KINGSVILLE, Texas – On Senior Day, seniors Haley Hutchinson (Georgetown, Texas) and Madison Brabham (Kingwood, Texas) each contributed 16 kills, more than any other player and helped the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball team collect a 25-23, 18-25, 25-15, 25-23 victory over the Cameron Aggies in Lone Star Conference action on Saturday afternoon at the Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville, Texas.
Brabham's 16 smashes came as part of her 13th triple-double of the season. She also logged 23 assists and 12 digs. Junior Talleyshia Morris (Tulsa, Okla.) proved to be her team's most efficient offensive weapon, as her 12 kills came with only two errors on 23 attacks for a match-best .435 attack percentage.
Leading TAMUK in assists was freshman Emily North (Red Oak, Texas), tallying 25, and another rookie, Nicole Murff (San Antonio, Texas) finished atop the stat sheet in digs with 19.
The Javelinas were the first team to capture the momentum in the match, with a stretch that saw them take nine of 13 rallies to change an 8-8 tie into a 17-12 lead. They maintained that margin until moving to set point at 24-19, but that's when Cameron put together a run and moved to within 24-23. Following a Javelina timeout, Brabham squashed Cameron's momentum with her fifth smash of the frame to give the Javelinas the game.
Cameron utilized a burst of five straight points to take a 9-4 advantage and they used that cushion to hold off the home team for the rest of the stanza. The Hogs couldn't get closer than two and Cameron's lead stretched to as many as seven before Ashleigh McFatridge and Shantalle Demirjian combined for a block that ended the set and evened the score at one. The Aggies outhit their hosts, .300 to .114 in the frame.
The third set was a complete reversal of the second, as it was the Javelinas who seized the initiative and never let go. An 8-2 run made the score 11-5 and, after Cameron cut the lead to three, TAMUK took off. The Javelinas collected 12 of the next 16 rallies, making the score 23-12 and Hutchinson provided two more smashes to cap the set and put her team one set away from victory. It was the Javelina offense that was on point in the third game, posting .486 kill rate.
For much of the fourth frame, the Aggies seemed intent on pushing the match to five sets. They stayed even with the Javelinas before building a 20-16 advantage. TAMUK proved resilient once again, however, battling back to take the day. A pair of kills by Morris helped fuel a 5-1 burst that put the teams on equal footing. Hutchinson then combined with freshman Kailey Estrada (San Antonio, Texas) for a block that put TAMUK in front. Estrada and Morris each finished the contest with five blocks. Cameron tied the score, but the two Javelina seniors proceeded to seal the deal. A blast by Hutchinson was followed by a perfectly placed attack from Brabham for the final point.
With the regular season complete, the Javelinas can now look forward to the Lone Star Conference Tournament, which will take place in Stephenville, Texas and begin on Nov. 8th. The Javelinas are slated for the tourney's sixth seed, which would pit them against third-seeded Angelo State. 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.
