Tag: Red River Athletic Conference

Zerina Shatri selected as RRAC Character Athlete of the Week

As part of the Red River Athletic Conference’s (RRAC) commitment to the NAIA Champions of Character program, the conference recognizes student-athletes from member schools who have exhibited a high level of scholarship, sportsmanship, integrity, responsibility and community service. Each week, student-athletes are selected as RRAC Character Athletes of the Week based on character and commitment to their schools and communities. Zerina Shatri of Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) is the fourth student-athlete to be recognized for the 2020-2021 academic year.

RRAC Character Athlete of the Week

Zerina Shatri, Our Lady of the Lake University
Sports: Basketball
Year: Senior
Hometown: Istog, Kosovo
Major: Kinesiology
GPA: 3.75
Champions of Character Qualities/Activities:

  • Volunteered at the Ides Partnership to help Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian minorities
  • Assisted a physical therapist with children to gain experience
  • Cleans Badovc Lake in her hometown with other volunteers and sisters
  • Coaches youth basketball players along with her uncle and shares her playing experience
  • Joined the OLLU team in spending time with residents at Kindred Hospice
  • Volunteereed for the San Antonio Food Bank to support senior citizens
  • Cooked for families at the San Antonio Ronald McDonald House
  • Cleaned facilities inside her church as a volunteer for the Sisters of the Divine Providence
  • Contributed time to help with the Embassy Basketball Camp last year at OLLU
  • Donated time to the OLLU Sport and Leadership Academy
  • Assisted an OLLU professor in conducting the FIT KIDS GAMES event
  • Took academic and athletic responsibilities seriously
  • Fulfilled her role on the team with humility and respect

Future Plans: Shatri’s goal is to be a successful physical therapist. She would like to stay in the U.S. and pursue her master’s degree to become an athletic trainer. She plans to get experience either in physical therapy or as an athletic trainer so she can share her knowledge and experience with others in Kosovo.

Coach’s Perspective: (OLLU Women’s Basketball Head Coach Stacy Stephens) “Zerina is a very intelligent, funny and hard-working young woman. She graduated in May 2021. She was on the Dean’s List almost every semester here and was the starting center for the 2020-2021 women’s basketball team. She loves to sight see and embrace different cultures. She is always willing to help others and watching her grow and mature into the amazing young woman she is has been a highlight in my coaching career.”  

Women’s soccer completes first undefeated regular season in Saints history

The women’s soccer team achieved the first undefeated regular season in Saints history with a 4-2 victory over the University of Houston-Victoria (UHV). The Saints finish the regular season with a 10-0 overall record and a 7-0 mark in Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) play.   

Head Coach Arthur Salazar commented, “The team has had an unbelievable run so far. I’m extremely proud of how they have handled the challenges and adversity the season has presented. Finishing the conference regular season undefeated is certainly a testament to the commitment and sacrifices the players have made.”

History

The Saints lead the series against UHV 13-1.

Basics

The Jaguars tallied the first goal of the game at the 32nd minute on an own goal from the Saints. OLLU gathered their composure five minutes later with a goal from Baye Polansky (SR/Helotes, Texas) assisted by Jaylin Seto (JR/Houston, Texas). Polansky recorded another goal with two seconds left in the first half to give the Saints a 2-1 advantage.

Ambree Rheinberger (SO/San Antonio, Texas) and Brianna Yanez (SO/Portland, Texas) both scored in the second half for the Saints to increase the lead to 4-1. The Jaguars tallied a late goal and the Saints held on for a 4-2 win. The Saints recorded 10 shots on goal. OLLU will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming RRAC Tournament.

Scoring overview

32′ – UHV – Saints own goal

37′ – OLLU – Baye Polansky – Assist by Jaylin Seto

44′ – OLLU – Baye Polansky

50′ – OLLU – Ambree Rheinberger

65′ – OLLU – Brianna Yanez

88′ – UHV – Meghan Matcek

Inside the box score

Leading the way for the Saints’ offense was Polansky with four shots. Consuelo Luna led the Jaguars with two shots.

