Friday, September 29 • Lawton, Okla. • Aggie Gym
St. Mary's (6-7, 1-1) at Cameron (3-11, 0-2) • 6 p.m.
Saturday, September 30 • Canyon, Texas • "The Box"
St. Mary's at #5 West Texas A&M (11-2, 1-1) • 2 p.m.
Road Warriors: After playing two matches at home, the St. Mary's Volleyball team returns to the road for a weekend series. The Rattlers have played 11 of their first 13 matches away from Bill Greehey Arena. StMU plays at Cameron on Friday and for the second-time this year will face West Texas A&M.
Block Party: Junior transfer Landry Cate averaged 1.38 blocks per set last week, which ranks her fourth in the Lone Star Conference in league matches. Cate tallied a career-high five blocks against Texas Woman's and followed it up with a new career-high six blocks in the win over Midwestern State.
Series History: The Rattlers are 11-3 all-time against Cameron and have won 10 of the last 11 meetings. The team is also 4-2 in Lawton. This will be the second meeting this season against #5 West Texas A&M, where the Lady Buffs hold a significant 24-2 edge in the series. The Rattlers will be looking for their first win in Canyon in their 14th attempt.
Doubled Up: Junior Alicia Virthe took advantage of playing all six rotations last week, notching the first double-double of her career with 14 kills and 10 digs in the win over Midwestern State. Virthe becomes the fifth player on the roster with a double-double in her career, joining Aislan Lennon, Cali Nims, Abbey Stiffler and Landri Withers.
Record Book Watch: Junior Cali Nims is one service ace shy of moving into the top 20 in St. Mary's history in career aces. Nims currently has 76, while both Anna Seals (2002-05) and Alissa Tolbert (2018-2021) are tied for 20th with 77.
Aces Are Wild: The Rattlers are averaging 1.69 aces per set, which ranks sixth in the Lone Star. Four different Rattlers have served 10 or more aces on the year as Cali Nims has 17, Dallasstar Johnson 13, Alyssa Koehl 11 and Isabella Waggoner 10. Two others are on the cusp of hitting double digits as both Haleigh Wilk and Landri Withers have nine each.Â
Big Blocks: In each of the last four matches, the Rattlers have either won or tied in the block battle. StMU is averaging 2.73 blocks per set during the stretch, compared to 1.91 for the opposition.
Setting the Table: Junior setter Cali Nims continues to climb the career assists chart at St. Mary's, jumping one more spot into eighth with 1,288 assist. Nims passes Ashley Bird (2002-05), who recorded 1,272 in her four years. Next on the list is Kori McCarver (2007-10), who notched 1,544 assists in her standout career. Nims recorded a career-best 46 assists in the victory over Midwestern State on Saturday.
Milestones: Several Rattlers are closing in on career milestones or recently achieved them.
Leah Cruz: 4 digs shy of 200
Dallasstar Johnson: 100th dig vs TWU, 9/22 (104)
Alyssa Koehl: 600th dig vs MSU, 9/23 (623)
Aislan Lennon: 4 digs shy of 400
Brianna Morris-Worth: 19 digs shy of 200
Cali Nims: 12 assists shy of 1300
Lindsey Ogle: 4 kills shy of 400; 1 block shy of 100
Haleigh Wilk: 14 assists shy of 100
Landri Withers: 400 kill vs TWU, 9/22 (422); 300th dig vs MSU, 9/23 (303); 15.5 points shy of 500
