Saints Volleyball Sweeps Southwest to Close Regular Season

HOBBS, N.M. (Nov. 10, 2024) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) volleyball team ended the regular season on a high note with two sweeps of the University of the Southwest (USW). The Saints are now 21-8 overall and 14-2 in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC). The Mustangs drop to 3-18 overall and 3-13 in the RRAC.

History

The Saints were 26-4 against the Mustangs prior to the matches. 

Game one recap

Both squads had seven errors in the first set. The Saints had one more kill than the Mustangs in the frame, and would prove to be important as the Saints escaped the first set with a 25-21 win. 

The Saints dominated the second set with 16 kills and only four errors. OLLU forced the Mustangs into a negative hitting percentage and five errors. 

The third set was the tightest of the three frames. The Mustangs tallied 22 points, but OLLU's 16 kills were enough to earn the sweep. 

Overall, the Saints had 43 kills and 18 errors on 105 total attacks for a .238 hitting percentage. Southwest tallied 21 kills and 18 errors on 96 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .031.

Mia Francis led in kills with 12, and Camila Ramirez added 10. Lauren Reynard finished with 26 assists. Ariana Caldera fled the squad with three service aces.

Assistant Coach Raven Swain said, "We had a slow start that we just can't have, especially this late in the season. We struggled with serve receive in the beginning and it picked up, but we will continue to find a way to start off matches right from the start and maintain consistency. We played well as a team, and we were able to overcome Southwest with some great serving runs. The diverse offense also led us to a successful win."

Game two recap

The Saints took the first set 25-14 backed by 13 kills. Ramirez had five kills followed by Anais Velasquez with four. Velasquez also had two block assists. 

Both teams committed seven errors in the second set, but the Saints 15 kills was the difference. They won 25-18 and Ramirez continued her impressive match with four kills. Carly Dossett and Reynard both had five assists in the frame. 

The Saints also won the third set 25-18. The Saints had their best hitting percentage of the match in the third frame. They totaled 11 kills with only three errors for .242 percent. Francis had six of the 11 kills. 

Overall, the Saints had 39 kills and 10 errors on 105 total attacks for a .276 hitting percentage. USW tallied 29 kills and 24 errors on 109 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .046.

Ramirez and Francis led the Saints with 11 kills apiece. Reynard finished with 13 assists, and Arianna Moreno added 11. Francis finished with a .391 hitting percentage. 

Swain commented, "We had a better start than on Friday, but still had some moments of losing focus and staying consistent with executing the skills of volleyball. We know as a team where we need to be with postseason right around the corner. We want to make sure we are keeping good habits and it was better in the end. We had great blocks that continued to give us momentum along with great shot selections. The servers kept pressure on Southwest and our setters continued to mix up our offense, which has been another key focus this week. These were two great road wins to finish out conference play, but it's time to regain focus and prepare for a great week of practice in preparation for the conference tournament."

What's next

OLLU will host the RRAC Championship Tournament from Nov. 15-16.