The Saints tallied 15 shots, 10 on goal. UHV recorded four shots with three on goal.

What’s next

The Saints compete in the RRAC Tournament from April 2-9.

Volleyball crowned RRAC Champions with victory against Southwest

The volleyball team defeated the University of the Southwest (USW) in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Championship match 3-1 to earn a bid for the NAIA National Tournament. The Saints are 11-1 overall and finish the regular season with a 6-0 RRAC mark. OLLU has won 10 straight matches.  

Head Coach Scott Mattera said, “We certainly did have our ‘A’ game today, but credit to Southwest. They had a good game plan and played so hard. They really gave us a scare. In the end, though, we are taking pride in how much our investment in each other carried us through.”

Mattera continued, “It would have been easy to let this one slip away when everything was going their way, but our players were saying all the right things, and we never lost faith in each other. This was a win for all of the efforts we put into our team culture.”

History

The Saints are 18-4 against USW all-time.

Basics

The Saints were tested throughout the entire match. The Mustangs grabbed the third set 25-23 but the Saints held on to win in four sets. OLLU totaled a .316 hitting percentage and 55 kills. The Saints are RRAC regular-season champions, tournament champions and will compete in the NAIA National Tournament. The achievement marks Head Coach Mattera’s first trip to nationals with the team after taking the helm in 2019. Kalani Ketchens (SR/San Antonio, Texas) led the Saints with 15 kills and 37 total attacks.

Scoring overview against USW

Set One – OLLU 25 – USW 17
Set Two – OLLU 25 – USW 20
Set Three – USW 25 – OLLU 23
Set Four – OLLU 25 – USW 20


Set review

In the first set, OLLU recorded 10 kills and two errors on 31 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .258.

The Saints had 20 kills in the second set and three errors on 35 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .486.

In the third set, OLLU had nine kills and three errors on 34 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .176.

The Saints had 16 kills in the fourth set and four errors on 36 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .333.

On the offense

Overall, the Saints had 55 kills for a hitting percentage of .316. USW had 43 kills for a hitting percentage of .151.

Leading the way for the Saints was Ketchens with 15 kills. Tijana Kruta (JR/Bar, Montenegro) followed with 13 kills.

USW’s Glenys Maldonado led the Mustangs with 13 kills.

Serving it up

The Saints tallied 11 service aces while the Mustangs recorded seven.

What’s next

The Saints participate in the NAIA National Tournament starting on April 17.

Baseball shocks No. 13-ranked LSU-Shreveport with four-game sweep

The baseball team swept the four-game series against the NAIA’s No. 13-ranked LSU-Shreveport (LSUS) to improve to 20-9 overall and 8-0 in Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) play. The Saints are 16-2 this month and set a new record for the longest winning streak in Saints history with eight victories.

Head Coach Bryan Aughney said, “This was a great weekend for OLLU baseball. Shreveport is a good team and we matched their play this weekend. It all started with our pitching. We attacked the strike zone and had more walks than we would like, but Alec Martinez (JR/Corpus Christi, Texas) pitched lights out game one and set the tone. I could not be prouder of these players and how they played this weekend. We continue to compete in every situation, and it seemed like every time a run was scored against us, we bounced back and scored on our own.”

Aughney continued, “We put ourselves in a good position in the conference, and there is still a lot of baseball to play. We must continue to work hard and take care of the little things. I’m proud of how we played this weekend, and it was a great effort all around. We are looking forward to next weekend.”

History

The Saints trail the all-time series against Shreveport 4-16. The wins mark the first Saints victory over the Pilots since 2018.

Game one

Martinez and Jose Diaz (SR/Pinar del Rio, Cuba) combined for a no-hitter in the first game against Shreveport. The no-hitter marks the second time in Saints history the feat has been achieved. The Saints scored the lone run in the second inning. Connor Dayton (SO/San Antonio, Texas) singled to left field to score Andrew Ogletree (JR/Mission, Texas). The Saints held on to win 1-0. Martinez struck out four batters, and Diaz earned the save in the seventh inning.

