School Record in Hitting Percentage Lifts VB to Sweep

SAN ANTONIO – Hitting a school record .467, the St. Mary's Volleyball team swept Eastern New Mexico on Saturday afternoon, 25-15, 25-14, 25-16.
 
The Rattlers (9-6, 3-5 Lone Star Conference) totaled just eight hitting errors on the day and only six were unforced as the team collected 43 kills on 75 swings. The .467 is over 100 points higher than the previous season high of .321 from a four-set win over Northwestern Oklahoma State on Sept. 10. It also breaks the StMU single match record of .436 from a match at Midwestern State on Sept. 9, 2000.
 
Senior OH Alissa Tolbert (San Antonio) led the match with 12 kills and hit a season-best .476 (12-2-21), while sophomore RS Julia Aleman (San Antonio) hit a season-best .526 (11-1-19). Senior MB Rachel McDonald (Indianapolis, Ind.) also tied her season-high with six kills on just eight attempts with no errors for a .750 hitting percentage.
 
The Rattlers totaled 36 digs, compared to just 21 for the Greyhounds (1-14, 1-6 Lone Star), and were led by junior libero Gabi Sandoval (San Antonio) with 10.
 
Senior Julia Deais (San Antonio) continued to be a force at the net with three blocks on the afternoon, just one less than the entire ENMU team. She also led the match with three aces, just one off her career-high of four.
 
Freshman setter Cali Nims (Corpus Christi, Texas) led the match with 24 assists, while sophomore setter Aislan Lennon (Houston) added 13.
 
INDIVIDUAL PLAYER & TEAM NOTES

• The .467 hitting percentage is the best for the Rattlers this season and the highest in school history, breaking the previous record of .436 at Midwestern State on Sept. 9, 2000.
• The .467 is also the highest single-match mark in the Lone Star Conference this season and is the 20th best in the NCAA in 2021 for a three-set match.
• Junior libero Gabi Sandoval recorded the 400th dig of her career and now stands at 403 after totaling 34 on the weekend.
• No Greyhound recorded more than three digs – and in fact all seven players who collected a dig had three – as ENMU had only 21 digs, compared to 36 for the Rattlers.
• The Rattlers have now split three of the first four weekends in Lone Star Conference play and the three wins ties for the most in a league season since joining the league in 2019.