Volleyball downs Southwest in two matches

The volleyball team remained undefeated in Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) play with a pair of wins over University of the Southwest (USW) this weekend. The Saints improve to 9-4 overall and 6-0 in conference. The Mustangs fall to 0-12 overall and 0-6 in the RRAC.

Head Coach Scott Mattera said, “Friday was probably our most complete and efficient match of the year so far. We had good decision making and flow. Saturday, we had a bit of a breakdown as our frustration with some bad plays led to poor volleyball decisions. We were able to right the ship and get two good road wins, but we need to continue to be intentional with our mind game.”

History
The Saints were 22-2 against the Mustangs prior to the matches.

First match (Sept. 23)
Basics

The Saints only committed 10 errors in an impressive sweep against USW on Friday night. OLLU totaled 41 kills backed by a season-high .279 hitting percentage. They also limited the Mustangs to under .100 hitting percentage in every set. Camila Ramirez and Mia Dorsey finished with double digit kills.

Scoring overview
Set One – OLLU 25 – USW 16

Set Two – OLLU 25 – USW 18

Set Three – OLLU 25 – USW 13

Set review
In the first set, OLLU recorded 16 kills and four errors on 42 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .286.

The Saints had 13 kills in the second set and three errors on 30 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .333.

In the third set, OLLU recorded 12 kills and three errors on 39 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .231.

On the offense
Overall, the Saints had 41 kills for a hitting percentage of .279. Southwest totaled 20 kills for a hitting percentage of .044.

Dorsey led the Saints with 14 kills. Valeria Trevino totaled a team-high seven kills for the Mustangs.

Lauren Reynard assisted on 29 plays for the Saints while Gabriela Tapia tallied 11 assists for Southwest.

Defensive standouts
OLLU had a total of 66 digs, led by Tina Trevino with 23. Autumn Lopez tallied 22 digs for the Mustangs.

Serving it up
Trevino and Dorsey both tallied three aces for the Saints. Four different players had one ace each for Southwest.

Second match (Sept. 24)
Basics

The Saints were challenged by the Mustangs in the second match. The Saints started strong with only two errors in the first set and a .282 hitting percentage. The Mustangs played a consistent second set with four more kills than the Saints. The Saints responded with 13 kills in the third set following the 1-1 tie. Southwest battled in the final set, but OLLU was able to hold on for a four-set victory.

Scoring overview
Set One – OLLU 25 – USW 19

Set Two – USW 25 – OLLU 20

Set Three – OLLU 25 – USW 16

Set Four – OLLU 25 – USW 17

Set review
In the first set, OLLU recorded 13 kills and two errors on 39 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .282.

The Saints had eight kills in the second set and eight errors on 41 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .000.

In the third set, OLLU recorded 13 kills and three errors on 35 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .286.

The Saints had 14 kills in the fourth set and six errors on 41 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .195.

On the offense
Overall, the Saints had 48 kills for a hitting percentage of .186. Southwest totaled 39 kills for a hitting percentage of .078.

Dorsey led the Saints with 18 kills. Trevino totaled a team-high 15 kills for the Mustangs.

Reynard assisted on 45 plays for the Saints while Tapia tallied 16 assists for Southwest.

Defensive standouts
OLLU had a total of 82 digs, led by Trevino with 24. Lopez tallied 19 digs for the Mustangs.

Serving it up
Tijana Kruta had two service aces for the Saints. Alexia Esparza tallied five service aces for Southwest.

What’s next
The Saints battle Huston-Tillotson University in a pair of matches in Austin, Texas, starting on Sept. 30 at 7 p.m.