Martinez commented, “I wanted to give our team a chance to win against a good opponent. Everything seemed to be working on the mound for me and the defense behind me helped. I knew I hadn’t allowed a hit and wanted to keep dominating. Diaz came in for the save and sealed the deal. There is no man better for the job than Diaz.”

Game two

The bats for both teams came alive in the second game of the series. LSUS struck first with three runs in the top of the second inning. The Saints responded with five in the following inning. OLLU tacked on another run in the fourth inning to lead 6-3.

The Pilots tied the game in the seventh inning with three runs. OLLU gained the momentum back in the bottom of the inning. Robert Arredondo (JR/Corpus Christi, Texas) scored on a wild throw, and Matthew Klar (SO/San Antonio, Texas) scored after a double by Dayton. The Saints won 8-6 to take a 2-0 series lead heading into Saturday.

Game three

Game three was just as exciting as the second game. The Saints led 4-0 after three innings. OLLU eventually led 7-4 and ended up winning 8-5. Jacob Mitchell (JR/Harker Heights, Texas ) batted 2-for-3 and drove in four runs. Boedy Flores (SO/Harlingen, Texas) tallied two RBIs, and Ryan Chapa (JR/Corpus Christi, Texas) went 2-for-3 at the plate.

Game four

The Saints won 7-5 to close the series and earn the sweep. OLLU scored at least one run in the first, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and eighth inning. The Saints tallied 11 hits and seven pitchers combined for 10 strikeouts. Four different Saints players had a multi-hit game. OLLU is first in the RRAC with an 8-0 conference record.

Up next

The Saints play one game against St. Mary’s University on the road on March 30 at 6 p.m.

Volleyball honored with several conference awards

OLLU, the Red River Athletic Conference regular-season champions, hosted a social event Friday evening to announce the 2020 Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) All-Conference Team.

Capturing the Champions of Character award was freshman Megan Montalvo. Named to the All-Conference Honorable Mention Team were Amanda Esparza and Montalvo. The Second-Team honorees included Cassidy Haller, Tijana Kruta and Lauren Woitena.

The All-Conference First-Team selections included Sadie Ballesteros, Kalani Ketchens, Alyssa Marquez and Anissa Tamez – all repeat all-conference winners.

The Saints claimed five of the seven Players of the Year awards. Coach of the Year was Scott Mattera. Freshman of the Year was Haller, Tamez was Setter of the Year and Ketchens was the Front-Row Player of the Year. Four-year senior Tamez received the Player of the Year for the conference.

This season, second-year senior Ketchens tallied 119 kills in 283 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .258. Third-year senior Marquez added 136 digs for 4.12 digs per set. Freshman Haller had 50 kills on 121 attacks, 11 digs and seven total blocks. Four-year senior Tamez has 305 assists for 9.53 assists per game, 90 digs and eight assists.

Mattera is in his second season with the Saints. Last year, his team finished third in the conference and was a tournament finalist. He tallied a 19-7 overall record and 8-4 conference record. This year, his team had a perfect 6-0 conference record, and currently, the team is 11-1 overall.

Cross-country teams win their sixth Red River Athletic Conference Championships

The men’s cross-country team succeeded in winning their sixth consecutive Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Friday morning after capturing 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 titles. The women won their sixth title in seven years.

Head Coach Patrick Torres, who has been at the helm since November of 2020, secured RRAC Coach of the Year honors for both men and women. He said, “The women and men both followed the race plan exactly. We stayed cautious, keeping in control of the race, and we ended up winning both titles. Our women did fantastic, and our men had a perfect score. It was a nice cap to an unconventional cross-country season.”

Jose Zarate (JR/San Antonio, Texas) captured the individual medal against 12 other runners from OLLU and Jarvis Christian College, the host of this year’s event. Nadia Sifuentes (SO/Brownsville, Texas) placed second in a slate of 13 runners.

Zarate ran a 27:24 in the 8000m and is OLLU’s fourth consecutive RRAC Individual Men’s Champion. Nathanial Rodriguez won in 2019, Andrew Moczygemba won in 2017, and Nathaniel Aguilar won in 2018.

