This Week in Rattlers Volleyball
Rattler Invitational • Bill Greehey Arena • San Antonio
Friday, Sept. 13 • Texas A&M International (1-3) • 11:30 a.m. • #1 Tampa (3-0) • 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 14 • East Central (3-0) • 10 a.m. • Anderson (1-2) • 5:30 p.m.
Home Sweet Home: The St. Mary's Volleyball team hosts its first tournament since 2013, welcoming Anderson (SC), East Central, Tampa and Texas A&M International to Bill Greehey Arena for the Rattler Invitational.
All-Tournament: Both senior
Alicia Virthe and junior
Laurene Robinson were named to the Reddie-Tiger Invitational. Virthe hit .287 for the week and tied her career-high with 20 kills in the season opener, while Robinson led the team with 3.47 kills per set and either tied or recorded a new career high in kills in three of the four matches.
What A Week: Eight of the 17 teams in the Lone Star Conference posted a 3-1 record through the first week, including the Rattlers. Oklahoma Christian went 4-0 and Sul Ross State didn't play and are the only two teams remaining without at least one loss on the year.
Fives Are Wild: Senior setter
Cali Nims, who wears number five on her jersey, recorded a career-best five kills in the win over Southeastern Oklahoma State on Friday. She then tallied a career-best five service aces in the win over Missouri S&T on Saturday. Nims climbed into sixth in StMU history with 1,713 assists, passing Rachael Scicchitano (2013-16), who notched 1,703 assists in her career.
The Name Game: For those history buffs or long-time fans of StMU Volleyball if the name of freshman middle blocker
Kaitlyn Kirschner seems familiar it's because the Rattlers had a player with the same name, albeit a different spelling. Katelyn Kershner was an outside hitter with the Gold and Blue from 2008-2010 who collected 536 kills and 833 digs in her 86-match career.
Opponent Histories: The Rattlers host two more first-time opponents in Anderson and Tampa this weekend. StMU is knotted 2-2 in the all-time series with East Central. The Tigers won a tough five-setter a season ago. The Rattlers hold a 20-16 lead over Texas A&M International, but have dropped the past six meetings. At home, StMU holds a commanding 13-4 lead in the series.
Middle of the Pack: The Rattlers were picked ninth in the 17-team LSC Preseason poll. St. Mary's returns all seven starters off last season's club that was 12-15, but ended on a high-note, winning two of its final three matches. The seniors on the 2024 team are DS
Leah Cruz, OH
Brianna Morris-Worth, S
Cali Nims and RS
Alicia Virthe. The Rattlers return 92.6% of their kills, 90.1% of aces, 93.4% of digs and 90.6% of its blocks from the 2023 squad.
Closing In: Junior libero
Alyssa Koehl needs only 39 digs for 1,000 in her career. She will become the 16th player in school history to accomplish the milestone. Senior setter
Cali Nims is nine service aces shy of 100 and will be the 13th player to hit triple digits in aces. Junior MB
Dallasstar Johnson needs six more blocks to record 200 in her standout career. Senior RS
Alicia Virthe is eight kills away from becoming the second active player on the team with 500 career kills. She'll join
Landri Withers, who has 562 after smashing 41 last week and needs eight more digs for 500.
