Dr. Steve Aicinena "Iceman" Invitational • Odessa • Falcon Dome
Thursday, September 7
St. Mary's (2-2) vs. Southwest (0-5) • 6 p.m.
Friday, September 8
St. Mary's vs. Minnesota-Crookston (1-3) • 11 a.m.
St. Mary's vs. Sul Ross State (1-2) • 5 p.m.
Saturday, September 2
St. Mary's at UT Permian Basin (3-1) • 1 p.m.
Week Two: St. Mary's remains in-state but heads five hours to Odessa for the Dr. Steve Aicinena "Iceman" Invitational, hosted by UT Permian Basin. The Rattlers will face Southwest, Minnesota-Crookston, Sul Ross State and the Falcons over three days.
Series History: The Rattlers are a perfect 6-0 all-time against Southwest, but the two teams have not met since 2011 - a three-set win for StMU in Bill Greehey Arena. The other five victories have all been on a neutral court. Friday will be the second meeting between StMU and Minnesota-Crookston. The teams first met in 2013 in Bill Greehey - a four set win for the Golden Eagles. St. Mary's holds a 2-1 edge in the series over Sul Ross State, though the teams have not played in 30 years. StMU won in 1993, though the scores are unavailable. The Rattlers also hold a slight edge in the series with UT Permian Basin, 14-12. StMU won both meetings a season ago, are 8-6 in Odessa and are looking to snap a three-match losing skid at the Falcon Dome.
All-Tournament: Sophomore libero Alyssa Koehl earned All-Tournament honors at the Britkare Lady Buff Classic last week. She averaged 3.63 digs per set and frustrated hitters all weekend. Koehl recorded double figures in all four matches and now has 25 double-digit dig totals in her career.
Aces Are Wild: The Rattlers recorded more service aces than the opponent in three of the first four matches and their 2.00 aces per set ranks second in the Lone Star Conference. Four Rattlers already have five or more aces on the season, led by Dallasstar Johnson with eight. Both Cali Nims and Landri Withers have six aces, while freshman Haleigh Wilk has five.
Spreading the Wealth: Eight Rattlers are averaging at least 1.00 kill per set after the first week of play and three are averaging over 2.00 per set. Junior opposite hitter Alicia Virthe leads the team with 2.50/set, while sophomore Landri Withers is second at 2.27/set and senior Brianna Morris-Worth is third with 2.13/set.Â
Setting the Table: Junior setter Cali Nims recorded 29 assists in the season-opening win over Davenport, moving her over the 1,000 mark for her career. She also dished out 93 assists for the weekend and is 51 away from moving into the top 10 in St. Mary's history. Nims currently ranks 12th, with 1,073 while Shelly Wilson (2003-04) is 10th with 1,123 assists and Ginger Grimes (1996) is 11th with 1,083.
Breaking Out: Senior middle blocker Josie Disponette is having a breakout start to her final campaign with 11 blocks and 16 kills in the first weekend. Her 11 blocks are only six shy of her season total from a season ago, while her 16 kills are eight away from last year's 24. Disponette recorded a career-best five blocks in the match against East Central and has been the team leader in three of the four matches.
Picked Sixth: Entering the fifth year of competition in the Lone Star Conference, the St. Mary's Volleyball team earned its highest-ever preseason ranking, getting selected sixth in the 17-team league. The Rattlers received 494 points, edging out Texas A&M International by one point. Defending national champion West Texas A&M is an overwhelming favorite, garnering 762 points and 42 of the 45 first-place votes. UT Tyler, Texas A&M-Kingsville, DBU and Angelo State round out the top five.