Isaac Martinez (SO/Weslaco, Texas) placed second with a time of 27:35, followed by Rodriguez at 28:06, John Davila at 28:40 and Antonio Bustamante (JR/San Antonio, Texas) at 29:07. Jarvis’s Mugisha Espoir, Jose Delgado, Obiajulu Onyeachonam, Ty-Irvin Walker, DeMarques Davis, Eribel Munoz and Jamarcus Epps rounded up the slate of runners.

The women won their sixth conference tournament after winning in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019.

The women’s team was led by Nadia Sifuentes, who ended as the runner-up with a time of 21:16 in the 5000m. The winner was Fabiola Gonzalez from Jarvis. Following Sifuentes were Robbie Sue Espericueta (SO/La Villa, Texas) with a time of 21:40, Lindsey Broussard (SO/Kingwood, Texas) at 21:53, Kimber Watson (JR/Kingwood, Texas) at 22:24, Peyton Lammons (JR/Prosper, Texas) at 22:56 and Viridiana at 23:09. They were followed by Jarvis’s Zarreah Tilley, Jia Foster, Garlanesha Hickman-Gilbert, Emalee Lopez, Vanessa Ramos and Justice Wilson.

The men will now prepare for the 65th Annual Men’s Cross-Country National Championship on April 9 at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The women will go to the 41st Annual Women’s Cross-Country National Championship also on April 9 at Cedar Rapids.

Volleyball sweeps Red River Athletic Conference weekly awards

Kalani Ketchens (SR/San Antonio, Texas) claimed the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Volleyball Attacker of the Week award for March 8-14. Her teammates, Anissa Tamez (SR/San Antonio, Texas) and Alyssa Marquez (JR/Albuquerque, N.M.) were recognized as the RRAC Setter of the Week and RRAC Defender of the Week for the same dates. 

This is the sixth set of conference awards for the 2020 volleyball season, which is typically completed in the fall but was suspended to spring play this year.

Ketchens hammered 27 kills as the Saints swept two home matches against University of the Southwest (N.M.) to earn her second Attacker of the Week honor. The senior outside hitter from San Antonio delivered 11 kills in the first meeting and 16 in the second. For the week, she committed only six errors in 48 total attacks for a .438 hitting percentage. Ketchens averaged 4.5 kills per set. She leads the conference in kills (90) and hitting percentage (.286). OLLU moved to 5-0 in conference play and clinched the RRAC regular-season title. The Saints are 8-1 overall. 

Tamez accounted for 67 assists last week in the USW matches. The senior setter from San Antonio reached 35 assists in the first go-round, and she averaged 11.2 assists per set for the week. The RRAC leader in assists with 236 this season, Tamez collected her third Setter of the Week award of the season. 

Marquez delivered 27 digs on the week for the Saints. The junior libero from Albuquerque, N.M., scooped 16 digs in the second match, and she only had one receiving an error in 23 total chances for the week. A three-time recipient of the Defender of the Week award, Marquez ranks second in the conference with 98 digs. 

Connor Kalisky and Tyler Davis selected to RRAC All-Tournament Team

AllTournamentFollowing the completion of the 2015 Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Baseball Tournament, the conference’s coaches made their final selections for the event’s All-Tournament Team. Tyler Davis (JR/Weatherford, Texas) received the Gold Glove Award, which is given to a player who has exhibited superior individual fielding performance. In addition, Connor Kalisky (SO/San Antonio, Texas) was named to the All-Tournament Team as an outfielder. Read full article online.

Men’s basketball picks up road wins at Langston and Bacone

applewhite2-14-15The No. 21 ranked OLLU men’s basketball team defeated Langston University (LU) 84-75 in a Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) game on Friday. The Saints are now in a tie for second place with Wiley College in the RRAC standings with a 11-3 record. Louisiana State University-Alexandria is in first place with a 12-3 record. Overall the Saints are 17-4. LU is 12-7 overall and 9-5 in conference. Read more online.

On Saturday, the men’s team improved to 18-4 on the season and 12-3 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) after a defeating Bacone College (BC) 105-74 Saturday night. BC falls to 6-19 overall and 1-14 in conference. Read more online.