Volleyball Bounces Back With Win in Wichita Falls

WICHITA FALLS, Texas – People often look to how a team responds to defeat to see how tough a team really is, and St. Mary's Volleyball responded to a heartbreaking loss on Friday night in a big way on Saturday, winning in four at Midwestern State, 25-23, 25-19, 23-25, 25-22.
 
The Rattlers remained poised in four close sets of competition to even their Lone Star Conference record at 1-1 and move 5-8 on the year. The Mustangs also move to 1-1 in conference play and are 3-11 overall.
 
Going with a slightly different lineup, Head Coach Laura Ulrich used freshman Isabella Waggoner in the back row and it paid off as the Texas City native responded with three service aces, including one to set up match point.
 
Freshman Dallasstar Johnson (San Antonio) was close to a triple-double, recording 8 kills, 10 digs and seven blocks on the day. She also hit .300 (8-2-20) for the match, tying for third on the team in kills.
 
The Mustangs tried to disrupt the play of freshman Landri Withers (Stephenville, Texas), serving her 37 times in their 85 serves (43.5%), but she still responded with her second-straight double-double of 15 kills and 16 digs. Junior outside hitter Lindsey Ogle (Houston) added 12 kills and four blocks, while freshman Laurene Robinson (Bedford, Texas) chipped in eight kills.
 
Sophomore setter Cali Nims (Corpus Christi, Texas) tallied her third double-double in four matches with 24 assists and 10 digs, while freshman libero Alyssa Koehl (New Braunfels, Texas) led the team with 20 digs. She also added five assists and had 19 receptions without a service error.
 
A big reason for the Rattlers success was once again their block. StMU outblocked the Mustangs 10-2 and had many other touches on balls to give the back row defense a chance to set up.
 
St. Mary's will finally play at home, hosting Cameron at Bill Greehey Arena on Friday at 6 p.m. 
 
INDIVIDUAL PLAYER & TEAM NOTES

• Landri Withers recorded three straight kills to help the Rattlers start 5-0 in the fourth set and the team never trailed, though the score was tied once at 20-20.
• For the second-straight match, the Rattlers had four straight players record double digit digs, led by 20 from Alyssa Koehl.
• Isabella Waggoner recorded a career-high three aces in the win. She is the sixth different Rattler to have at least three aces in a match this season.
• Both Cali Nims and Landri Withers recorded double-doubles for the second-straight match. Nims now has four on the year.
• The Rattlers have now won four straight matches against Midwestern State and are a perfect 2-0 in Lone Star meetings, winning both last season and this year in four sets.