KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville volleyball team opens its second go-round through Lone Star Conference by hosting No.-8 West Texas A&M on Friday at 7 p.m. and Eastern New Mexico at 1 p.m. on Saturday on Kingsville Hampton Inn Court.
Friday's contest is sponsored by EmbroidMe, while Saturday's game sponsor is El Dorado. As part of the Trunk or Treat sponsored by the Javelina Athletic Department prior to Friday's game in SPEC parking lot, a costume contest will be held at the volleyball match. The age ranges will be Infant to 5-years old , six to nine, and 10-13.
The Javelinas enter the match with a 12-11 record overall and a 4-4 mark in the Lone Star Conference. The team went 1-1 last week in a pair of games with the Heartland Conference. Dedra Brown and Kelsey Washington lead the Javelina offense with 2.95 and 2.86 kills a set, respectively. Washington has posted double-doubles in six of the team's last seven matches and has 11 overall.
Defensively, the freshmen duo of Brittany Gutierrez and Mariah Carlin continue to develop. Each averaged over four digs a set last week. Gutierrez leads the team with 3.75 digs a set for the entire season. Led the by the trio of Stephanie Johns, Kayla McGlathery and Shae Smith, the Javelina block also continues to improved going from 1.55 blocks a set in all games to 1.77 a set overall.
West Texas enters the weekend atop the LSC at 9-0 and is 19-3 overall. The Lady Buffs swept the Javelinas in Canyon earlier this season. WT is the top hitting team in the LSC and has two players in the top four in hitting. Laura Iwuchukwu is second at .318, while Lexi Davis is fourth at .296. The same duo is second and third in the LSC in blocking with 1.69 and 1.08 blocks per set, respectively. Iwuchukwu leads the nation in blocking. The Buffs lead the nation with 3.00 blocks a set.
Eastern New Mexico comes to town on Saturday with a 5-14 record on the year. The Greyhounds are 3-7 in the LSC. Kingsville swept ENMU in Portales earlier this season. Eastern leads the Lone Star Conference in service aces in conference games with 1.37 a set, while Courtney Lawson is 10^th in the LSC in league play with 3 kills a set. Hayley Couch is tops in the LSC and ninth in the nation in digs per set with 5.91.
Live stats will be available for each match www.javelinaathletics.com and live video at http://www.southtexannews.com/live/.