ALBION, Mich. – Kenyon College (13-12) wrapped up its regular season with a pair of matches against Saint Mary's College (IN) and Albion College on Saturday afternoon. The Ladies fell in the first match against SMC in straight sets before bouncing back with a 3-0 win over Albion.
 
MATCH ONE
 
Katie Hecklinski totaled a match-high 15 kills as Saint Mary's won by scores of 25-11, 25-17 and 25-19. Belles' defensive specialist McKenzie Todd collected 20 digs while Clare McMillan and Alexis Grady each handed out 19 assists.
 
The Ladies were led by Tierney McClure, Delaney Swanson and Lauren Kerr who all had seven kills. Kerr also added four blocks while Jensen Shurbert dished out a match-high 25 assists.
 
In set one, the Belles held a 4-3 lead but followed that with a 6-0 run capped off by a Hecklinski kill to take control. They led by as many as 11 points (19-8) in the opening set before prevailing 25-11.
 
Action in set two started just like the previous one as SMC attained a 10-3 lead. But Kenyon responded this time to bring the score to 11-8 after a block assist from Alexi Donnelly and Stupica. Saint Mary's quelled the quick run by Kenyon and went back up five points (16-11) after a Ladies attack error.
 
The Ladies found themselves down three again (16-13) after a Kerr kill, but a 4-0 run gave SMC a 20-13 margin and they later won the set 25-17.
 
Set three was tight early on as a Grady kill broke a 4-4 tie in favor of Saint Mary's. With a one-point advantage, the Belles hit a 6-1 run to go up 11-5. The closest Kenyon got the rest of the way was five points on four occasions.
 
MATCH TWO
 
Kenyon rebounded to sweep Albion in straight sets by scores of 29-27, 25-16 and 25-19.
 
Swanson tallied a double-double with 13 kills and a season-high 19 digs while Donnelly chipped in with 10 kills. Shurbert collected a team-high 21 digs, contributed nine kills and handed out a match-high 35 assists while Rachael Thorson added 19 digs.
 
The first set turned out to be the best between the Ladies and Britons.
 
Albion jumped out to a 3-0 lead after a Halle Thom kill but Kenyon quickly regrouped and took a 5-4 lead after a block assist from Kerr and McClure.
 
The remainder of the set went back and forth as neither team held a lead more than a point until the Britons attained a 15-11 lead after a ball-handling error by the Ladies. AC went up 18-12 later following a Lauren Outwater kill, but once again, Kenyon fought back.
 
Down by six, the Ladies eventually tied the set at 22 after a Swanson kill. The tight score remained close until the end when the Ladies scored back-to-back points on a McClure ace and Stupica kill.
 
Set two was tied at 6 early on, but Kenyon hit a 5-0 spurt with Victoria Leggett serving. She added two aces during the stretch. The Ladies led by as many as 12 points (24-12) in the set before Donnelly closed the deal with a kill.
 
Kenyon wrapped up the match in set three.  Neither team led by any more than two points until near the midway point of the set was reached.  With the score tied at 14, the Ladies went on an 8-2 run to take control.
 
Swanson and Shurbert each had a pair of kills to lead Kenyon on the game-changing run. The set ended with a 25-19 tally in Kenyon's favor.
 
Postseason play is up next for Kenyon. They'll travel to Springfield, Ohio as the No. 6 seed in the North Coast Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament and face three-seed DePauw University on Nov. 6.