Volleyball Clinches Tournament Berth with Senior Day Win over UAFS

SAN ANTONIO – On Senior Day it was a freshman who stole the spotlight for St. Mary's Volleyball as they defeated UAFS in four sets, 25-19, 26-28, 25-20, 27-25 on Saturday afternoon.
 
Freshman outside hitter Landri Withers (Stephenville, Texas) posted a team-high 18 kills – one off her career high – and collected a career-high 18 digs to lead the Rattlers. She hit .405 (18-3-37) for the match and led all players with three aces.
 
The win for the Rattlers (14-10, 10-3 Lone Star Conference) clinches a tournament berth for the team for the second-straight season. It also snaps a four-match losing skid to the Lions (12-12, 4-7 LSC), avenging an earlier loss from Sept. 10 in Dallas.
 
Prior to the match, both fifth-year seniors Sadie Hough (Cleburne, Texas) and Liz Ugbaja (Houston) were honored for their efforts on the court.
 
Sophomore Alicia Virthe (Orlando, Fla.) and junior Brianna Morris-Worth (Yukon, Okla.) both had solid days on offense as Virthe tied her season-high with 11 kills and Morris-Worth added nine with only one hitting error for a .296 hitting percentage.
 
Sophomore setter Cali Nims (Corpus Christi, Texas) collected her ninth double-double of the season with 26 assists and 15 digs, while freshman Alyssa Koehl (New Braunfels, Texas) chipped in 14 digs and sophomore defensive specialist Leah Cruz (Laredo, Texas) had her second-consecutive season high with 13 digs.
 
The Rattlers amassed 10 aces in the match, the fifth time this season the club has reached double digits. Six different players served at least one and they had only four errors. StMU also out-blocked UAFS, 8-7, on the day and were led by freshman Dallasstar Johnson with four.
 
The win wraps up a 2-1 week for the Rattlers and concludes the home portion of the regular season. The team plays its final three on the road beginning on Friday at UT Tyler at 6 p.m.