SAN ANTONIO – The St. Mary's University Volleyball team split a pair of matches on the first day of the Rattler Invitational, defeating Texas A&M International in a non-conference match 20-25, 25-18, 25-16, 26-18 before dropping a hard-fought three-set match to top-ranked Tampa 25-21, 25-23, 25-22.
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In the other matches Anderson (SC) defeated East Central 17-25, 30-28, 25-23, 25-17, East Central beat Texas A&M International 25-21, 25-22, 20-25, 25-18 and Tampa beat Anderson 25-20, 26-24, 18-25, 25-14.
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The Invitational begins on Saturday with the Rattlers hosting East Central at 10 a.m. The Dustdevils play Anderson at 12:30, Tampa and East Central square off at 3 and the tournament concludes with the Rattlers facing Anderson at 5:30. All matches will be streamed live on FloSports.
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TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL RECAP
For the fourth time in five matches this season, junior outside hitter
Laurene Robinson (Bedford, Texas) recorded a career-high in kills, tying for match-high honors with 18. She also tied for match-high honors with three blocks as the Rattlers snapped a seven-match losing skid against the Dustdevils.
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Senior
Alicia Virthe (Orlando, Fla.) added 11 kills and notched the 500th kill of her career, ending the match with 503. Junior
Landri Withers (Stephenville, Texas) also added a milestone on the afternoon, collecting the 500th dig of her career. She ended the day with a team-high 12 in the match and 504 in her career. Withers also posted another double-double, kicking in 10 kills.
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The Rattlers put on a serving clinic during the four sets, amassing 15 aces with only four errors. The 15 aces tie for the third-highest total in school history in a four-set match, knotting the 2019 team in a win over Southwest Baptist on Sept. 13. Junior
Dallasstar Johnson (San Antonio) led the way with four aces, while senior setter
Cali Nims (Corpus Christi, Texas) and senior defensive specialist
Leah Cruz (Laredo, Texas) each added three. Nims also recorded a career-high 47 assists, bettering her previous high 46 from last week against McKendree.
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Freshman
Kaitlyn Kirschner (Wimberley, Texas) started the second set for the Rattlers with a bang, smashing the first attack she saw. She ended the match with three kills on six swings for a .500 hitting percentage and tied for match-high honors with three blocks.
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StMU dropped the first set for the fourth time on the year, but didn't let it affect them, bouncing back to win the next three in convincing fashion. In two of the sets, the Rattlers sided out at a 66% clip. They also got stronger as the match wore on, increasing their hitting percentage from .122 in the opener to .485 in the final set. In the fourth, the Rattlers had only one hitting error (17-1-33).
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TAMPA RECAP
Despite losing in three sets, the Rattlers kept the Spartans off balance all evening with their defensive efforts. Junior libero
Alyssa Koehl (New Braunfels, Texas) dug a season-high 24 balls, while Withers collected her second double-double of the day with a season-high 15 kills to go along with 12 digs.
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Robinson kept her streak of double-digit kills alive with 11, as she's totaled over 10 in every match of the year. For the first time in her collegiate career, Nims led the team in blocks with three.
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The Rattlers continued to serve tough, recording six aces with only three errors. Cruz led the team with two, while four others had one.
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Notes
- Leah Cruz has already tied her 2023 season service aces total. She has eight on the year after totaling five on the day.
- Alyssa Koehl recorded 34 digs on the day, bringing her within five of recording her 1,000th.
- Landri Withers posted 25 kills in the two matches to give her 587 for her career, needing 13 for 600.
- Dallasstar Johnson is now two blocks shy of 200 for her career and Cali Nims needs five aces for 100.
- Tampa chose to serve away from Koehl, as she tied a career-low with only three receptions. She has not been aced since the opening match of the year. On the flip side, Landri Withers had a career-high 40 receptions.
