Volleyball Wins a Pair of Thrillers to Begin 2021

OKLAHOMA CITY – The St. Mary's Volleyball team made a statement on day one of the 2021 season, winning both matches at the Eagle Invitational. The Rattlers defeated Lubbock Christian in five sets, 25-21, 17-25, 26-24, 20-25, 15-10 and came back to win in four against Bentley 18-25, 27-25, 25-22, 25-15.
 
Senior outside hitter Alissa Tolbert (San Antonio) and sophomore setter Aislan Lennon (Houston) posted double-doubles in both matches to pick up where they left off a season ago. Against LCU, Tolbert collected 14 kills and 21 digs, while in the nightcap she led all players with 17 kills and chipped in 10 digs. Lennon had a team-high 33 assists to go with 14 digs in the five-set win and amassed 20 assists with 13 digs in the win over Bentley.
 
The Rattlers (2-0) conclude the Eagle Invitational on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. against host, Oklahoma Christian. The Eagles split day one, defeating Bentley in four sets and losing in straight sets to Lubbock Christian.
 
Lubbock Christian Match Recap
In the first match of her career, right side hitter Alicia Virthe (Orlando, Fla.) collected a match-high 20 kills, hitting .425 (20-3-40). She notched eight kills in the third set, which the Rattlers held on to win 26-24. Senior libero Gabi Sandoval (San Antonio), after sitting out last season, came out strong with a career-high 25 digs and 23 receptions without an error.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Julia Aleman (San Antonio) and freshman middle blocker Meghan Stiefer (La Vernia, Texas) also chipped in double digits in kills with 10 each, while sophomore defensive specialist Nadia Manitzas (San Antonio) tallied 10 digs for the fourth in double figures in that category. Stiefer paced the match with five blocks in her first collegiate match and freshman setter Cali Nims (Corpus Christi, Texas) narrowly missed her first double-double with 25 assists and eight digs.
 
The Rattlers hit .194 on the afternoon, including .326 in the opening set and held the Lady Chaps to .172. In the deciding fifth set, the Rattlers shut down the LCU offense holding them to .000. 
 
Aaliyah Gray led LCU with 11 kills, while both Jalee Sims and Kendall Mahaney collected 21 digs each. Hannah Froeschl and Sage Chain totaled four blocks each and Froeschl had two service aces.
 
The two teams don't meet again until the final match of the regular season on Nov. 13 for the Rattlers' Senior Day match at 2 p.m.
 
Bentley Match Recap
After dropping the opening set 25-18, the Rattlers regrouped to win the next three 27-25, 25-22, 25-15 to improve to 2-0 on the day.
 
Tolbert was the only Rattler to notch double figures in kills, pacing the match with 17 and Sandoval led the match with 22 digs – giving her over 20 for the second-straight match. Lennon had 20 assists and 13 digs, while Tolbert chipped in 10.
 
Tolbert also led the team with four service aces, while Sandoval added three as the team had eight aces with nine errors – a great ace-to-error ratio for the match. Stiefer also totaled seven blocks – giving her 12 on the day (1.33 per set).
 
This is the first time in the series history, the Rattlers have defeated Bentley, improving to 1-3 all-time.
 
Individual Player & Team Notes

• St. Mary's starts the season 2-0 for just the seventh time in the Division II Era (1999-00).
• The 20 kills by Alicia Virthe in the opener were the most by a freshman in a match since Alissa Tolbert recorded 20 against Newman on Oct. 20, 2018.
• Tolbert posted double-doubles in both matches to bring her career total to 27, which moves her into a tie for sixth all-time with Kelsey Huber (2012-14).
• Aislan Lennon also tallied two double-doubles to give her 10 in her young career.
• Gabi Sandoval collected 47 digs in the two matches, giving her more than she had her entire freshman season (41). She is now just 16 shy of 200 for her career.