Kristine Pelky’s first order of business last spring as St. Mary’s University’s new head volleyball coach wasn’t the usual tasks that come when a program makes a change.

Pelky didn’t consume herself so much about installing schemes or a depth chart. The primary focus was building trust, especially considering what the Rattlers endured during the 2025 season. In one month, beginning in early August and spanning into late September, the team had three different head coaches. Laura Ulrich, who coached St. Mary’s to three Lone Star Conference postseason tournament berths in four seasons, left to become head coach at Illinois-Springfield. Dave Ulrich, her assistant coach and husband, was named interim coach. He, though, stepped down about six weeks later to be with his family. Cali Nims, who concluded a standout career as a setter at the school in 2024 and was named as an assistant coach on Sept. 1, replaced Ulrich and was promoted to interim coach for the rest of the season. She guided St. Mary’s to a 12-5 record, including a six-match winning streak and wins in eight of nine matches during one juncture, earning the No. 4 seed in the LSC tournament, the program’s best. Texas-Tyler defeated the Rattlers in four sets in the LSC tournament quarterfinals, ending a turbulent campaign.

“I think that’s just a testament to our character,” said Laurene Robinson, a graduate outside hitter. “We understand that sometimes you’re not in control of what goes on outside of your life, but you can control how you react. I think that has been the big thing for us. Yes, it’s not easy losing your coach before the season. But nobody freaked out. Nobody batted an eye. We were just ready to lean on each other.”

Hired following a national search from Winona State in Minnesota on Jan. 16, Pelky began a de facto healing process. The journey had less to do with vertical leaps and a standing reach and more to do with conditioning her new players’ minds. They were assigned “Max out mindset for volleyball book and workbook: A guide for coaches, athletes, teams and parents to help you be in the best position to max out when it matters the most” by Dr. Larry Widman as a reading assignment over the summer.

“We all came in with stronger minds and stronger bodies,” Robinson said. “It’s just been a lot of fun to see how all the pieces go together. I think this coaching staff has a lot of belief in all of us as players.”

The results have revealed as much. After dropping their season opener to Southern Connecticut State in five sets at the Rollins College Invitational in Florida, losing after winning the first two sets, the Rattlers won seven of the next nine matches.

“We really upped the standards and expectations of every part of the program, and they have answered the call,” Pelky said. “They were really hungry to be coached, to be pushed, to improve. We’ve come a long way since the spring. I’m excited to see how far we yet have to go.”

Friday’s LSC opener vs. Angelo State, No. 6 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) NCAA Division II rankings, provided a prime indicator of the Rattlers’ potential destination.

St. Mary’s started strong and held firm for large portions of a contest vs. an opponent that a year ago was one win shy of playing for the national championship and looks the part of a team that could capture the ultimate prize, pushing the Belles to the limit before falling short 22-25, 31-33, 25-15, 25-22, 15-12 at Bill Greehey Arena.

The match ended when Angelo State coach Chuck Waddington challenged a kill by St. Mary’s that would’ve pulled the Rattlers (7-4), who had a four-match winning streak snapped, within 14-13 in the decisive fifth set. Replay confirmed that St. Mary’s had committed a four-hit fault in getting the ball over the net, giving the point and match to the Belles (11-1).

“I think they appreciate competing at a high level against the top talent,” Pelky said. “But this is a team that has to be just as disciplined, no matter whose on the other side of the net. We got better tonight. … The old (Vince) Lombardi quote of, ‘Winning is like deodorant, it covers up what stinks about your team.’ We just talked to the team, that those high-level games are like a chess match. When a top-10 team makes an adjustment, we’ve got to be able to answer. I think they just made one more move than we did tonight. We’re getting there, for sure. The team that got reverse-swept in Florida is not the team that just lost to Angelo State in five. It’s fun to win. It stinks to lose. But we are getting better, and I’m very proud of the progress that they’ve made.”

Angelo State, whose lone setback came vs. No. 1-ranked Ferris State in the Gold Bracket final of the Colorado Premier Challenge, NCAA Division II’s most prestigious tournament, got a close-up view of the Rattlers’ growth.

St. Mary’s used a 7-1 run to overcome a late deficit to capture the opening set. In a marathon second frame, it survived after the Belles erased eight set points. During the intermission between the second and third sets, Angelo State didn’t panic. The Belles changed the match’s trajectory behind the service line, dialing up 15 aces while St. Mary’s had 21 service errors.

Sydney Thornton led Angelo State with 16 kills. All-American senior outside hitter Madi Parrish just missed a triple-double with 13 kills, 11 digs and nine aces. Leah Klueber had 12 kills, libero Allie Duitsman notched a match-high 22 digs, and setter Gabi Ashcraft notched 27 assists and 11 digs.

“We have a very good team chemistry, and I think a lot of it is that we have faith in one another,” said Angelo State freshman setter and O’Connor High School graduate Olivia Pena of her team’s comeback win. “When one of us is down or makes a mistake, we really build each other up.
I think it’s definitely more giving into one another and just pouring into each other’s cups. When we went back into the locker room after set 2, we really all just took a moment to breathe and to really say positive affirmations to one another that we know we can do it, that we have the skill, we have the talent, we just have to be able to execute properly.”

Robinson guided St. Mary’s with 26 kills, her fifth 20-kill match already this season. Sophomore Tara Creekmore had 13 kills, and MacArthur alum Taylor Alston totaled 11. Junior libero Kaylee Cavazos, a Madison product, netted a career-high five aces and team-best 18 digs. Senior setter Haleigh Wilk produced her fourth double-double of the year and 14th of her career with 47 assists and 10 digs. She also had five kills.

The contributions were almost enough for St. Mary’s to send a resounding statement to the rest of the LSC, the toughest league in NCAA Division II. West Texas A&M and Angelo State has each won a national title while Dallas Baptist, Texas Woman’s, Texas-Tyler and Lubbock Christian have advanced to the regional tournament in recent seasons.

“I think everyone in our conference is tough,” Robinson said. “I don’t think that names matter. We played our butts off. I thought we had a great match, and sometimes teams just do a little better. We should be really proud of how we did tonight. We could have easily gone into this match and been afraid, but we came out and won the first two sets. It’s tough losing a fifth-set match, but it’s worse losing a fifth-set match and not giving it your all.”

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