LUBBOCK, Texas — There are nights when the statistics can't tell the entire story of what happened on the court, and that proved true on Friday night at the Rip Griffin Center, as the St. Mary's University Volleyball team had better numbers in almost every statistical category but lost in four sets to Lubbock Christian University, 26-28, 21-25, 25-17, 19-25.
In the team's first road match in Lone Star Conference play, the Rattlers (8-5, 1-2) collected more kills (56-to-53), more digs (46-to-34) and more blocks (10-to-4) than the Lady Chaps (6-7, 2-1) but fell short on the scoreboard. LCU, playing its first home match of the 2026 season, had more aces (12-to-7) and fewer service errors (8-to-10), and both teams had 44 assists.
The Rattlers erased a five-point deficit late in the first set, as they trailed 20-15, but fought back to knot the score at 24-24 and force extra points. A
Kaylee Cavazos (San Antonio) service ace gave StMU a set point, but back-to-back errors gave the Chaps their second set point.
Tara Creekmore (Canton, Mich.) blasted a kill to knot the score at 26-26, and LCU got consecutive kills to pull off the win. It is the fifth time this season the Rattlers have played extra points in a set, and they are now 2-3 when going past 25 points.
Graduate student
Laurene Robinson (Bedford, Texas) had a match-high 24 kills, hitting .383 (24-6-47) for the night, while junior
Taylor Alston (San Antonio) was extremely efficient, hitting .455 (13-3-22) on the left side. Creekmore also totaled 13 kills and narrowly missed her first career double-double, adding eight assists.
Freshman
Madyson Carr (Houston) didn't get a lot of swings in the match, but she made the most of her time at the net, leading the match with six blocks, including a career-high three solo swats.
Cavazos led the match with 15 digs and had a team-best three aces, while senior setter
Haleigh Wilk (Salado, Texas) recorded 31 assists and nine digs.
Camryn Blair led LCU with 16 kills, while Haley Wheeler had nine digs, and Ramsey Clark led the match with four aces. Setter Camdyn Sears led the match with 37 assists.
The road trip continues for St. Mary's as they head to Wichita Falls for a 3 p.m. Saturday first serve at Midwestern State. The Mustangs were swept by St. Edward's on Friday.
