Alma, MI – Alma College Volleyball hosted Saint Mary's College in MIAA opening action on Tuesday night. The Scots won a back and forth battle with the Belles, winning 26-24, 26-24, 22-25, 24-26, 17-15. Notably, 4 of the 5 sets required extra points.
 
Saint Mary's raced out to a 7-3 lead, before Alma was able to cut into the lead. The Belles were able to push the lead out as far as 15-7 before the Scots offense roared to life. Alma ripped off a 12-2 run to take the lead at 19-17. The visitors would level things at 19, before taking a 23-21 lead. The Scots closed on a 5-2 run to take the set 26-24.
 
The second set saw Alma trailing 5-0 before they hit the scoreboard. From there, neither team was able to gain separation from the other, and the Scots led 24-21, only for the Belles to even things up at 24-24. The home 6 nailed a kill and an ace to take the set 26-24.
 
In the third, nobody could gain a lead larger than a 3-point lead. Saint Mary's finally pushed out to a 23-19 lead, and held off a late Scots charge to take the set at 25-22. The fourth set saw Alma leading 8-1, and 14-7, and 23-17. Saint Mary's was able to battle back, using a 9-1 run to win the set 26-24, and force the decisive fifth set.
 
The final set opened with a 3-1 lead for the Belles. The teams still had nothing between them, with ties coming at 3, 4, 5, and 6. Trailing 7-6, Alma was finally able to put together a 4-1 stretch to take a lead at 10-8. The visitors battled to a 12-12 mark, also forcing a deuce at 14-14, and 15-15. A pair of kills from Callie Smith ended the contest at 17-15.
 
It was a career night for Smith. The senior registered 24 kills and 17 digs, both career highs, also recording a pair of aces. Maidson Bott also tallied 15 kills, and Madison Munley totaled 10. Vicky Villarosa totaled 28 set assists, and Olivia Deeb 25. Grace Steiner collected 25 digs, with Villarosa adding 19. Katelyn Schell posted 9 total blocks in the game.
 
The Scots are off to a 1-0 start in MIAA play, and are on the road at Adrian on Saturday.