Incarnate Word Edges St. Mary´s in Volleyball in Five Sets

Kirsten Chapman had 11 kills and seven blocks for St. Mary's in their loss to Incarnate Word Wednesday night at Bill Greehey Arena.

SAN ANTONIO—Luisa Rodrigues had 14 kills and 20 digs to lead St. Mary’s University, but it wasn’t enough as the University of the Incarnate Word saved its last rally for the fifth set and defeated the Rattlers, 20-25, 25-13, 28-26, 21-25, 15-10, in Heartland Conference volleyball action Wednesday night at Bill Greehey Arena.

The match was a back-and-forth affair throughout with 25 ties and 11 lead changes. The third set was the tightest and toughest with 16 ties and seven lead changes in that set alone. After trading the lead several times with the Cardinals, the Rattlers went on a 4-0 run to take a 23-21 lead late in the set on a service ace by Rodrigues (Jr., Belo Horizonte, Brazil). But the Cardinals responded by winning the next two points to tie the score. An attack error by Mary Beth Huber gave the Rattlers a set point, but an error by St. Mary’s tied the score again at 24-24. A service ace by Stephanie Flores (So., San Antonio) gave the Rattlers their second set point, but again UIW responded with kills by Edie Weise and Daniella Vidaurri and then finished off the comeback on a Rattler error to win the set 28-26.

The Rattlers won the fourth set 25-21, but UIW went on a 6-0 run midway through the final set to take the victory. Katelyn Kershner (Jr., San Antonio) was among the Rattlers leads with 13 kills and 11 digs. Allie Murray (Fr., San Antonio) had 27 assists and 17 digs, while Stephanie Flores (So., San Antonio) had 28 digs.

The match was the Rattlers annual “Dig Pink” breast cancer awareness night and was another big success. Over 500 attended the match and $3,039 was raised to support breast cancer research, nearly $1,000 more than last year’s event.

With the loss, St. Mary’s fell to 6-20 overall and 5-7 in Heartland Conference play this season. Incarnate Word improved to 21-8, 9-3. The Rattlers will host the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith in their final home match of the 2009 season on Saturday at 4 p.m. at Bill Greehey Arena.

Incarnate Word def. St. Mary's (Texas) 20-25,25-13,28-26,21-25,15-10

Incarnate Word (21-8, 9-3) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Nicole Morfin 13-0-0; Emily Kopecki 12-2-6; Edie Weise 12-0-3; Chelsea Grayson 9-0-4; Daniella Vidaurri 4-0-4; Sarah Nordman 4-0-0; Anna Herr 2-1-1; Mary Beth Huber 0-1-0; Totals 56-4-11.0. (Assists) - Sarah Nordman 45. (Dig leaders) - Spencer Ladd 39; Nicole Morfin 25; Emily Kopecki 11; Mary Beth Huber 11

St. Mary's (Texas) (6-20, 5-7) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Luisa Rodriguez 14-1-0; Katelyn Kershner 13-1-1; Kirsten Chapman 11-0-7; Stephanie Crowell 10-0-2; Kori McCarver 8-0-2; Adrianna Keys 4-0-5; Allie Murray 2-1-0; Stephanie Flores 0-1-0; Totals 62-4-10.0. (Assists) - Allie Murray 27; Sondra Cui 22. (Dig leaders) - Stephanie Flores 28; Luisa Rodriguez 20; Allie Murray 17; Sondra Cui 14; Katelyn Kershner 11

Site: San Antonio, TX (Bill Greehey Arena)
Date: Oct 28, 2009   Attend: 512   Time: 2:21   
Referees: Ward Kostek, Sonny Fernandez