This Week in Rattlers Volleyball
Friday, Sept. 18 • #6 Angelo State (10-1) at St. Mary's (7-3) • 6 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 19 • UT Permian Basin (5-1) at St. Mary's • 2 p.m.
Conference Play: The St. Mary's Volleyball team begins Lone Star Conference play on Friday when they host No. 6 Angelo State at Bill Greehey Arena at 6 p.m. The weekend continues with a matchup against UT Permian Basin on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Players of the Week: Laurene Robinson won the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week, while Haleigh Wilk was tabbed the Setter of the Week after the Rattlers won both matches in the LSC Preview. Robinson averaged 4.56 kills per set and added four service aces. She had a match-high 24 kills with a .367 hitting percentage, 12 digs and three aces as StMU handed UT Tyler its first loss of the season. Robinson also had a double-double (17 kills and 11 digs) against TWU. Wilk averaged 10.22 assists per set and added 19 digs, eight kills and two service aces. She had a double-double (45 assists and 12 digs) against TWU, her third of the year.
History with Angelo State: Friday will be the 45th meeting between the Rambelles and Rattlers, with ASU holding a 28-16 advantage in the series, which started in 1978. Angelo State has won the last four meetings and holds a 6-1 lead since St. Mary's joined the Lone Star Conference.
History with UT Permian Basin: Each team has won 15 matches in a series that dates back to 2006. The Rattlers won in four sets in Odessa a season ago, snapping a three-match losing skid to the Falcons. Since StMU joined the Lone Star, UTPB holds a 6-3 lead in the series, and they hold a slight 6-4 lead in matches played in Bill Greehey.
Connections: Angelo State freshman Olivia Pena and senior Hannah Barnhill return home, as Pena prepped at O'Connor HS in Helotes and Barnhill attended Cornerstone Christian... UTPB sophomore Giselle Orellana went to Clark HS in San Antonio alongside Liz Salinas, while senior Isabel Rodriguez graduated from Taft and setter Emma Gonzalez graduated from Johnson HS, as did Addison Carrillo... UTPB Head Coach Melissa Avila and Kristine Pelky are both in the first year at their current institutions, though Avila isn't new to the LSC as she spent 2025 at Cameron.
On Pace: Though early in the season, Laurene Robinson is on pace to break the school's modern scoring era (2008-present) hitting percentage record. The graduate student is hitting .347 (185-37-426), well above the record of .323 (274-77-610) by Stephanie Proske from 2011. The all-time StMU single season record is .363 (215-42-476) by Jackie Jansky in 1997. On the career charts, Robinson has jumped from 19th all-time into 10th on the hitting percentage charts, hitting .228 throughout her career.
League Leaders: Laurene Robinson leads the Lone Star Conference in kills per set with 4.20 (11th), points per set with 4.76 (12th) and total kills with 185 (5th) and her national rank in all is in parentheses. Haleigh Wilk ranks second in assists with 393 (25th) and third in assists per set with 8.93 (55th).
This Girl Is On Fire: Freshman Madyson Carr continues to get more comfortable in the offense. She has recorded at least five kills in eight of the 10 matches and has recorded five or more blocks in two of the team's last three outings. Her 0.82 blocks per set is the fourth-best total by a freshman in StMU modern history. Carr has led the team in blocks five times this year, tied with senior Olivia Rubio for the team lead.
Setting the Table: Senior setter Haleigh Wilk topped the 1,000 set milestone at Texas A&M-Kingsville on Sept. 5 and now has 1,127 assists (5.32/set), jumping her three spots into 11th on the St. Mary's career charts. Wilk is 24 assists shy of cracking the top 10, as Sondra Cui tallied 1,153 assists in 2008-09.
Finding Her Place: Since moving into the starting rotation, sophomore Tara Creekmore has recorded double figures in kills four times in six matches. She is hitting .200 in those six matches, with a career-high 15 kills against MSU Moorhead.
One-For-One: Senior Kelly Swyers has attempted exactly one serve in her collegiate career, and it went for an ace on match point on Friday in the sweep over Montana State Billings. Swyers entered in the third set with the Rattlers ahead 22-8, recorded a kill to give the Rattlers match point (24-13) and then served the ace for the win.
Aces High: In each of the last two seasons, the Rattlers have broken the school modern scoring format record (2008-present) for service aces in a season. The 2024 team amassed 182, while last year's team ended with 200, which ranks eighth all-time. This season's team is on pace to shatter the record again, averaging 2.00 aces per set. The team already has served 88 aces, which ranks second in the Lone Star Conference and ranks 30th in the nation. Four players rank among the league leaders in total aces in Taylor Alston (17, 4th), Addison Carrillo (14, 12th), Haleigh Wilk (13, 16th) and Kaylee Cavazos (13, 16th).
Being Efficient: The Rattlers hit .417 in the sweep against Concord, making only three unforced errors in the entire match. The .417 hitting percentage is the fifth-best in a single match in school history, and it's only the fourth time in the 25-point rally scoring era (2008-present) that the team has hit over .400 for a match.
Ace in the Hole: In the four-set win over Ursuline, the six St. Mary's servers combined for 18 aces, tying the school's four-set record for service aces from Oct. 24, 2009 at Oklahoma Panhandle State. All six servers had at least two aces in the match, while junior Taylor Alston and senior Haleigh Wilk each had four to lead the team. Â
Now Appearing: Laurene Robinson ranks 57th in Division II and 231st among all NCAA Volleyball players in career kills with 843, while she ranks 83rd in DII with 0.51 blocks per set and 115th with 168 total blocks.
Introducing the Staff: Kristine Pelky and Alec Straw begin their first year as the coaching duo for the Rattlers. Pelky was the interim head coach at Winona State a season ago, posting a record of 16-12. Straw joins the Rattlers from Abilene Christian, where he was a graduate assistant for 2025. Graduate Assistant coach Elle Truckenbrod returns for her second season after helping the Rattlers finish 12-5 in the Lone Star Conference, the most league victories in the school's Division II history.
Picked Fifth: The Rattlers were picked to finish fifth in the 18-team Lone Star Conference. StMU received 698 points and one first-place vote, while Angelo State is the overwhelming choice to repeat as champions, garnering 951 points and 41 of the 54 first-place votes. West Texas A&M (7 first-place votes, 883 points), Lubbock Christian (3, 837) and UT Tyler (778) round out the top five. The Patriots and Rattlers have met each of the last two years in the quarterfinals of the LSC Tournament.
