SAN ANTONIO – The Celts of the University of St. Thomas split the first day of Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference pool play Friday, defeating Johnson & Wales (Colo.) before falling to Texas Lutheran.
UST's record moved to 7-15 after the day's contests; the Celts are now 4-8 in SCAC play.
The Celts conclude the weekend with matches against Austin College (11 a.m.) and Trinity (2 p.m.) on Saturday.
Celts 3, Johnson & Wales 0
The Celts opened the day with a three-set sweep of Johnson & Wales. Scores of the match were 25-19, 25-19, and 25-20.
Alyssa Ajlouny (SO/Cypress, Texas) led the Celts with 13 kills and hit .379 on 29 attempts. Alaina Lanik (FR/Richmond, Texas) put away nine kills for the Celts, while Emily Jaroszewski (JR/Sugar Land, Texas) knocked down eight kills without committing an error on 14 attempts, good for a .571 hitting percentage.
Kelsie Walker (JR/Baytown, Texas) turned in a double-double for the Celts, handing out 21 assists and recording 10 digs. Kaylyn Latin (JR/Houston, Texas) led the UST defensive effort with 19 digs.
The win over Johnson & Wales gave the Celts a season sweep of the Wildcats.
TLU 3, Celts 1
The Celts were unable to continue their winning ways Friday as they fell in four sets to Texas Lutheran.
Scores of the match were 25-11, 14-25, 25-18, and 25-20.
Ajlouny and Lanik again led the Celts offense, knocking down 12 kills and 11 kills, respectively. Lanik finished a dig shy of a triple-double, as she also recorded nine digs and 13 assists.
Walker handed out 15 assists and tallied 12 digs, while Latin again led the defense with 23 digs.