KINGSVILLE, Texas (Volleyball) – Texas A&M University-Kingsville (10-1, 2-0 LSC) claimed its second consecutive sweep this weekend, this time over Eastern New Mexico University (4-6, 0-1 LSC) 25-20, 25-14, 25-14 in the Gil E. Steinke Physical Education Center-Kingsville Hampton Inn Court.
Texas A&M-Kingsville outscored its opponents this weekend 150-93 in six sets.
The Hoggies were pushed to their limit in the first set albeit they escaped with a narrow 25-20 win. The Blue and Gold then cranked it up a notch and did not trail in either the second or third set. As a unit the team hit .330 and played strong defensively holding the Hounds to a .086 hitting percentage, forcing 25 total errors and committed no receiving errors in the three sets. With the win, TAMUK improves to 15-11 at home and are now on a ten-match winning streak when playing against ENMU.
Lexi Wick led the team with ten kills, two aces and tied with Haley Hutchinson with four blocks who also had nine kills. Krystal Faison registered eight kills, three blocks and one service ace and Madison Brabham put down seven kills from the outside. Casey Klobedans and Ashley Bukowski each had four kills in the match and Klobedans recorded a match high of 38 assists.
GAME INFORMATION
Sets: Texas A&M-Kingsville 3, Eastern New Mexico 0
Records: Texas A&M-Kingsville (10-1, 2-0 LSC), Eastern New Mexico (4-6, 0-1 LSC)
Series: Texas A&M-Kingsville is 23-31 against Eastern New Mexico
Location: The SPEC
Time of Match: 2 p.m.
TEAM LEADERS
Texas A&M-Kingsville
Kills: Lexi Wick, 10
Blocks: Two players with four blocks each
Assists: Casey Klobedans, 38
Aces: Lexi Wick, 2
Digs: Krystal Puente, 17
Eastern New Mexico
Kills: Lauren Frye, 9
Blocks: Brooklyn Biel, 2
Assists: Kaitlyn Kluna, 12
Aces: None
Digs: Stevi-Rae Baca, 12
HOW IT HAPPENED
Set 1
The Greyhounds came out strong in the first set to keep the Javelinas on their toes. With the Hogs down 19-15, Faison's kill sparked a three-point run to trim the lead 19-18. Moments later Bukowski sent a missile down the line to take a 21-20 lead for the Hogs. TAMUK went on to win the set 25-20 after exploding to the finish line on a 7-0 run. Hutchinson paced the way for the Hogs with seven kills and a .778 hitting percentage.
Set 2
The Javelinas jumped out to an early lead in the second frame by taking a commanding 12-4 lead and never let off the gas claiming an easy 25-14 victory. Wick recorded a set high of five kills and added one block. Brabham followed with four kills and Faison with three kills. The Javs hit .355 in the set and held the Hounds to .030.
Set 3
Kingsville came out of the intermission still hot from the second set and took a 13-6 lead to begin set No. 3. The Hogs continued to dominate the stanza by going on a 7-2 run to make the score 20-8 and ultimately closed the match with a 25-14 win. Brabham struck three times in the set while Hutchinson, Faison and Wick each had two kills.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Blue and Gold will open a six-match road trip beginning with a match Tuesday, September 20 against St. Mary's University.
For full coverage of Texas A&M-Kingsville volleyball, please follow @JavelinaVB on Twitter and Instagram, like the official Facebook page of Javelina athletics (/JavelinaSports), and subscribe to the JavelinaAthletics YouTube channel.
