Tag: conference champs

Volleyball wins Conference Title with two victories over Xavier

The volleyball team won both matches against Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) on Nov. 1 and 2 to be crowned Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) regular season champions. The Saints enter the conference postseason tournament with an 18-11 overall record and 15-1 conference mark. The Saints earned the No. 1 seed for the postseason tournament with the wins over the Gold Nuggets.

History
The Saints were 5-3 against the Gold Nuggets prior to the matches.

First match (Nov. 1)
Basics
The Saints swept the Gold Nuggets in a thrilling match on Wednesday night. OLLU held Xavier to under .100 hitting percentage in both the second and third sets. Both programs hit over .300 in the first set with the Saints escaping with a 27-25 win. The same score held for the second and third frame as the Saints forced a decisive game two on Thursday night to determine the winner of the RRAC regular season. Mia Francis and Camila Ramirez had double-digit kills while Lauren Reynard assisted on 37 plays. Reynard broke the Saints single season record for assists on Wednesday night.

Scoring overview
Set One – OLLU 27 – XULA 25

Set Two – OLLU 27 – XULA 25

Set Three – OLLU 27 – XULA 25

Set review
In the first set, OLLU recorded 20 kills and five errors on 38 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .395.

The Saints had 14 kills in the second set and 10 errors on 32 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .125.

In the third set, OLLU recorded 14 kills and nine errors on 45 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .111.

On the offense
Overall, the Saints had 48 kills for a hitting percentage of .209. Xavier totaled 33 kills for a hitting percentage of .168.

Francis led the Saints with 15 kills. Reynard assisted on 37 plays for OLLU.

Defensive standouts
OLLU had a total of 47 digs, led by Tina Trevino with 18. Madalyn Gonzalez totaled five blocks.

Serving it up
Trevino and Julissa Casas had two service aces each.

Second match (Nov. 2)
Basics
The Saints claimed the RRAC regular season title on Nov. 2 after beating the Gold Nuggets in four sets. Xavier took the first set after the Saints had a -.021 hitting percentage. The Saints turned the tide in the second frame by totaling eight kills and no errors for a .571 hitting percentage. OLLU held Xavier to five points to even the match. The Saints led 21-19 in the third set and broke away for a 25-21 set win, with Ramirez having the final kill to put the Saints up 2-1. The Saints played a sound fourth set and Francis ended the match with a kill with an assist from Reynard. Gonzalez set the Saints single season blocking solo record on Thursday night.

Scoring overview  
Set One – XULA 25 – OLLU 21

Set Two – OLLU 25 – XULA 5

Set Three – OLLU 25 – XULA 21

Set Four – OLLU 25 – XULA 16

Set review
In the first set, OLLU recorded nine kills and 10 errors on 48 total attacks for a hitting percentage of -.021.

The Saints had eight kills in the second set and no errors on 14 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .571.

In the third set, OLLU recorded 10 kills and six errors on 34 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .118.

The Saints had 10 kills in the fourth set and five errors on 28 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .179.

On the offense
Overall, the Saints had 37 kills for a hitting percentage of .129. Xavier totaled 37 kills for a hitting percentage of .039.

Francis and Mia Dorsey led the Saints with 11 kills apiece. Reynard assisted on 32 plays for OLLU.

Defensive standouts
OLLU had a total of 53 digs, led by Trevino with 16. Gonzalez totaled five solo blocks and four block assists.

Serving it up
Four different Saints had two service aces each.

Up next
The Saints start play in the RRAC Tournament on Friday in New Orleans.

Volleyball earns conference title with wins over JCU

The volleyball team defeated Jarvis Christian University (JCU) in a pair of matches on Saturday. The Saints finish the regular season with a 20-4 overall record and an undefeated 16-0 Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) mark. The team set the longest winning streak in OLLU history with 15. The Saints were also crowned RRAC regular season champions this weekend.

Head Coach Scott Mattera said, “I’m proud of how we executed what we planned for in the first match. This team has learned the ability to change styles and prepare for specific type of play. Mia Francis played an extremely mature match on the outside mixing power and shots. I’m hoping the second match was the wake up call we needed. I think we coasted a bit after securing the conference regular season championship. Jarvis caught fire in the second match which we knew they were capable of. Our bench came through huge when we needed them, and we were able to survive and protect the undefeated conference regular season.”

History
The Saints were 19-0 against the Bulldogs prior to the matches.

First match
Basics
The Saints swept the Bulldogs in the first match of the doubleheader. OLLU committed only seven errors and forced Jarvis into 15. The Bulldogs made the Saints battle in the first and third set but were held to nine points in the second set. The Saints played one of their best sets of the season in the final frame. They totaled 18 kills and had a hitting percentage of .417. Francis and Mia Dorsey finished with double-digit kills.

Scoring overview
Set One – OLLU 25 – JCU 19
Set Two – OLLU 25 – JCU 9
Set Three – OLLU 25 – JCU 20

Set review
In the first set, OLLU recorded seven kills and two errors on 20 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .250.

The Saints had 11 kills in the second set and two errors on 25 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .360.

In the third set, OLLU recorded 18 kills and three errors on 36 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .417.

On the offense
Overall, the Saints had 42 kills for a hitting percentage of .324. JCU totaled 30 kills for a hitting percentage of .073.

Dorsey and Francis led the Saints with 10 kills each. Asiah West totaled a team-high six kills for the Bulldogs.

Lauren Reynard assisted on 32 plays for the Saints. Johnice Hubbard and Lee-Andra Morin tallied 13 assists each for the Bulldogs.

Defensive standouts
OLLU had a total of 45 digs, led by Tina Trevino with 13. Chloe Buchanan tallied nine digs for the Bulldogs.

Serving it up
Julissa Casas tallied two aces for the Saints. Jarvis failed to record an ace.

Second match
Basics
The Saints were tested in the final match of the regular season. Three out of the four sets were decided by four points or less. Jarvis took the third set behind a .229 hitting percentage after losing the first two. Both teams tallied double-digit kills in the final frame and OLLU was able to escape with a four-set victory. Tijana Kruta assisted on four blocks and Reynard finished the weekend series with 72 total assists.

Scoring overview
Set One – OLLU 25 – JCU 16
Set Two – OLLU 25 – JCU 23
Set Three – JCU 25 – OLLU 21
Set Four – OLLU 25 – JCU 21

Set review
In the first set, OLLU recorded eight kills and five errors on 28 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .107.

The Saints had 18 kills in the second set and seven errors on 50 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .220.

In the third set, OLLU recorded 12 kills and two errors on 39 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .256.

The Saints had 13 kills in the fourth set and five errors on 32 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .250.

On the offense
Overall, the Saints had 51 kills for a hitting percentage of .215. Jarvis totaled 45 kills for a hitting percentage of .130.

Dorsey led the Saints with 26 kills. Jai Johnson had a team-high 10 kills for the Bulldogs.

Reynard assisted on 40 plays for the Saints while Morin tallied 23 assists for Jarvis.

Defensive standouts
OLLU had a total of 59 digs, led by Trevino with 19. Kaia Brooks tallied 17 digs for the Bulldogs.

Serving it up
Five different players had one ace each for the Saints. Amariah Kendrick had three aces for the Bulldogs.

What’s next
The Saints are the No. 1 seed in the RRAC Postseason Tournament. They will face the winner of Louisiana Christian University and Jarvis Christian University on Friday at 4:30 p.m. in New Orleans.