The volleyball team took down Paul Quinn College and Wiley College to open Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) play. The Saints swept the Tigers 25-16, 25-7, and 25-14 and defeated the Wildcats 26-24, 25-21 and 25-12. OLLU jumps to 7-2 overall and 2-0 in the conference.

History

The Saints have never lost to Paul Quinn, and they hold the slight edge in the all-time series against Wiley at 12-11.

Paul Quinn basics

OLLU started slowly as Paul Quinn jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first set. Despite a few service errors, OLLU rallied back to eventually tie the set at 12-12. Following the tie, Sadie Ballesteros (JR/Atascosa, Texas) and Camila Ramirez (FR/El Paso, Texas) recorded kills during a five-point streak for the Saints. OLLU took the first set 25-16 behind 13 kills and 32 total attacks.

The Saints hit their stride in the second set and held the Tigers to only seven points. They won eight straight points to close the set with kills from Ramirez and Tijana Kruta (SR/Bar, Montenegro) and multiple errors from Paul Quinn. The Saints dominated the frame with a .480 hitting percentage and only one error.

The third set was controlled by the Saints to methodically close the match. Megan Montalvo (SO/San Antonio, Texas) tallied three consecutive aces in the middle of the set. Paul Quinn struggled with a .000 total hitting percentage compared to the Saints .258. OLLU totaled a season-high 12 service aces, and nine players recorded at least one kill.

Scoring overview against PQC

Set One – OLLU 25 – PQC 16
Set Two – OLLU 25 – PQC 7
Set Three – OLLU 25 – PQC 14

Set review

In the first set, OLLU recorded 13 kills and six errors on 32 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .219.

The Saints had 13 kills in the second set and one error on 25 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .480.

In the third set, OLLU recorded 11 kills and three errors on 31 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .258.

On the offense

Overall, the Saints had 37 kills for a hitting percentage of .307. Paul Quinn totaled 16 kills for a hitting percentage of -.060.

Ramirez led the Saints with 11 kills. Kaliyah Duty totaled a team-high seven kills for the Tigers.

Madelynn Strzelczyk (SO/Marion, Texas)tallied 20 assists, and the Saints had 32 total. The Tigers had 14 assists, with Ariel DeVault leading the way with eight.

Defensive standouts

OLLU had a total of 41 digs, led by Tina Trevino with 12. Kesmyre Smalls tallied 10 digs for Paul Quinn.

Serving it up

Montalvo and Strzelczyk had three service aces each for the Saints. Kaliyah Duty recorded the only service ace for the Tigers.

Wiley basics

The first set included multiple ties and momentum changes. Both teams struggled with service errors, but the Saints were able to right the ship later in the set. The programs traded points from 20-20 to 24-24. Sadie Ballesteros (JR/Atascosa, Texas) put the Saints up by one, and Camila Ramirez (FR/El Paso, Texas) closed the first set in the next point. Madelynn Strzelczyk (SO/Marion, Texas) assisted on both kills.

The Saints had to battle for a second set victory. Early in the frame, the Saints won a long rally that ended with a kill from Ballesteros, and the adrenaline seemed to light a fire under the players. The teams continued to swap points late in the set, and the Saints called a timeout after the Wildcats took a 20-18 lead. Following the timeout, OLLU won six of the next seven points and took a 2-0 lead with a 25-21 second set win. Daisy Cantwell (SO/San Antonio, Texas) tallied two strong kills toward the end of the set, and Strzelczyk assisted on four of the last five plays.

OLLU cruised to a third set win to complete the sweep. They only recorded four errors compared to eight and seven in the first two sets. Ramirez and Jaalin Rosser (SO/Universal City, Texas) were responsible for multiple kills, and the Saints forced the Wildcats into numerous ball-handling errors. The Saints finish the weekend with a sweep in both conference matches after defeating Paul Quinn College yesterday.

Scoring overview against WC

Set One – OLLU 26 – WC 24
Set Two – OLLU 25 – WC 21
Set Three – OLLU 25 – WC 12

Set review

In the first set, OLLU recorded 16 kills and six errors on 29 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .345.

The Saints had 16 kills in the second set and seven errors on 37 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .243.

In the third set, OLLU recorded eight kills and four errors on 28 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .143.

On the offense

Overall, the Saints had 40 kills for a hitting percentage of .245. Wiley totaled 21 kills for a hitting percentage of .081.

Ramirez led the Saints with 15 kills. Ballesteros followed with nine. Marissa Neal totaled a team-high eight kills for the Wildcats.

Strzelczyk recorded 34 assists for the Saints. Olivia Phillip led Wiley with 11 assists.

Defensive standouts

OLLU had a total of 36 digs, led by Tina Trevino (FR/Laredo, Texas) with 14. Merritt Elder tallied 12 digs for Wiley.

Serving it up

The Saints had two service aces. Wiley totaled five service aces with two from Kya Gray.

What’s next

The Saints take a short trip to face local NCAA D3 Trinity University on Tuesday, Sept. 21, at 6 p.m.