SHREVEPORT, La. – The Celts of the University of St. Thomas competed in their first Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference match Saturday, ultimately falling in a five-set thriller at Centenary College.
Scores of the match were 23-25, 21-25, 25-10, 25-17, and 15-10.
The Celts (2-5, 0-1 SCAC) won the first two sets but were unable to complete the victory as the host Ladies won three in a row for the comeback win. It was UST's fifth five-set match in seven contests this season.
Freshman hitter Alaina Lanik (FR/Richmond, Texas) tallied her second triple-double in as many days as she led the Celts with 13 kills in addition to 14 assists and 15 digs. Annie Woods (FR/Livingston, Texas) knocked down 10 kills and hit .292 for the match, while Kelsie Walker (JR/Baytown, Texas) recorded 27 assists and 22 digs alongside seven kills.
UST's defensive efforts were also aided by Kaylyn Latin (JR/Houston, Texas)'s 28 digs, as well as 11 digs from Alysse Villadiego (SR/Richmond, Texas).
After the Celts claimed a pair of close victories in the first two sets, Centenary jumped out to a 9-0 lead in set three and never looked back as momentum began to shift to the Ladies' side. UST led 5-3 early in set four, but seven unanswered Centenary points gave the home team control as the Ladies forced set five.
The Celts again led in the early stages of set five, only to see Centenary go on a 9-1 run to establish a 14-9 lead. The Ladies needed only two more rallies to claim the victory.
After hitting .250 in the first set and .174 in the second set, the Celts would not hit better than .044 for the remainder of the match.
The Celts' weekend began with two matches Friday in Austin, Texas, against Sul Ross State and host Concordia Texas. The Celts dropped their first two sets against Sul Ross, only to come back and claim a five-set victory.
In the win over the Lobos, Lanik put away 25 kills and tallied 22 assists and 19 digs. Kaje Massenburg (SO/Arlington, Texas) knocked down 10 kills, followed by eight kills apiece from Woods and Emily Jaroszewski (JR/Sugar Land, Texas). Kelsie Walker tallied 38 assists and 10 digs.
UST's defensive effort was led by Latin's 45 digs. Chelsea Guerrero (JR/Katy, Texas) came off the bench for 18 digs, and Mariah Regan (SO/Katy, Texas) recorded 16 digs against the Lobos.
After the five-set thriller over Sul Ross State, the Celts faced a rested Concordia squad, which claimed a three-set win over St. Thomas. Massenburg knocked down five kills in the loss to Concordia, while Woods and Jaroszewski tallied four kills apiece.
The Celts return to action this weekend when they head to Denver to play four SCAC matches at Johnson & Wales (Colo.). They open the weekend Friday with matches against Texas Lutheran (11 a.m.) and Trinity (5 p.m.).
