SILVER CITY, N.M. — Trailing 24-21 in the third set on the road, the St. Mary's University Volleyball team dug deep to score seven of the next nine points and win 28-26 for the straight-sets sweep over Western New Mexico on Saturday evening, 25-17, 26-24, 28-26.
With the win, the Rattlers even their Lone Star Conference record at 7-7 and improve to 15-10 overall, while the Mustangs drop to 7-19 on the year and 3-11 in league play.
The middle blockers were the difference in the match, as neither recorded a hitting error. Senior
Brianna Morris-Worth (Yukon, Okla.), who transitioned to the middle three weeks ago, had six kills on 16 swings, while sophomore
Madi Milligan (San Antonio) recorded a career-best eight kills on 18 attacks for a .444 hitting percentage.
Junior
Landri Withers (Stephenville, Texas) led the Rattlers with 14 kills, hitting .500 from the left side (14-2-24), while senior
Alicia Virthe (Orlando, Fla.) tacked on 11 kills.
St. Mary's hit .339 for the match, the seventh time this season they've hit over .300, but the first time on the road. The Rattlers also did a solid job at the service line, nailing seven aces with only three errors – and on the flip side, they only surrendered one ace.
Defensively, junior libero
Alyssa Koehl and Withers paced the team with 11 digs each. The Rattlers were only credited with four blocks in the match and Morris-Worth had a pair of solo stops.
The Rattlers return home for their final home contest of the 2024 season, hosting Texas A&M International on Wednesday, Nov. 13, for Military Appreciation Night at 6 p.m. The regular season closes on Saturday, Nov. 16, at St. Edward's in the annual Battle of the Saints. StMU is currently tied for the eighth spot in the LSC standings with UT Permian Basin.
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