SAN ANTONIO (Aug. 18, 2022) – The Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) volleyball program embarks on its 16th season starting on Friday. Head Coach Scott Mattera enters his fourth season at the helm after leading the squad to a 20-5 overall record last year.

Preseason rankings

The Saints finished the 2021 campaign as co-champions in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) regular season and as runners-up in the postseason tournament. They fell to Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) in the championship. The Gold Nuggets are ranked first in the 2022 RRAC Volleyball Preseason Poll.

OLLU was selected to finish second in conference this year, followed by Huston-Tillotson University (HTU) in third, the University of the Southwest (USW) in fourth, Jarvis Christian University (JCU) in fifth, Louisiana Christian University (LCU) in sixth, Paul Quinn College (PQC) in seventh, Texas A&M University-Texarkana (TAMUT) in eighth and Texas College (TC) in ninth. TAMUT will debut its volleyball program this season.

Schedule overview (Numbers after school indicate all-time records.)

OLLU opens the season by hosting the Alamo City Volleyesta. The tournament features four other teams, including Wayland Baptist University (WBU), Texas Wesleyan University, Evangel University (EU) and HTU. The Saints will play EU (1-1) on Aug. 19 at 7 p.m. to begin the season. They will face WBU (4-8) and TWU (9-9) on Aug. 20 to conclude the tournament. 

The Saints will host another tournament - the Second Annual San Antonio ShinDig - on Aug. 26-27. Participants are Friends University (FU), Westcliff University (WU), Loyola University of New Orleans (LU) and Southwestern Assemblies of God University (SAGU). The Saints will face FU (1-1) and SAGU (10-8) on Aug. 26. They conclude the tournament with matches against LU (1-1) and WU on Aug. 27.

The team has two nonconference games in the middle of conference season. They play NCAA D3 Texas Lutheran University (4-2) on Sept. 14 and Oct. 19.

Conference opponents

Conference play begins in early September when the Saints welcome PQC (5-0) on Sept. 9 and Sept. 10. They head to Texarkana to battle TAMUT for the first time in program history on Sept. 16 and Sept. 17. The Saints host USW (22-4) on Sept. 23 and Sept. 24 then travel to play HTU (27-3) on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.

The program will play LCU (1-0) on Oct. 14 and Oct. 15 at home. The Wildcats joined the conference last season. The Saints close out the October opponents with matches at XULA (3-2) on Oct. 21 and Oct. 22, and at home against TC (24-0) on Oct. 28 and Oct. 29. The Saints finish the regular season by playing JCU (19-0) on the road on Nov. 4 and Nov. 5.

Senior class

The Saints welcome back three leaders. Sadie Ballesteros is the lone senior, while Tijana Kruta, who is playing in her fifth season due to COVID-19, will help guide the Saints throughout the season as a graduate student. Ballesteros has excelled on and off the court. She was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team last year and garnered RRAC All-Conference First Team honors. Kruta ranks second in OLLU history with 106 career aces and third with 188 total blocks. In 2021, she was named to the All-Conference Second Team.

Returners

Returners include Rebekah Bustamante, Julissa Casas, Savannah Cassiano, Dailyn Mann, Allison Mata, Camila Ramirez and Tina Trevino. Ramirez ranks third in Saints history with 25 kills in a single game against Wiley College in 2021. Last season, she was named RRAC Attacker of the Year.  Trevino was named RRAC Freshman of the Year for 2021. Also returning are Madalyn Gonzalez, Ashleigh Ramirez and Tory Rodriguez.

Newcomers

The Saints boast 11 freshmen on their roster this season. Julia Anguiano, Ariana Caldera, Karla Candia, Briana Contreras, Kylie Dominguez, Mia Dorsey, Mia Francis, Evelyn Ortega, Kiara Osio, Lauren Reynard and Ayzaia Turner all join the squad. Eight of the players are San Antonio natives with the other two being from Corpus Christi, Texas, and Candia hailing from El Paso, Texas.

Mattera commented, "There's a lot of potential depth in the class. They excel in the classroom and have lots of upside." 

Live-streaming and fan experience

The fan experience will be upgraded this season due to the new digital scoreboard. OLLU also added a drumline program that will perform at certain events alongside the cheer and dance squads. The floor of the gym is also new after renovation from last season.

Mattera commented, "The fan environment is a big factor during our games. They get loud for us, especially on Friday nights, and there are watch parties all over Texas and the states."

Home games will be live-streamed on the OLLU Saints Network.

Hear from Head Coach Scott Mattera as he discusses the 2022 season.