SAN ANTONIO, Texas – After falling behind, 2-0, the Newman volleyball team rallied to force a fifth set, but came up short, falling 3-2 at St. Mary's on Saturday (Sept. 27). The Lady Jets dropped to 5-7 on the season and 2-5 in the Heartland Conference.
 
The Rattlers started strong in the first set, pulling out to a 5-0 advantage. After a NU point at 11-7, StMU went on a 4-0 run for a 15-7 lead. The eight-point margin remained as the Rattlers won the set, 25-17.
 
It was the Lady Jets who started fast in set two, cruising out to a 3-0 lead. With the score 4-1 on an Alexis Roecker kill, StMU went on an 8-1 run for a 9-5 edge. The Lady Jets struggled to close the gap in the set, never getting closer than two points. The Rattlers went on to win the set, 25-20.
 
The third set was all NU as they rolled to a 25-15 win. The Lady Jets started up 4-0 and led by five, 7-2, early. The Rattlers slowly closed the gap to one point at 14-13, but then it was all Lady Jets. NU started with a 7-0 run for a 21-13 score. After two StMU points, the Lady Jets made another run, scoring four-straight points to win the set at 25-15. Sarah Peterson tallied three of the four kills in the final run.
 
In the fourth set, NU battled back from a 24-21 deficit to win 27-25. A StMU kill gave them match-point at 24-21. The Lady Jets needed three straight points to keep the match around and NU got just that. Jarin Braithwait started the burst with a kill, and she was part of back-to-back blocks. Braithwait and Gaylynn Jones made it 24-23 with a block. Braithwait and Shelby Zoglman tied the set at 24-24 with a block. A StMU kill gave them match-point again at 25-24, however, NU went on another 3-0 spurt to get the set win, 27-25. Braithwait and Ashley Gonzalez got the first two points with kills, and a StMU bad set gave NU the set win.
 
The Lady Jets had control of the fifth set early, pulling to a 3-1 lead. With the score tied at 7-7, NU scored two straight points to go in front 9-7. A 4-0 Rattler run put them up 11-9 then two StMU errors tied the score back up at 11-11. The Rattlers got three consecutive kills to get another match point at 14-11. Gonzalez kept NU in it with a kill for a 14-12 score, but StMU put the match away with a kill and a 15-12 set five win, and a 3-2 match win.
 
Gonzalez led NU with 16 kills. Braithwait added 12 kills, hitting .229, and totaled five blocks. Lexi Kuharich tallied a team-high 23 assists, and Taylor Alderson had a team-high 20 digs.
 
StMU's Melissa Heft put down a match-high 17 kills and hit .286. Kelsey Huber had a double-double of 11 kills and 24 digs. Kalyn Guthrie had a match-high 28 assists, and Victorria Martinez's 27 digs were also a match high.
 
NU returns home for a match against Oklahoma Panhandle State on Tuesday (Sept. 30) at 6 p.m.  inside Fugate Gymnasium.