Saints Volleyball Battled in the Opening Round of Nationals

SEWARD, NEB. (Nov. 23, 2024) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) volleyball team fought hard against Concordia University, Nebraska (CUNE), two sets by just three points and one set by six to end their 2024 season. The Saints lost 3-0 in the Opening Round of the 45th Annual NAIA Volleyball National Championship. CUNE, which is ranked No. 2 in the NAIA, will move on to Pool Play with a 25-3 record, while the Saints finish the season with a 23-9 record.

Head Coach Scott Mattera commented, "Our ladies represented OLLU in a way that should make every member of the Saints community proud. They put up such a fight and handled themselves with such class. We were in every set with chances to win, but Concordia is No. 2 for a reason, and we made just a few more plays than we did. It was a fun, intense battle all the way through. 

"Ani played great again, leading us in kills, and Lauren had a really nice match mixing things around and stealing points with timely dumps."

Match recap

The Saints started each set with the lead, but CUNE pushed through to lead. However, the Saints remained within a short distance from the Bulldogs throughout the match. In the first set, the Saints tied six times before letting it slip away at 16-16. The Bulldogs won 25-22.

In the second period, the Saints led 3-2, and Julissa Casas' serve scored five points to give them the lead 9-6. The teams tied four times, but the Bulldogs battled to win 25-19.

The Saints went up 5-2 to begin the third set, and they led until the Bulldogs tied at nine. A kill from Anais Velasquez to tie the game at 22-22 gave the Saints some hope, but CUNE scored three straight points to win the set 25-22 and the match 3-0.

Match stats

Lauren Reynard led the Saints in assists with 20, while Tina Trevino and Julissa Casas each added 10 digs. Velasquez contributed 10 kills on 22 total attacks for a .318 hitting percentage. Nicole Bir tallied two blocks, and Carly Dossett totaled three service aces.

CUNE had three players with double-digit kills. Ashley Keck had 15, while Kya Scott and Ella Waters each had 10. Rebecca Gebhardt added 16 digs, and Keck had 12. Savannah Shelburne recorded 21 assists, and Lily Psencik had 18.

OLLU's stats included 38 kills and 14 errors on 113 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .212. The Saints scored 37 assists, 45 digs, and six service aces.

CUNE's stats included 51 kills and 12 errors on 111 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .351. The Bulldogs added 47 assists, 55 digs, and four blocks.

Conclusion

The Saints finish with the fourth-best record in program history at 23-9. Other records include:

• Most assists (1,453)
• Most digs (1,995)
• Most solo blocks (122)
• Second most kills in a season (1,519)
• Third most total blocks (195)
• Third most kills in a match (71)
• Tied for most assists in a match (68)
• Tina Trevino tied for most digs in a match (39)
• Tina Trevino – most career digs (2,086)
• Tina Trevino – third most career matches played (118)
• Tina Trevino – third most career sets played (413)
• Camila Ramirez – most career kills (1,218)
• Camila Ramirez – fourth most career sets played (406)
• Lauren Reynard – second in career assists (2,714)
• Anais Velasquez – second most blocks in a season (30)