KINGSVILLE, Texas – Despite a match-high 14 kills and 10 digs from senior Madison Brabham (Kingwood, Texas), the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball couldn't hold off the Angelo State Rambelles, who triumphed 25-12, 17-25, 25-22, 25-20 on Tuesday night in Lone Star Conference action at the Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville, Texas.
Brabham's double-double was her 14th of the season and her sixth-in-a-row. She's now led all players in kills in three consecutive matches. Senior Haley Hutchinson (Georgetown, Texas), chipped in with 10 kills and has reached that mark in three straight contests. Freshman Nicole Murff (San Antonio, Texas) led all players with 20 digs.
The Rambelles ran away and hid in the first set, notching 15 of the first 17 points and never looking back. Sundara Chinn ended the frame with a kill off an assist from Meghan Parker. ASU hit .367 in the opener while the Javelinas nine kills were matched by nine errors.
In the second game, it was the Javelinas who got off to a fast start, moving out to leads to 6-1 and 10-3. Four different players contributed multiple kills as the Blue and Gold went ahead by seven. The Rambelles managed to move within four at 11-7, but the next six rallies went to the Javelinas with junior Loren Washington (Austin, Texas) firing off a pair of aces, building a 10-point edge. ASU could get no closer than six points after that as the Javs evened the match, an attack error by Sophia Berg clinching the stanza. TAMUK's kill rate jumped to .275 in this frame.
The early action in the third game included seven ties before the score arrived at 9-9, at which point ASU took three consecutive rallies. The Javelinas fought back to even things at 13 before Angelo put together a run of five consecutive scores. Seven of the next nine rallies went to TAMUK, with Brabham contributing three consecutive smashes, but ASU provided an answer by snatching five of the set's final seven, with Baleigh Allen's kill putting the Rambelles ahead, 2-1.
ASU was in charge early in the fourth frame, moving in front 10-5, but the Javelinas were able to rebound, taking five-in-a-row to tie the match at 10. After the teams forged a 14-14 tie, the Javs jumped ahead by three with a quick burst sparked by a kill from Hutchinson. On this night, however, the Rambelles were not to be denied. They finished the evening on an 11-3 run and Anna Graham and Sophia Burg's block sealed ASU's win.
As a team, Angelo State outhit their hosts, compiled a hitting percentage of .225 on 138 attacks with 47 kills and 16 errors. The Javelinas posted a kill rate of .151 on 159 swings, totaling 50 kills and 26 errors.
The open road beckons for the Javelinas, who will take their show to Odessa, Texas, where they'll play the UT Permian Basin Falcons on Friday at 6 p.m. To keep up with everything related to Javelina volleyball all season long, follow @JavelinaVB on Twitter and @javelinasports on Instagram, like Javelina Volleyball on Facebook and visit Javelinasports.com.
