KINGSVILLE, Texas – With the chance to clinch a berth in the Lone Star Conference postseason tournament within reach, the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball team will embark on their final road trip of the regular season, visiting the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds and the West Texas A&M Lady Buffs.
The Javelinas will square off with the Greyhounds on Friday at 6 p.m. before visiting the Lady Buffs for a 2 p.m. match on Saturday.
Tanya Allen's team stands at 7-9 in the LSC and in seventh place as they pursue a spot in the conference tournament, which includes the top eight teams in the league table. The Javs are two games better than the first team out of the field, the Western New Mexico Mustangs and TAMUK also owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over WNMU, having swept the Mustangs in the season series. The Javelinas are also only a half-game behind the LSC's No. 5 team, UT Permian Basin.
The star of the show for the Javelinas continues to be senior Madison Brabham (Kingwood, Texas), who posted her eighth and ninth triple doubles of the season against A&M-Commerce on Friday and Texas Woman's on Saturday. That total has Brabham tied for the lead in Division II in that category with Katie Adams of Wisconsin-Parkside. Brabham's rate of 3.74 kills per set has her at the top of the Lone Star Conference and she's also in the top 10 with a .271 hitting percentage. In each of her team's last four matches, Brabham has led all players in kills.
TAMUK's defense continues to benefit from the presence of freshman libero Nicole Murff (San Antonio, Texas). Her total of 511 digs has allowed her to move into eighth-place in program history for most digs in a season. Only 44 scoops separate Murff from Brett Zaccardo's fourth-place total of 555, a mark set in 2014. If she maintains her current average of 4.96 digs per set, third-best in the LSC, Murff will take over fifth place in school history in that category. The San Antonio native will be looking to replicate her performance from the first time the Javelinas saw WT, when she posted 36 digs, her second-highest total this season.
Against the Lady Buffs, Murff and her teammates will be squaring off with a squad that includes another outstanding defensive specialist in Chandler Vogel. Hailing from Hereford, Texas, Vogel has managed to put together an average of 5.46 digs per set, tops in the LSC and in the top 50 in the nation. Her season-high in scoops stands at 31, a mark she's reached three times. Vogel has helped her team reach 17th in the Division II in digs per set as a team at 19.37.
The most potent player on coach Jason Skoch's offense has been junior Lindsey Smith. She's moved into the conference's top five in hitting percentage, connecting on .310 percent of her swings. Her 15 kills and .455 spike rate helped the Lady Buffs top the Javelinas when the two teams met in Kingsville earlier this season. Fellow junior Taylor Kress is in sixth place in the LSC in kills per set at 2.85.
Before the Javelinas reach Canyon, they'll be forced to confront an Eastern New Mexico side looking to rebound from a recent stretch that's seen them drop nine out of 10, including a four-set defeat against the Javelinas in September. Three Javelinas swung to the tune of a hitting percentage over .300 in that victory, led by junior Talleyshia Morris (Tulsa, Okla), and her .500 kill rate, which included 12 kills and only two errors on 20 tries.
Sophomore Jasmine Gannon put together a strong showing in defeat, with 10 kills and as many digs. Gannon has remained one of the most dangerous offensive threats in the conference all season and currently resides in the third slot in LSC in kills per set with 3.33. Her season-high of 21 smashes came in ENMU's first match of the year against Emporia State. Gannon is also third on the roster in digs with 204 and has logged seven double-doubles this season.
For a full rundown of each match after the final point is scored, visit Javelinaathletics.com. Fans can keep up with Javelina volleyball throughout the season by following @JavelinaVB on Twitter and @javelinasports and @JavelinaVB on Instagram, liking Javelina Volleyball on Facebook and visiting Javelinasports.com to keep up with Javelina volleyball all year long.
