Volleyball Faces UT Tyler in LSC Quarterfinals

This Week in Rattlers Volleyball
Thursday, Nov. 20 • No. 5 UT Tyler (16-11, 12-5) vs No. 4 St. Mary's (15-12, 12-5) • 4 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 21 • Semifinals • Winner of Angelo State vs Texas A&M-Kingsville • 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 22 • Finals • TBD
 

Tournament Bound: The St. Mary's Volleyball team earned the fourth seed at the Lone Star Conference Tournament and will face fifth-seeded UT Tyler at 4 p.m. on Thursday. This is the second-straight season the two teams have met in the quarterfinals.

History at LSC Tournament: The Rattlers are searching for their first-ever win in the Lone Star Tournament, as the team is 0-3. This is the highest seed for StMU, as the team has been the sixth seed twice and the ninth seed once. See page 3 for a complete history of St. Mary's in the LSC Tournament.

History With UT Tyler: St. Mary's recorded its first-ever sweep over the Patriots back on Oct. 28 to bring the all-time series to 2-4. The three previous meetings had all gone to five sets, with UTT winning both matches in 2024, including the quarterfinals of the Lone Star Tournament.

A Dozen Dubs: St. Mary's ended the Lone Star Conference season with a 12-5 record, and in fourth place in the standings. The 12 league victories are the most in the school's Division II era and the most since the 1996 team finished 15-1 in the Heart of Texas Conference.

Koehl is Good for You: Senior libero Alyssa Koehl became the second player in St. Mary's history to record more than 2,000 digs in a career, when she hit the milestone in the second set against Western New Mexico on Friday. Koehl now has 2,048 digs in 110 matches played for the Rattlers, ranking second behind Victorria Martinez (2011-14), who had 2,337 in her standout career. Koehl currently ranks fourth among active Division II players and 11th among all Divisions with her 2,048 digs.

Putting on the Pressure: St. Mary's has served up 200 aces this season, which breaks the modern scoring format record of 182 from last season, and ranks eighth all-time. Haleigh Wilk (46) leads the Lone Star Conference, while Alyssa Koehl is third with 41 and Landri Withers is right behind her in fourth with 39 aces. Wilk's 46 aces tie for 10th in school history and ties the modern scoring format record by Monica Ramon from 2017. Koehl's 41 aces are tied for 19th, while Withers is tied for 23rd.

Balanced Attack: In the win over Western New Mexico on Friday, the five Rattlers hitters all recorded between eight and 14 kills. Senior middle blocker Landry Cate posted a career-high nine kills, while Taylor Alston and Laurene Robinson tied for team-high honors with 14. Cate also recorded the 100th block of her StMU career in the win over the Mustangs.

Hot Hands: St. Mary's enters the Lone Star Conference Tournament winners of eight of their last nine matches, with only a loss to then-#15 West Texas A&M over the last month. The Rattlers won six straight before falling in four in Canyon, then rebounded to win the final two matches of the regular season.

All-Tournament: Senior Landri Withers was named to the 2024 LSC All-Tournament team after recording a then-career-high 23 kills in the quarterfinals against UT Tyler. Current interim head coach Cali Nims was honored on the 2022 All-Tournament team in the four-set loss to Texas A&M International.

It's An Honor: Senior middle blocker Dallasstar Johnson was named the Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week after averaging 1.75 blocks per set on Nov. 11. The Rattlers held the opposition to a .131 hitting percentage for the week, led by Johnson's 14 blocks. She is the first StMU player to win the award this season, and it's her second time winning, as she did so as a freshman in 2022.

Another Record Falls: St. Mary's has shattered the modern scoring format for block assists in a season with 389, topping the 2010 team which totaled 349. The 389 block assists also ranks fourth overall. The Rattlers have 225.5 total blocks on the year, which ranks third in the modern era and ninth overall.

Meant to be Broken: Senior Dallasstar Johnson has also broken the St. Mary's single-season modern scoring era record for block assists. She currently has 105, breaking the record of 95 by Jaycie Pluenneke (2017). Johnson's block assists are tied for sixth all-time. Her 115 total blocks (10-105) rank second in the modern era (2008-present) and are 11th all-time.

Three Musketeers: Landri Withers, Laurene Robinson and Dallasstar Johnson all rank on the NCAA Division II active career kills list. Withers ranks 25th with 1,186 kills, while Robinson ranks 219th with 659 kills and Johnson is 228th with 641. Withers totals also rank 113th regardless of division.

Rarefied Air: Senior outside hitter Landri Withers became only the third player in St. Mary's history with both 1,000 career kills and digs at Oklahoma Christian on Nov. 1. Breann Alexander (1999-02) recorded 1,582 kills and 1,343 digs in her standout career, while Jennifer Johnson totaled 1,109 kills and 1,001 digs, and Withers currently has 1,186 kills and 1,055 digs. 

Tumbling Records: On Oct. 25 against St. Edward's, the Rattlers collected 18 aces, breaking the St. Mary's five-set record, bettering the previous record of 14 from both the 2006 (at Texas A&M Kingsville, Sept. 6) and 2007 (DBU, Nov. 2) teams, and ties for second all-time regardless of the number of sets played. On Sept. 24, 2004, the Rattlers served 22 aces in a win against Oklahoma Panhandle State, while they had 18 in a four-set win at Oklahoma Panhandle State on Oct. 24, 2009.

Aces Are Wild: Both the St. Mary's team and junior setter Haleigh Wilk are on pace to break the St. Mary's modern scoring format single-season aces per set record. The Rattlers are averaging 1.85 service aces per set, well above the record of 1.70 from last season's team. Wilk leads the team with 46 aces (0.44/set), which would break the modern scoring format record of 0.407/set by Victorria Martinez from 2012. 

Block Party: Senior Dallasstar Johnson ranks fourth in the Lone Star Conference with 1.08 blocks per set. Fourteen times this season she's recorded five or more blocks in a match, and she ranks third in St. Mary's history with 358 total blocks. Johnson is also tied for ninth on the StMU career charts with 46 solo blocks and second with 312 block assists. 

Closing In: Several Rattlers are closing in on career milestones or are close to moving up the career leaders list in St. Mary's history:

Name    Category    Milestone    Needs
Taylor Alston    Kills    300    4
Dallasstar Johnson    Blocks    2nd Place    5
    Aces    15th Place    3
Alyssa Koehl    Digs    2000    8
    Aces    5th Place    9
Liz Salinas    Assists    300    10
Abbey Stiffler    Digs    200    11
Kelly Swyers    Kills    200    23
Landri Withers    Aces    14th Place    2
    Kills    3rd Place    4
    Kills    1200    14