LAWTON, Okla. — Once again, the St. Mary's University Volleyball team kept fans on the edge of their seats, pulling out another five-set thriller on Halloween at Cameron, 25-18, 22-25, 16-25, 25-19, 15-13 to extend the winning streak to four straight.
Trailing by one, 11-10 in the fifth set, interim head coach
Cali Nims called a timeout and helped the team refocus. After a service error by the Aggies (7-18, 3-9), senior
Laurene Robinson (Bedford, Texas) posted a solo block and a kill for the 13-11 lead. After a CU timeout, the Aggies scored two of the next three, sandwiched around another Robinson kill, and the Aggies missed a serve on match point to give the Rattlers (11-11, 8-4) another five-set victory – their fifth in a row when going the distance.
Robinson led the team with 17 kills, while both outside hitters
Landri Withers (Stephenville, Texas) and
Taylor Alston (San Antonio) added 11 each.
The Rattlers posted a season-best 113 digs in the win, the sixth-most in a five-set match in the modern scoring format (2008-present). Senior libero
Alyssa Koehl (New Braunfels, Texas) led the match with 33 digs, while Withers added a career-best 23 and
Isabella Waggoner (Texas City, Texas) tied her career-high with 17.
Junior setter
Haleigh Wilk (Salado, Texas) notched another double-double with 33 assists and 13 digs, while sophomore
Kaylee Cavazos (San Antonio) chipped in a dozen digs. It is Wilk's eighth double-double of the season, while Withers posted her 11th of the year and 40th of her career.
Senior
Landry Cate (Hot Springs, Ark.) led the match with four blocks, as the two teams combined for only 13 on the long night.
St. Mary's remains in Oklahoma, facing Oklahoma Christian on Saturday at 2 p.m. The Eagles defeated St. Edward's in four sets on Friday evening. The Eagles and Rattlers are locked in a four-way tie for fourth place in the Lone Star Conference standings with Texas Woman's and UT Tyler. All four teams are 8-4 in league action.
