Volleyball Hits on All Cylinders in Sweep of Hilltoppers

SAN ANTONIO – The St. Mary's University Volleyball team put on another hitting clinic in sweeping its third-straight opponent, defeating rival St. Edward's, 25-22, 25-17, 25-20 in the final match of the LSC Preview Tournament.
 
The Rattlers (8-3) hit a season-best .343, making only eight unforced errors in the entire match. It is the highest hitting percentage in a match since the team hit .467 (43-8-75) in a win over Eastern New Mexico since Oct. 9, 2021.
 
Senior opposite side hitter Alicia Virthe (Orlando, Fla.) blasted 16 kills on 25 swings with no errors for a .640 hitting percentage, while left side hitter Brianna Morris-Worth (Yukon, Okla.) added 12 kills with no errors for a .545 hitting percentage.
 
Entering the match needing only one service ace for 100 in her career, senior setter Cali Nims (Corpus Christi, Texas) wasted no time in recording the milestone on the very first serve of the match. She ended the afternoon with a double-double, tallying 35 assists and a team-best 13 digs and found the open hitter with regularity.
 
Junior libero Alyssa Koehl (New Braunfels, Texas) added 12 digs and five assists, while both Virthe and sophomore middle blocker Olivia Rubio (San Antonio) blocked four shots.
 
StMU was solid at the service line, posting nine aces with four different players notching a pair. The team also had more aces than errors for the second-straight night and the sixth time this year.
 
The Rattlers remain at home for their eighth-straight match, hosting Texas A&M Kingsville on Wednesday for the Lone Star Conference opener. The match is scheduled for 6 p.m.
 
NEWS & NOTES

• Cali Nims is four assists shy of 2,000 for her career. Her 1,996 assists ranks her sixth in St. Mary's history, while she is now tied for 12th on the career charts with 101 aces.
• In the three matches in the LSC Preview, the Rattlers combined to hit .303 over nine sets with 16.56 kills, 2.44 aces, 19.78 digs and 1.78 blocks per set. 
• One week after recording the huge milestone of 1,000 digs, junior libero Alyssa Koehl dug her 1,100th against the Hilltoppers and has 1,101. She passed Kelsey Huber (2011-14) for 12th on the career rankings.
• Olivia Rubio has doubled up her kill total from her freshman season. In seven matches in her first year she notched 17, while in 11 matches this year she's put down 34 and she's almost tripled her block total as she has 18 this year after stopping seven in her first year.
• With her 16 kills, Alicia Virthe moved within 18 of notching 600 in her career. Virthe has raised her hitting percentage over .100 points from her junior season, improving from .203 in 2023 to .320 in 2024.