SAN ANTONIO – A rocky start turned into an exciting finish for the St. Mary's University Volleyball team on Friday at home against Eastern New Mexico, as they defeated the Greyhounds in five sets 16-25, 25-23, 25-18, 19-25, 15-11 to even the season record at 12-12.
The Rattlers (12-12, 5-9) struggled finding an offensive rhythm early, hitting only .130 and .147 in the first two sets, before coming back to hit .262 in the third and .333 in the fifth. After going the distance in six of the first nine matches of the year, the match on Friday was the first since Oct. 3 to be a five-setter, as the Rattlers moved to 4-5 in the fifth set in 2026.
It was a balanced attack for the Gold and Blue, as graduate student
Laurene Robinson (Bedford, Texas) had a team-high 14 kills, while both junior
Taylor Alston (San Antonio) and sophomore
Tara Creekmore (Canton, Mich.) each added 12, and freshman
Madyson Carr (Houston) chipped in eight and led the team with a .316 hitting percentage (8-2-19).
For the fifth time this season junior libero
Kaylee Cavazos (San Antonio) topped the 20-dig milestone, tying for match-high honors with 22, while freshman defensive specialist
Julianna Guajardo (San Juan, Texas) tied her career-high with 15 digs.
Senior
Addison Carrillo (San Antonio) recorded two of the team's six aces and fellow senior
Olivia Rubio (San Antonio) led the team with four blocks, including two solo stops.
The Greyhounds (7-18, 3-11) were led by Aaliyah Butler with 18 kills and a .481 hitting percentage (18-5-27), while Linden Pennings and Amya Speller each had seven blocks and four different players each had two aces. Sydney Pipkin flirted with a triple-doubles, notching 41 assists, 14 digs and seven kills.
St. Mary's will close out the home portion of its season on Saturday at 2 p.m. when West Texas A&M comes to town. The Rattlers will celebrate the seniors on the roster after the conclusion of the match.
