Final Week of Regular Season Looms Large for Volleyball

This Week in Rattlers Volleyball
Wednesday, Nov. 13 • Texas A&M International (8-15, 5-9) at St. Mary's (15-10, 7-7) • 6 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 16 • St. Mary's at St. Edward's (10-15, 2-12) • 2 p.m.

Final Week: The St. Mary's Volleyball team has two matches remaining in the regular season and is in the hunt for one of the eight bids to the Lone Star Conference Championship. The Rattlers host Texas A&M International for Military Appreciation Night on Wednesday at 6 p.m. before traveling to Austin for the annual Battle of the Saints at St. Edward's on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Masters of Destiny: A sweep for the Rattlers this week would earn them a spot in the top eight and a trip to the Lone Star Conference Tournament. StMU can still advance with a 1-1 week, though several other things would have to occur. Two losses this week would eliminate the Rattlers from postseason contention.

All-Time vs Texas A&M International: The Rattlers snapped a six-match losing streak to Texas A&M International earlier this season with a four-set win to take a 21-16 lead in the all-time series. StMU is 14-4 all-time in San Antonio against the Dustdevils.

In the First Meeting: The Rattlers won in four sets back on Sept. 13 in a non-conference match-up with the Dustdevils. Laurene Robinson led the team with 18 kills, while Landri Withers notched a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs. Cali Nims collected 47 assists and both Kaitlyn Kirschner and Robinson had three blocks, while Dallasstar Johnson led the match with four aces.

All-Time vs St. Edward's: St. Mary's holds a 66-57 lead in the all-time series against St. Edward's, including a three-set sweep back on Sept. 21 in the LSC Preview. The Hilltoppers hold a slight 29-27 edge in meetings in Austin, though the Rattlers have won the last two in Austin and the last four in the series.

In the First Meeting: Alicia Virthe led the way with 16 kills, while Cali Nims notched a double-double with 35 assists and 13 digs. Four different Rattlers had two services aces each and both Virthe and Olivia Rubio had four blocks each. Brianna Morris-Worth hit .545 (12-0-22), with no hitting errors on the night.

Finding A Way: The 15 wins by St. Mary's are the most since the 2017 team went 19-12 and won the Heartland Conference Tournament. The team has split each of the last three weeks after losing several players to injuries.

Oh, So Close: Senior Alicia Virthe has recorded 385 points this season. Points are figured by adding kills+aces+block solos+block assists/2. Her 385 points are the second-most in St. Mary's single season history during the modern scoring format (2008-present), and just 20 points shy of tying the record of 405 points by Channing Hankins in 2017. 

Freshman of the Week: For the first time in Lone Star Conference history, a St. Mary's player earned Freshman of the Week honors as Taylor Alston was selected on Nov. 5. Alston recorded back-to-back career-highs in kills with 12 in the win over Lubbock Christian and 16 against #14 Angelo State. Since moving to the starting lineup seven matches ago, Alston has recorded double figures in kills five times.

Aces High: Senior Alicia Virthe went from not serving the first three seasons of her collegiate career, to being one off the Lone Star Conference lead in her final campaign. Virthe has 38 aces this year (0.40/set) which trails Lily Bickley from Lubbock Christian and Elisa Carli from Texas A&M Kingsville by one for the most in the league. The 38 aces is also fourth on the StMU single-season rally-scoring format charts.

The Best in the Lone Star: Junior libero Alyssa Koehl recorded the highest dig total in the Lone Star Conference this season and the ninth-highest in DII with her 41 digs at Eastern New Mexico on Oct. 25. It is also tied for the fourth-most in a single match in St. Mary's history and tied for the most in the modern scoring format (since 2008).

Top 20: Alyssa Koehl is averaging 5.40 digs per set this season, which leads the Lone Star Conference and ranks 17th in the nation. Her 508 total digs also ranks 16th in the Division II statistics. She's reached double figures in every match this season, in 40 in a row, and 73 times in her career. 

Climbing the Charts: Senior setter Cali Nims has 1004 assists this season, for an average of 10.68 per set, which ranks third in the Lone Star Conference and 22nd in the nation. She also ranks 13th in St. Mary's single-season history and fourth in rally scoring with her 1004, needing 13 more to move up a spot on both lists.

Double Digit Kills: Both senior Alicia Virthe and junior Landri Withers have recorded 10 or more kills 40 times in their career and are now tied for 8th all-time at St. Mary's. Breann Alexander (2000-02) holds the all-time record, getting to double digits 84 times in her career.

Now Appearing: Senior setter Cali Nims moved up one more spot to 19th on the career digs chart with 973, becoming one of only three setters in school history with 2,000 assists and 900 digs. Kristelle Rodriguez (1999-02) had 5,310 assists and 1,426 digs, while Allie Murray (2009-12) recorded 2,435 assists and 1,193 digs.

Double Trouble: Both senior setter Cali Nims and junior outside hitter Landri Withers rank in the top 10 in St. Mary's history in double-doubles. Nims is fourth with 43 (assists-digs) in her career, while Withers is currently ninth with 26 (kills-digs). Nims needs one more to tie former teammate Alissa Tolbert (2018-21) for third all-time with 44.

Digging It: According to the NCAA website, there are 147 current Division II players with 1,000 career digs and St. Mary's libero Alyssa Koehl is one of only 22 juniors on the list. There are nine active players in the Lone Star to have reached the 1,000-dig milestone. Koehl ranks 42nd among active DII players with 1,391.

Name    School    Digs

6. Daylee Doggett    DBU    2,091

39. Caleigh Enax    ASU    1,437

42. Alyssa Koehl    StMU    1,391

43. Bryli Contreras    WT    1,382

53. Addison Evans    UTT    1,324

61. Lixai Perez    TAMIU    1,301

94. Riley Daugherty    OC    1,139

104. Getsamani Carrasco    WT    1,119

128. Delaney Fuller    DBU    1,042

Closing In: Several Rattlers are closing in on career milestones or are close to moving up the career leaders list in St. Mary's history:

Name    Category    Milestone    Needs

Leah Cruz    Digs    400    2

Alyssa Koehl    Digs    1400    9

        6th place    36

Brianna Morris-Worth    Kills    400    11

Cali Nims    Assists    4th place    139

Cali Nims    Digs    1,000    27

Alicia Virthe    Kills    800    36

Landri Withers    Kills    800    2

Landri Withers    Digs    700    1

Landri Withers    Blocks    100    3