Volleyball Falls in Two Matches at Big Sky Challenge

BUTTE, MONT. (Aug. 16, 2024) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) volleyball team lost two matches at the Big Sky Challenge on Friday to begin the 2024 season. The Saints lost to No. 23-ranked University of Providence (UP) 3-2 and dropped the second match 3-0 against Montana State University Northern (MSUN).

Head Coach Scott Mattera commented, "We started off with a fantastic college volleyball match against No. 23-ranked Providence. It was a national's level battle for five long sets. One bounce difference on any of those match points in game four and we are celebrating a big win and it just didn't happen. Tina had a monster match with 30 digs and passed nails in serve receive. I was also happy with the effort of both our new middles who were each playing in their first collegiate volleyball matches. Makaelyn Perez went for double digit kills and Anais Velasquez added nine. The second match was just one of those matches that anything that could go wrong did go wrong. We just didn't execute well enough and gave our opponent the opportunity to catch momentum and they did. Camila Ramirez was an absolute warrior with 18 kills even with everyone in the gym knowing she was going to get the ball. We are such a talented and together team that we have sky high expectations. We need to learn to manage those expectations and take this whole thing step by step. I have no doubt we'll get this dialed in."

vs. University of Providence

Basics

The Saints lost a thrilling five-set match against the University of Providence to open the 2024 season. OLLU totaled double-digit kills in all sets besides the fifth. They won the first and third set by an identical 25-21 score. The fourth set had 68 total points, which is an historic mark for OLLU volleyball. The 33 points scored by the Saints was also a record breaker. The No. 23-ranked Argos sparked offensively in the fifth set by totaling eight kills with only one error. The Saints had six kills and six errors in the final frame. Mia Dorsey, Makaelyn Perez and Mia Francis all had double-digit kills.

Scoring overview

Set One – OLLU 25 – UP 21

Set Two – UP 25 – OLLU 19

Set Three – OLLU 25 – UP 21

Set Four – UP 35 – OLLU 33

Set Five – UP 15 – OLLU 8

Set review

In the first set, OLLU recorded 14 kills and seven errors on 42 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .167.

The Saints had 11 kills in the second set and seven errors on 41 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .098.

In the third set, OLLU recorded 10 kills and three errors on 30 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .233.

The Saints had 17 kills in the fourth set and 12 errors on 62 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .081.

In the fifth set, OLLU recorded six kills and six errors on 24 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .000.

On the offense

Overall, the Saints had 58 kills for a hitting percentage of .116. Providence totaled 66 kills for a hitting percentage of .168.

Dorsey led the Saints with 14 kills. Nina Janjic totaled a team-high 16 kills for the Argos.

Lauren Reynard assisted on 33 plays for the Saints while Bella Thompson tallied 56 assists for Providence.

Defensive standouts

OLLU had a total of 91 digs, led by Tina Trevino with 30. Ava Saiers tallied 32 digs for the Argos.

Serving it up

Trevino led the Saints with three service aces. Sadie Lott had two service aces for the Argos.

vs. Montana State University Northern

Basics

The Saints struggled against the Skylights in the second match of the day on Friday. They had more kills than MSUN in the first set despite the 26-24 deficit. The Saints committed 13 errors in the second set for a negative hitting percentage. Both squads had double-digit kills in the third set, but the Skylights committed less errors to complete the sweep. Ramirez was two kills shy of 20 and had 49 total attacks.

Scoring overview

Set One – MSUN 26 – OLLU 24

Set Two – MSUN 25 – OLLU 22

Set Three – MSUN 25 – OLLU 18

Set review

In the first set, OLLU recorded 17 kills and eight errors on 52 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .173.

The Saints had 11 kills in the second set and 13 errors on 50 total attacks for a hitting percentage of -.040.

In the third set, OLLU recorded 14 kills and seven errors on 47 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .149.

On the offense

Overall, the Saints had 42 kills for a hitting percentage of .094. MSUN totaled 39 kills for a hitting percentage of .190.

Ramirez led the Saints with 18 kills. Alana Graves totaled a team-high 13 kills for the Skylights.

Reynard assisted on 26 plays for the Saints while Macee Murphy tallied 19 assists for MSUN.

Defensive standouts

OLLU had a total of 68 digs, led by Trevino with 22. Baily Egan and Murphy tallied 18 digs apiece for the Skylights.

Serving it up

Carly Dossett led the Saints with two service aces. Brooklyn Minden had two service aces for the Skylights.

Up next

The Saints wrap up play at the Big Sky Challenge tomorrow with two matches. They will face Life Pacific University at 10 a.m. and Dakota Wesleyan University at 2 p.m.