SAN ANTONIO — For the fourth time in 2024, the St. Mary's University Volleyball team hit over .300 in a match, sweeping Texas A&M Kingsville in the Lone Star Conference opener for both teams, 25-16, 25-22, 25-23.
The Rattlers (9-3, 1-0) hit .331 and held the Javelinas (8-4, 0-1) to a .165 hitting percentage as the team once again clicked on all cylinders. It is the fourth straight sweep for StMU.
The last time the Rattlers swept four-straight opponents was in late October 2003. That team swept Drury, Oklahoma Panhandle State, Texas A&M Kingsville and Tarleton State for a seven-match winning streak.
Senior
Alicia Virthe (Orlando, Fla.) and junior
Dallasstar Johnson (San Antonio) were once again almost unstoppable at the net. Virthe led all players with 13 kills and hit .407 (13-2-27), while Johnson had 11 kills and hit .476 (11-1-21), not recording a hitting error until the third set. Junior
Landri Withers (Stephenville, Texas) also had double figures in kills with 10.
Virthe recorded her first double-double of the year and only the second in her career, finishing the night with 10 digs. Junior libero
Alyssa Koehl (New Braunfels, Texas) led the match with 21 digs. Both Johnson and sophomore
Olivia Rubio (San Antonio) tied for match-high honors with four blocks each, and Virthe added two service aces to her total to lead the team at the line.
With the 11th point of the first set for StMU, senior
Cali Nims (Corpus Christi, Texas) became the sixth player in school history to record 2,000 assists in a career.
Rylan Pollard was the only Javelina in double digits in kills with 10. Setter Nadia Pena posted a double-double with 15 assists and a team-high 12 digs, and she led the match with three aces.
The Rattlers hit the road for the first time since the opening week of the season, traveling to Alpine to take on LSC newcomer Sul Ross State on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Lobos (0-6) open Lone Star action on Friday when they host St. Edward's at 6 p.m.
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