figured why not do it again. This time the stage was a little bigger as the Bulldogs advanced to the MIAA Tournament with a 3-1 win over the Belles. Adrian won the contest after dropping the first set before taking the next three by the scores of 21-25, 25-22, 25-21, 25-19.

The Bulldogs had several players who rose to the occasion in the tight-knit matchup. Junior Natalie Niblock had one of her best all-around matches of the season with 51 assists, seven kills, six digs and two service aces. She hit .538 for the match with no errors and 13 attacks. Sophomore Rebecca Tincknell led the Bulldogs with 15 kills and played well at the net with four block assists. Tincknell also hit .367 for the match. Senior Jenny Carlson recorded 14 kills and two block assists.

Junior Mary Rinke was the third Bulldog in double figures in kills with 11. She also had seven digs. Senior Holly Pellegrin added nine kills and three digs. On the defensive side, seniors Samantha Mercy and Stephanie Asmus combined for 48 digs as Mercy led the team with 32 digs. Adrian hit .251 for the match and hit at least .200 in all four sets. The best hitting set was the third with 17 kills, four errors and 48 attacks. Saint Mary's hit .207 but managed just a .111 hitting percentage in the fourth set.

Adrian (15-15) is the fifth-seed in the MIAA Tournament and was the only lower-seed to win on Tuesday night. The Bulldogs will travel to Holland on Friday for a semifinal matchup with top-seeded Hope (26-6). The two teams will play in the second semifinal match at 7:30 p.m. In the earlier match, third-seeded Alma will take on second-seeded Calvin at 5:30 p.m.