Volleyball Extends Winning Streak With Wins Over Huston-Tillotson

SAN ANTONIO (Oct. 19, 2024) - The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) volleyball squad marked two wins over Huston-Tillotson University (HTU) this weekend. The Saints improve to 16-7 overall and 9-1 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). The Rams fall to 3-16 overall and 3-9 in conference. The Saints have won nine straight matches.

History

The Saints were 31-3 against the Rams prior to the matches.

Match one on Friday

The Saints played a solid first set to start the match on Friday. They marked 19 kills on 41 attacks, but HTU's offense also sparked with only one error. The Rams won the first frame 25-22 after three attacking errors by the Saints when it was tied. OLLU bounced back in the second set with double-digit kills again. They held the Rams to a .192 hitting percentage and took the set 25-18. The third set was one-sided in the Saints favor. The Rams struggled with a negative hitting percentage and the Saints held them to seven points. The fourth set was competitive with both squads marking over 10 kills. The Saints started to pull away after leading 13-10. OLLU recorded multiple service aces and capitalized on attacking errors by the Rams. The Saints won in four sets to stretch the winning streak to eight matches. 

Assistant Coach Raven Swain said, "The first match was close and HTU's crowd had a lot of intensity. We struggled a bit in the first set with just playing our game. We settled in and executed the skills; we really thrived and came out successful with the win! Arianna Moreno had some great serving and Anais Velasquez had key blocks that shifted the momentum. We played well and are always happy to get another win on the board."

Match two on Saturday

Saturday's game was played at Mabee Gymnasium with the Saints as the away team. The second match was similar to the first, with the Rams taking the first set and the Saints fighting back by winning three straight. OLLU had 13 kills in the first set but committed 10 errors. They responded in the second set with 14 kills and only three errors. The Rams had a negative hitting percentage in the frame and the Saints evened the score. The Saints played a near flawless third set with 14 kills and only one error. They finished the match with nine kills in the fourth set. Mia Francis, Anais Velasquez, Mia Francis and Camila Ramirez had double-digit kills. Tina Trevino gathered 32 digs and Reynard had 27 assists. The Saints have victories in nine straight matches and have only lost five sets in the span. 

Swain commented, "We played well but struggled again in the first set. We didn't come in ready to play and weren't being intentional about the little things. We committed errors and our defense wasn't making plays that we normally make. We focused on playing our game and took control of the match. We had great kills by Mia Francis and great serving from multiple players that changed the energy of the game. We are happy for another win, but now it's time to get back in the gym and continue to prepare for our next matches!"

Up next

The Saints host Texas College on Oct. 25 at 7 p.m.