San Antonio, TX---The Lady Mustangs enter the 2019 Red River Athletic Conference Tournament with a 7-5 conference record putting them in 4th place with a 1st round matchup against Jarvis Christian on Friday at 10:30 AM CST. The Lady Mustangs have had a roller coaster season, but have played their best volleyball of the season the last month of the season. Head Coach
Katrina English knew that bringing in so many new players to the program would be a challenge, but she also knew that good things come to those who wait. " When you bring in 17 new players and more than half are freshman, good things come with time. Chemistry, trust, leadership, players learning their roles and all of us learning each other is a process. I knew the talent I brought in and at no point did I doubt that. We started the season competing with Division II teams; the quicker you find the weak points the quicker you can strengthen them and we have. There is always room for growth and to win the Conference Title we must relentlessly display our growth." said English.
The Mustangs finished the season winning 6 of their final 7 games to secure that 4th place spot in the conference. With 7 freshman on the active roster, the Lady Mustangs have relied on their few upperclassmen to guide them to where they are at today. Junior setter
Dylann Bylund is one of those upperclassmen who have stepped up in a big way for the Lady Mustangs. The Colorado Springs native is leading the team in assists with 509 total or 5.1 per set. Bylund has played in 99 out of 101 sets which is tied for the team lead with freshman
Alexia Esparza. Bylund has done a great job of being a veteran leader to so many players this season. " I think the biggest learning curve as a team with freshman is getting them to learn how much faster the collegiate volleyball games can be." said Bylund on getting the younger players up to speed with the college game.
With so few upperclassmen to lean on, the Lady Mustangs have been forced to lean on several freshman to play in big moments and grow up on the fly. One of those freshman
Martinique Larvingo has become a centerpiece for the Lady Mustang attack. Larvingo has played in 98 of the 101 sets this season and has 165 kills, with her biggest games coming in the past month. The freshman was averaging 7.7 kills per match during the final 7 matches of the season. Larvingo took a year off from volleyball after graduating high school and once she signed with USW this past spring, she knew that she had to get her game back up to speed to prepare for the college game. "Once I decided to play volleyball for USW, I knew that I would have to work twice as hard. I honestly thought about the possibility of me not getting much playing time and it was a thought I didn't like. I then took it upon myself to go the extra mile and step up to the challenge. I had to adjust to the speed of the game and push myself past my limits. With the help of my coaches and teammates, I was able to adjust to college volleyball smoothly and improve as a player."
USW will take on the Jarvis Christian Bulldogs at 10:30 AM CST on Friday. All RRAC Tournament matches will be live streamed with the link below.
Schedule
Friday, Nov. 8
First Round
Match 1: #4 Southwest vs. #5 Jarvis Christian, 10:30 a.m.
Match 2: #3 Our Lady of the Lake vs. #6 Texas College, 1 p.m.
Semifinals
#1 Huston-Tillotson vs. Winner Match 1, 4:30 p.m.
#2 Wiley vs. Winner Match 2, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 9
Championship Match, 1 p.m.
LIVE STREAM
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ollusaints/
LIVE STATS
http://www.dakstats.com/WebSync/Pages/Tournament/TournamentPage.aspx?association=10&sg=WVB&tour=2979
TOURNAMENT WEBSITE
http://www.redriverconference.com/19/3/2019-rrac-volleyball-championship
