LAREDO, Texas – When the St. Mary's and Texas A&M International volleyball teams get together, fans know it's always going to be a close battle and Friday evening was no exception as the Dust Devils pulled out a five-set victory over the Rattlers, 25-22, 24-26, 23-25, 25-22, 15-8.
Despite senior middle blocker
Rachel McDonald (Indianapolis, Ind.) posting a career-high in kills with 12, the Rattlers (13-8, 7-7 Lone Star Conference) couldn't dig out of the hole in the fifth and final set. She also led the match with five blocks as the team won the block battle 12.0-7.0.
Senior outside hitter
Alissa Tolbert (San Antonio) narrowly missed another 20-20 match, leading the team with 20 kills and adding 18 digs. Both sophomore outside hitters
Julia Aleman (San Antonio) and
Lindsey Ogle (Houston) added 11 kills each.
Sophomore setter
Aislan Lennon (Houston) also tallied a career-high 48 assists and a season-high 17 digs. Junior libero
Gabi Sandoval (San Antonio) led the club with 23 digs, while freshman defensive specialist
Leah Cruz (Laredo) was one off her career-high with 16 digs. She also had 35 serve receptions without any errors. Sophomore defensive specialist
Nadia Manitzas (San Antonio) returned to the lineup after missing two matches to garner 15 digs.
Aleman, Ogle and senior middle blocker
Julia Deais (San Antonio) collected four blocks each as the team tied its season-high with 12.0 blocks. The Rattlers have now totaled double digit blocks in three-straight matches.
There were six ties and three lead changes in the opening set, with the Dust Devils (4-17, 4-10 LSC) edging out the Rattlers 25-22. Tolbert and Deais each had three kills, while Manitzas led the way with seven digs.
The Rattlers won their sixth-straight set to go extra points, winning 26-24 to tie the match at one set each. StMU scored the first two points of the set, but after an extremely lengthy discussion between officials, coaches and captains, the second point was reversed. The Rattlers responded by scoring the next two for the 3-1 lead and they fought through seven ties for the win.
Trailing 15-11 in the third set, Tolbert stepped back to the line and served eight straight points for the Gold & Blue, getting a lot of help from her front line as McDonald had two kills and paired with others for three-straight blocks as the Rattlers went on to win 25-23.
The fourth set saw 14 ties and nine lead changes before TAMIU edged out the Rattlers, 25-22. Aleman led the team with six kills in the set. The final set had six ties and two lead changes, but the Devils went on a 9-2 run to close out the match.
The Rattlers finish out the road portion of the regular season on Saturday with a 1 p.m. matchup at Texas A&M-Kingsville. The Javelinas were swept by St. Edward's on Friday evening.
INDIVIDUAL PLAYER & TEAM NOTES
- Rachel McDonald tallied a career-high 12 kills in the match, doubling her season high and bettering her previous high of 10 from twice in her career.
- For the third-straight match and the sixth time this season, the Rattlers posted double digits in blocks, tying their season high with 12.0.
- Alissa Tolbert hit the 20-kill milestone for the third time this season and the sixth time in her career, tallying 20 on the night.
- Aislan Lennon collected her eighth double-double of the season with a career-high 48 assists and a season-high 17 digs. She surpassed her previous high of 43 assists from her freshman season.
- The 7-7 league record puts StMU in a tie for eighth place in the LSC standings with St. Edward's and UAFS. The top 12 advance to the conference tournament.
