preseason poll – Lake Weekly

Saints volleyball garners the second spot in conference preseason poll

The Saints volleyball team has been picked to finish second in the 2022 Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Volleyball Preseason Poll for the second year in a row. The Saints finished as runners-up last year in the conference tournament against conference champion Xavier University of Louisiana, picked three points ahead of the Saints for the top spot. The Gold Nuggets were picked first last year, as well.

OLLU went 20-5 overall in 2021 and suffered just one conference loss – to Xavier – 1-3 in late October. The two powerhouses met up in the championship match hosted by OLLU. The Saints lost the first set 22-25 and won the second one, 25-17. The Gold Nuggets won the third, 25-13, and the Saints tied it up for the fourth set, 25-22. Xavier prevailed to with the final set 15-4 to capture the tournament title and move on to the NAIA National Tournament. The Gold Nuggets lost their first match 0-3 to end their season with an overall 13-7 record and 10-1 in the conference.

Huston-Tillotson University placed third in the voting after a trip to the conference semis last year. The University of the Southwest, which is coming off a 7-5 conference season, finished in fourth place followed by Jarvis Christian University, Louisiana Christian University and Paul Quinn College. Texas A&M University-Texarkana, which is launching its new volleyball program this season, placed eighth, and Texas College was voted ninth.

Men’s soccer picked fourth in conference preseason poll

After finishing the 2021 campaign in second place, the men’s soccer team will enter this season picked to finish fourth in the Red River Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The three-time defending champion University of Houston-Victoria (UHV) was the unanimous selection to win again after collecting all 12 first-place votes to reach the top spot in the poll again this year.

In 2021, OLLU went 8-5-3 overall and 7-1-3 in the RRAC. The Saints follow the second pick LSU-Shreveport and third pick LSU-Alexandria. After OLLU are the University of the Southwest – picked fifth, Huston-Tillotson University and Louisiana Christian University – tied for sixth and Jarvis Christian University and Texas A&M University-Texarkana – tied for eighth.

Paul Quinn College, Texas A&M University-San Antonio and Texas College rounded out the list.

OLLU is picked second in 2022 RRAC baseball preseason poll

After a Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) regular-season championship in 2021, the OLLU baseball team has been picked second in the 2022 RRAC Baseball Preseason Poll with 114 points – four of which were first-place votes. The RRAC tournament champion LSU-Shreveport (LSUS) received the first-place ranking with two fewer votes than the Saints and six first-place votes.

The Saints finished their 2021 season with a trip to the NAIA National Championship Tournament, where they lost in the opening round. They marked their best-ever record of 34-19 overall and 20-4 in the conference.

In 2021, the Saints were picked second; in 2020, they were third; in 2019, fifth; in 2018, sixth; and in 2016 and 2017, fifth.

The team has also displayed success in the classroom with its fourth NAIA Scholar Team award and two consecutive American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Team Academic Excellence Awards.

This year’s squad will be led by 2021 NAIA All-American pitcher Brett Vasquez (JR/Baytown, Texas), who was named the conference’s Pitcher of the Year. Other all-conference winners returning include Matthew Klar (JR/San Antonio, Texas), Alec Martinez (SR/Corpus Christi, Texas), Jacob Mitchell (NA/Harker Heights, Texas) and Ram Maldonado (SR/McAllen, Texas). Maldonado and Mitchell also received Gold Glove honors in 2021.

Head Coach Bryan Aughney, the conference’s Coach of the Year in 2021, began his fifth season in 2021-2022. His overall record at OLLU is 105-82, and his conference record is 107-55. Aughney welcomes a new coaching staff featuring Matt Piker, Chris Casias, Ryan Chapa and Ryan Reyes. Father Cristopher Robinson will return as the team’s chaplain for his eighth season.

LSUS ranked 10th nationally in the NAIA Baseball Coaches Top 25 Preseason Poll released Nov. 3. Over the last decade, the Pilots have won either the conference regular-season or postseason title each year, including 8-of-10 conference tournaments. No championship was played in 2020. The Saints received 42 votes in the preseason poll.

Voting was conducted by the head coaches at the conference. The poll results are below, with points calculated through a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 format.

Texas A&M University – Texarkana follows as the third pick with 88 points, followed by LSU-Alexandria with 83 points, conference newcomer Louisiana Christian University with 75 points, the University of Houston-Victoria with 63 points, Xavier University of Louisiana with 60 points, the University of the Southwest with 59 points, Jarvis Christian College with 57 points, Huston-Tillotson University with 24 points, Wiley College with 23 points and Texas College with 16 points. All teams played in the 2021 season due to COVID-19 precautions, except for Huston-Tillotson, Texas College and Wiley.

Women’s basketball picked second in Red River Athletic Conference preseason poll

OLLU has been picked second in the Red River Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll released today. The Saints have won seven of the last nine regular-season titles. Last year, they opted out of conference play due to COVID-19 concerns, and this year, every RRAC member is back in action.

Two teams joined the conference this season, including Xavier University of Louisiana, which has also been picked second in the conference poll. The other conference newcomer is Louisiana College.

LSU Shreveport is the top choice after receiving nine first-place votes.

Voting was conducted by the head coaches at the conference. Results of the poll are shown below, with points calculated through a 12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 format. First-place votes are shown in parentheses.

Rank	School	Points
1.	LSU Shreveport (9)	140
2.	Our Lady of the Lake	105
	Xavier (1)	105
4.	Texas A&M-Texarkana	91
5.	Paul Quinn	84
6.	LSU Alexandria	80
7.	Huston-Tillotson	78
8.	Wiley	59
9.	Texas College (1)	56
10.	Louisiana College	48
11.	Jarvis Christian (1)	47
12.	Southwest	43

The Saints begin the 2021-2022 campaign on Oct. 29 at Oklahoma City University. The team is under the leadership of new Head Coach Jillian Flores and returning Assistant Coach Tommy Turgeon.