COMMERCE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville volleyball team came back from two sets down to force a decisive fifth set but fell short to Texas A&M-Commerce 3-2 (28-26, 25-23, 19-25, 19-25, 15-11) Saturday afternoon at The Field House.
With the defeat, the Javelinas drop to 7-7 and 1-3 in the Lone Star Conference while the Lions improve to 10-3 and 3-1 in conference play.
Leading the way for the Blue and Gold was
Ashley Bukowski,
Krystal Faison and
Casey Klobedans with a double-double each. Bukowski recorded 15 digs and Faison added 18 digs while the duo finished with a match-high 16 kills apiece. Klobedans was credited with 53 assists and 10 kills.
The fourth TAMUK player with double-digit kills was
Valarie Moehrig with 11.
At the net,
Haley Hutchinson had a team best five blocks and four rejections came from Bukowski. Getting credit for 18 digs was
Brett Zaccardo.
Both teams stayed within two points of each other in the first set except when the Javelinas took a 10-7 advantage after a combined block from Hutchinson and Klobedans. The set featured 18 tied scores and eight lead changes, the last occurring when A&M-C scored the last two points on the serve.
The Blue and Gold jumped out to a 4-1 advantage in set two which was capped off by a block courtesy of
Madison Brabham and Moehrig. Countering with a 7-2 run, the Lions went in front for the rest of the game. TAMUK did manage to tie the score twice, the last being at 21-21 following a Faison kill.
A tight third set appeared to be going in A&M-C's favor once they took an 18-16 advantage. The Javelinas responded by winning nine of the final 10 points for the set victory. During the scoring stretch, Hutchinson had two kills and
Abbey Wells recorded a service ace.
The squads stayed close to each other in the early portion of the fourth until an ace from Zaccardo and kill by Hutchinson put the Blue and Gold in front by two. A&M-C managed to pull to within 15-14 but the Hogs closed by taking 10 of the last 15 points thanks to two kills courtesy of Bukowski and Klobedans.
Set five began with a Faison kill. However the Lions answered with a 9-2 run to seal the match.
TAMUK concludes their three-match road swing with a trip to San Antonio, Texas on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. contest against St. Mary's.
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