CHICAGO – A humble roster size reared its ugly head Saturday at the Moody Bible Institute triangular, as Mount Mary's efforts came up just short in its bid to secure a winning record for the second straight season. Needing two match victories over its final five scheduled contests, the Blue Angels missed an opportunity as it fell to Kuyper College 25-22, 25-21, 22-25, 18-25, 12-15 in the first match and 16-25, 22-25, 10-25 against Moody Bible.

While Kuyper put up a battle, it seemed as if Mount Mary were in control of the match after taking the first two sets. However, frustrations mounted in the third and fourth sets as the Blue Angels' efficiency wore down and Kuyper utilized its middles more effectively.  Even though Mount Mary recorded more kills (59-45), digs (50-41) and blocks (3-0) than Kuyper, the Blue Angels also recorded twice as many errors (35-17) which would ultimately spell disaster. Junior outside Stephanie Hardwick (West Allis, Wis.) led the team with 25 kills and sophomores Beth Baxter (Germantown, Wis.) and Stephanie Gratz (Sussex, Wis.) each added 10 kills against the Cougars.

A bit deflated, Mount Mary returned for a back-to-back against a spirited Moody Bible squad, which took no mercy on the team that had beaten them earlier in the season. MBI cruised to the three-set sweep using a balanced attack, as six Archers tallied at least three kills. Hardwick, Gratz and Baxter all tallied eight kills against the Archers.

The Blue Angels will have three more chances to lock up a winning season, beginning Tuesday against Milwaukee School of Engineering back home at the Bloechl Center. Game time against the Raiders is scheduled for 7 pm.