Women's Volleyball 10/12/2012 4:50:00 PM

Volleyball Dominates St. Mary’s

Box Score LAREDO, Texas – Thursday night the TAMIU volleyball team kicked off a seven game home stretch by scoring their biggest win of the season, rolling over conference rival St. Mary’s in three sets 25-22, 25-21, and 25-16.

The Dustdevils are now 8-2 in their last 10 matches and have won eight of their last nine.
Alex Ciszek led TAMIU with her seventh double-double of the season recording 13 kills and 11 digs. Andrea Marshall kicked in eight kills and 10 digs, while Miranda Pratt finished with eight kills and a solid .318 attack percentage. Daria Winckler had stats all across the board tallying six kills with a .385 attack percentage, 11 digs, and a game high 26 assists. Desiree Ortiz had another solid night from the back row, finishing with a game high 20 digs.

Speaking after the game, Head Coach Marlon Sano said the team’s performance Thursday night was the strongest he’s seen all season.

“We knew coming in that this was THE important match of our season. It would determine moving forward whether or not we would have a chance to reach the conference tournament. Our approach and our execution mentally throughout the match from start to finish, was the best I’ve seen this year.”

Try as they might, St. Mary’s was unable to find any kind of offensive rhythm, ultimately committing 27 errors and finishing with a season worst .009 attack percentage. TAMIU on the other hand remained consistent, finishing with only 14 errors and a .195 attack percentage.

“Our game plan was to serve tough and we did that, holding St. Mary’s to their season low hitting percentage,” said Coach Sano. “We out-dug them, we forced them into a number of different errors, and that turned the match for us.”

The win vaults the Dustdevils (11-7, 4-4 HC) into fourth place in the Heartland Conference standings, although the Rattlers possess an identical 4-4 conference record. By winning in straight sets on Thursday night, the Dustdevils get the edge in the tie-breaker over St. Mary’s, who defeated TAMIU in five games back in September.

TAMIU has six more home games remaining in their home stand, starting with McMurry on Thursday, October 18.

Coach Sano said that all season long, the team has been pointing to this stretch as the time to make a big run.

“We’ve spent the majority of our season to date on the road and our kids have showed a lot of resolve. Now we get to be at home, knowing that our crowd is really vocal and really supportive and I think it sets us up for a great run.”

The Dustdevils and the War Hawks will get underway at 7 p.m. at the TAMIU KCB.

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