SAN ANTONIO — For the second straight match, the St. Mary's University Volleyball team almost pulled off the reverse sweep but was unable to sustain the momentum in the fifth set, falling to DBU 18-25, 21-25, 25-21, 25-21, 8-15 on Saturday afternoon.
The Rattlers (12-5, 4-2) had a balanced attack with the trio of
Landri Withers (Stephenville, Texas),
Taylor Alston (San Antonio) and
Dallasstar Johnson (San Antonio) all ending in double digits in kills. Withers led the team with 15, while Alston – in the first start of her career – posted a career-high 12, and Johnson chipped in 11. Johnson also led the match with seven blocks.
For the second match in a row, senior setter
Cali Nims (Corpus Christi, Texas) collected a career-high in kills, posting eight on 20 swings (8-0-20) for a .400 hitting percentage. She added 42 assists, 14 digs, three blocks and two service aces.
Junior libero
Alyssa Koehl (New Braunfels, Texas) led the team with 17 digs and three aces, while both Nims and Withers tallied their ninth double-doubles of the year as Withers added 12 digs.
Senior
Alicia Virthe (Orlando, Fla.) tied her career-high with five blocks and added another ace, giving her at least one in the last four matches and in 13 of the last 14. She began the season with only three aces in her career, rarely getting called on to serve, and now she leads the team with 24 in 2024.
The Rattlers are in a three-way tie for fifth place in the Lone Star standings and head out on the road for four straight matches, beginning at Texas Woman's on Friday, Oct. 18, at 6 p.m.
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