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KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville volleyball team is back home in Gil H. Steinke Physical Education Center-Kingsville Hampton Inn Court this weekend but face two tough Lone Star Conference opponents. First up is 24th-ranked Angelo State on Friday at 7 p.m. followed by a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday against Tarleton State.
 
Entering the weekend, the Javelinas are 8-7 overall and 1-3 in league play. The Rambelles come in at 15-3, 4-0 in the LSC and riding an eight-match winning streak. Winners of four straight, the TexAnns are 12-3 on the season with a 3-1 mark in conference action and will play at St. Edward's on Friday before coming to Kingsville.
 
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Scouting Texas A&M-Kingsville
With 15 kills at St. Mary's on Tuesday, Krystal Faison increased her season total to 182 and average to 3.14 per set. Second with 171 kills and 2.95 k/s is Ashley Bukowski and Valarie Moehrig is right behind her with 161 kills and a 2.88 k/s mark.
 
Setter Casey Klobedans heads into the weekend with 591 assists this season and is third in the LSC with 10.19 a/s. Her .368 attack percentage not only leads the Blue and Gold but is also tops in the conference. The Boerne, Texas native is also second on the squad with 16 service aces, one behind Faison.
 
Along with Faison and Klobedans, three other Javelinas also have double-digit aces this season. Bukowski enters the weekend with 15 followed by Abbey Wells with 13 and Brett Zaccardo at 11.
 
Zaccardo sits second in the LSC with 4.93 d/s and Faison is 11th averaging 3.67 a set. At the net, freshman Haley Hutchinson paces the team with 45 blocks. Fellow classmate Madison Brabham is second with 36 rejections and leads with eight solo blocks.
 
In the league, TAMUK is first in service aces a set with 1.41. The team is third in k/s (13.19), a/s (12.34) and d/s (17.71).
 
Scouting Angelo State
Entering the week, the Rambelles have two players in the top 15 for total kills. Mallory Blauser is fourth with 241 kills and Brianna Sotello is 11th with 218. Both Zoey Hanrahan (147) and Abbie Lynn (149) have over 100 kills as well.
 
Their setter Maggi Jo Keffury leads the nation with 721 assists and is eighth at 11.63 a/s. Also leading the nation is Katie MacLeay with 366 digs. Her 5.81 d/s average ranks 10th.
 
Hanrahan paces ASU with 51 blocks. Four players have over 20 rejections apiece in Morgan Seaton (29), Blauser (25), Lynn (27) and Sotello (23).
 
As a team, ASU leads the nation in assists (872), digs (1,219), kills (923) and total attacks (2,527). For the season the Rambelles are hitting .235 while holding opponents to a .144 attack percentage.
 
The Rambelles lead the all-time series 37-11 and have won 10 straight. TAMUK's last win came on Sept. 18, 2008 at home in five sets. In games played in Kingsville, the Javelinas have won seven meetings.
 
Scouting Tarleton State
The top player in not only the conference but all of Division II plays for the TexAnns. Hailey Roberts has recorded three 30-plus kill matches this season on her way to leading the nation with 336 kills and 6.22 k/s. She is on pace to easily break the LSC single-season record for both categories.
 
While Roberts is their No. 1 option offensively, Kenya Alexander (2.09) and Xzache Mathis (2.45) are averaging over two kills a set.
 
Defensively, Meg Umbel goes into the weekend with a team best 61 blocks. Alexander, the league's preseason Defensive Player of the Year, is second with 56 rejections. Pacing TSU with 214 digs and 3.96 d/s is Ayssa Garcia while Roberts is also getting 3.31 d/s as well.
 
The TexAnns' .257 hitting percentage leads the LSC and is 12th in the nation. They are also second in DII with 14.91 k/s and 14.20 a/s.
 
TSU holds a 24-18 edge in the series having won 10 of the last 11 matches. The Blue and Gold's last win occurred on Nov. 2, 2012 at home in four stanzas. When playing in Kingsville, the Javelinas have an 11-8 advantage.
 
Assists Chase
Klobedans recently moved into eighth on the Javelinas' career assists list after recording 38 assists at St. Mary's. She surpassed Courtney Gamble (1998-99) and currently has 1,762 assists in her career. At the end of her freshman campaign, Klobedans sat 10th on the career list with 1,171 assists. She is needs 110 more to tie for seventh with Sara Streets (2002-03). The program leader is Natalie Walther (2001-04) with 3,051.
 
Double-Doubles
After the third week of competition, the Javelinas have totaled 23 double-doubles between three players. Faison leads the team with nine, followed by seven apiece from Bukowski and Klobedans. Going into the weekend Faison has recorded back-to-back double-doubles.
 
Zaccardo's Career-Highs
Zaccardo set new career-highs in assists and digs against Our Lady of the Lake. She recorded 31 digs in the five-set contest to surpass her previous best of 30 at Eastern New Mexico last season. Her eight assists in the game broke her old mark of seven set earlier this season against St. Mary's.
 
LSC Player of the Week for Zaccardo
After her strong performance in the Emerald Beach Hotel Javelina Volleyball Invitational, Zaccardo was named the Lone Star Conference's Defensive Player of the Week. She totaled 75 digs for a 5.77 d/s mark. In the final match against Lubbock Christian, Zaccardo set a new program record with 29 digs in a three-set contest.
 
All-Time Winningest TAMUK Coach
With the Javelinas sweep of St. Mary's in their first match of the Emerald Beach Hotel Javelina Volleyball Invitational, head coach Tanya Allen became the winningest coach in program history. She earned her 69th victory since coming to Kingsville. Her win total surpassed Jane Kieschnick (2000-06) mark of 68 wins.
 
New 3-Set Dig Record
Zaccardo set a new team record in the Javelinas final match of their home tournament. She recorded 29 digs in the three-set victory over Lubbock Christian. The previous record was 26 set by Tara Grier against Eastern New Mexico at home on Sept. 15, 2007.
 
Emerald Beach Hotel All-Tournament
Faison was the Blue and Gold's selection to the Emerald Beach Hotel Javelina Volleyball Invitational All-Tournament team. She led all players with 48 kills and was second with a 3.69 k/s average. Faison also recorded back-to-back double-doubles in the first two contests.
 
Maryville All-Tournament Team
With their second place finish at the Maryville Invitational to begin the season, TAMUK landed two players on the all-tournament team. Picking up the honors were Faison and Zaccardo.
 
Matched Service Aces Mark
Klobedans tied a Javelina service ace record in the season opener against Southern Wesleyan. She hit six aces in the five-set match. The previous Hoggie to reach the mark was Kim Martinez against Angelo State on Nov. 8, 1997 at home.
 
Klobedans LSC Preseason Setter
Klobedans was selected as the Lone Star Conference's Preseason Setter of the Year by the head coaches, sports information directors and media members. She was the conference's co-Setter of the Year after recording 1,171 assists (10.18 a/s).
 
Javelinas Picked Fifth in LSC
TAMUK was picked to finish fifth in the Lone Star Conference's 2015 preseason poll by coaches, sports information directors and media members. West Texas A&M was picked first with 19 of the possible 25 first place votes while the defending conference tournament champions Tarleton State were second with five first-place picks. Receiving the final first-place vote was Angelo State.
 
Live stats and video will available for both matches with links available on the volleyball schedule page.
 
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