KINGSVILLE, Texas – In the midst of a stretch in their schedule that includes six road matches in five different destinations, the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball team will make a quick stop at home on Tuesday, locking horns with the St. Mary's Rattlers at the Steinke Physical Education Center for a match that will begin at 6 p.m.
The Rattlers represent the first leg in a two-match break from Lone Star Conference action that will also include a visit to St. Edward's University on Thursday. TAMUK's (7-5, 2-2) defense will be looking for a bounce-back showing against St. Mary's after allowing their two most recent opponents to hit .207 and .277, respectively. This marked the first time in 2018 the Javelinas allowed consecutive opponents to hit above .200. In their previous four matches, the opposition hadn't posted a hit percentage better than .126.
Being back home should provide a boost for the squad. Going back to 2016, they own a record of 22-2 at the SPEC and the Javs haven't lost a home non-conference match since 2015. St. Mary's will be gunning for their first win in Kingsville since 2005. They've visited the SPEC nine times since that last victory, coming up empty in each instance. SMU does own a sizable edge in the overall series, however, with 28 wins compared to 16 losses.
This will be the second time these two programs have met in 2018 and TAMUK was on point in the first contest, as the Rattlers could only manage a success rate of .078 on 166 attacks and no player converted opportunities at a percentage higher than .190. Junior Sarah Miller (Long Beach, Calif.) and senior Madison Brabham (Kingwood, Texas) were two of the stars in the Javelinas' victory. Each player collected a double-double, as Miller totaled 15 kills and 14 digs to go with a .324 kill rate while Brabham logged 16 kills and 19 assists, hitting .333. Both student-athletes continue to provide coach Tanya Allen with versatility, as Brabham leads the squad in kills while tallying the second-most assists. Miller is in TAMUK's top three in spikes and scoops.
The Rattlers are still in the non-league portion of their schedule and currently own a 5-6 record. They used a Saturday sweep of the Newman Jets to snap a three-match losing streak. This will be just the second true road clash of the season for a program that's bidding to post a winning record away from home for the first time since 2013.
Coach Stephanie Armstrong is attempting to guide her squad to consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament after they captured the league title in 2017. The Rattlers excelled from the service line a year ago, with a mark of 1.47 aces per set that led the Heartland Conference and they're picking up right where they left off. So far in 2018, they own a rate of 1.43 aces per set, led by Haley Bradfute and Alissa Tolbert, who each have nine. Former all-conference selections Channing Hankins and Bree Perry have each resumed the roles they filled a season ago. Hankins' average of 3.35 kills per set is higher than the 3.29 she posted as a junior, while Perry continues to pace the team in assists with, currently sitting at 6.91 per frame.
Fans can tune in live to watch the match by visiting Javelinaathletics.com, where live stats will also be available, followed by a postgame recap. To stay current with Javelina volleyball all year long, follow @JavelinaVB on Twitter and @javelinasports on Instagram, like Javelina Volleyball on Facebook and visit Javelinasports.com.
