September 7, 2012
San Antonio – Forty-five minutes had elapsed since the end of their Heartland Conference-opening defeat when the Rattlers’ players began to emerge from their locker room Thursday night.
In no eager hurry to leave Bill Greehey Arena after a 3-1 loss to Dallas Baptist, the St. Mary’s volleyball team stayed behind to discuss what went wrong.
“We broke down everything,” said veteran setter Allie Murray (San Antonio), the lone senior on the squad. “It started with the passing, went to setting, and we broke down our hitting percentage and attempt errors.
“We know everyone has to step up.”
Because as soon as the Rattlers’ (2-3, 0-1 in Heartland) were done with this game, their collective focus was already on their next opponent: rival St. Edward’s, whom St. Mary’s plays at 12 p.m. Saturday in a pivotal early-season match.
“It’s a huge game Saturday,” Murray said. “It starts tomorrow. It starts with practice. We know what we need to do. We need to mentally focus.”
Because on Thursday, that focus wasn’t as sharp as they wanted it, Murray said.
St. Mary’s stumbled out of the gate after trailing 10-9 in the opening set, watching Dallas Baptist go on a tear to take a commanding 20-11 run en route to winning 25-13.
The second set wasn’t much difference, as DBU broke open a 9-9 tie to win 25-16.
St. Mary’s rebounded with a pin-point sharp showing in the third set, winning 25-14, but dropped the match when it lost the fourth set 25-14.
Taylor Obermiller (So., San Antonio) led the Rattlers with 10 kills and a .625 hitting percentage, the fourth-highest mark ever posted by a Rattler with 15-19 attempts. Victorria Martinez (So., Arlington, Texas) led the squad with 18 digs, while Murray had a team-leading 20 assists.