Rams seek to climb RRAC standings on trip to Southwest (N.M.) this week

By Alan Wiederhold-Sohn
HT Athletic Communications

HOBBS, N.M. – Huston-Tillotson University's volleyball team has its collective sight set on key victories this weekend when they travel to the University of the Southwest (N.M.) for a pair of matches.
 
The Rams and Mustangs will square off at 6 p.m. (MDT) on Friday, Oct. 25, and then rematch the next day at 11 a.m. local time. Both matches will be played at the Maddox Student Life Center on the USW campus.
 
Huston-Tillotson (3-16, 3-9 RRAC) will try to snap an eight-match losing streak when the Rams take the court Friday. The young HT squad, with eight freshmen on its roster, showed marked improvement last weekend in forcing four sets in each of their matches against Our Lady of the Lake, one of the top teams in the Red River Athletic Conference.
 
Chloe Gaytan (San Antonio, Texas / Veterans Memorial HS) and Olivia De La Cruz (San Antonio, Texas / Burbank HS) lead the Huston-Tillotson front line. Gaytan leads the Rams with 192 kills (3.10 kills per set) and has compiled a .130 hitting percentage through 19 matches.
 
Freshman hitter De La Cruz has 101 kills (1.6 kills per set) and leads the team with 37 total blocks (11 solo, 26 assisted). Kennedy White, a senior from Duncanville, Texas (Duncanville HS) averages 2.3 kills per set and is hitting .128 this season. She has knocked down 99 kills in 44 sets played.
 
With 230 to her credit, HT senior Danelle McCullough (San Antonio, Texas / Wagner HS) leads the Ram defense with 3.90 digs per set. Elaina Spriggins (Dickinson, Texas / Dickinson HS) averages 2.3 digs per set (119 overall) in addition to 337 assists this season (6.4 assists per set).
 
A pair of HT wins over Southwest could pull the seventh-place Rams closer to both Paul Quinn and Jarvis Christian in the RRAC standings. PQC and Jarvis, who currently have the last two berths into the postseason RRAC tournament, face each other this weekend in Hawkins, Texas.
 
Jarvis Christian (5-7 RRAC) swept the Rams in their two matches this season, while HT and Paul Quinn (5-5 RRAC) split their pair of matches.
 
This weekend's trip to Southwest (N.M.) presents a great opportunity for the Rams to climb in the RRAC standings, as the Mustangs (1-12) are 1-9 in RRAC play. Southwest split a pair of matches with Jarvis Christian for the Mustangs' lone win of 2024.
 
Last year, HT won a non-conference matchup with Southwest at Angelo State's Kathleen Brasfield Invitational to start the season. The Mustangs, however, won the two conference meetings between the two teams in Austin later in the season.
 
Danna Gamez leads the Mustangs with 77 kills and 1.9 kills per set. Maya Morales leads the Southwest defense with 161 digs, good for an average of 3.9 digs per set.
 
– HT –