AUSTIN – Freshman Nicole Murff (San Antonio, Texas) racked up 39 digs, the most in a match by a Javelina in more than a decade, and the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball team sweated out a 25-20, 25-27, 25-20, 20-25, 15-13 victory over the St. Edward's Hilltoppers at the Recreation and Convocation Center in Austin, Texas.
"We had a lot of players thrown into some new roles," said coach Tanya Allen, "and I was very proud of how well they responded. Our entire team stayed positive and focused, no matter what role they were asked to fill."
Murff's total will sit in second place in the program record book, behind only to Tara Grier's 44-dig performance against Tarleton State on Nov. 3rd, 2007. This was the second time she's topped 30 scoops in 2018, as she collected 32 against Texas Woman's on Sept. 14th.
"[Nicole] did a phenomenal job," said Allen. "Not only did she have a very good game defensively, but I also thought she did a great job passing and serving."
Murff was by no means the only player who contributed to TAMUK's ninth win. Senior Madison Brabham (Kingwood, Texas) posted her third triple-double of the season, with a line that included 20 assists, 19 kills and 13 digs. She's now passed out at least 20 helpers in five of her team's last seven matches.
Joining Murff and Brabham with double-digit digs were junior Sarah Miller (Long Beach, Calif.) with a season-high 19 and freshman Emily North (Red Oak, Texas) with 12. The 104 scoops by the Javelinas represented their highest total in over a year. North added a game-high 30 assists for her fourth double-double of the season.
The Javelinas and Hilltoppers shared six ties in the opening game before the Javs notched seven straight scores, including two kills by Brabham for a 15-8 lead. The Hilltoppers were able to get within one, but could never close the gap completely. The last four points of the set went to the Blue and Gold with freshman Kailey Estrada (San Antonio, Texas) and senior Haley Hutchinson (Georgetown, Texas) combining for blocks to tally the final two marks on the scoresheet. TAMUK totaled five blocks in the stanza, committed only four errors on 41 attacks and hit .293.
St. Edward's used several Javelina attack errors to take a 7-2 edge in set two and they managed to keep their guests at arms-length for the majority of the frame, with their lead growing as large as six. Trailing 21-15, a kill by Hutchinson and a block by Estrada sparked an 9-2 run that put the Javs on the verge of taking the set at 24-23. The Hilltoppers battled back and evened the match at 1-1 with three straight blocks, the last two by Mikayla Parker and Alexa McAndrew.
A stretch where the Javelinas took eight of 11 erased a one-point deficit and thrust the visitors in front, 11-7. St. Edward's later fought back to tie the score at 16 and took a slim, 19-18 lead, but the Javelinas turned on the jets after that. Two more combined blocks by Hutchinson and Estrada helped them take seven of the final eight rallies for a 2-1 advantage. The Javs held their opponents to a kill rate of -.053 in the frame.
The fourth game saw St. Edward's run away from an 8-8 tie with a stretch where they took 11 of 15 and, though the Javs got within two, the Hilltoppers regained the momentum and forced a decisive fifth set.
Neither side led by more than two points at any time during a final game that included 11 ties. The Hilltoppers used three straight points to jump in front of the visitors 13-12, but TAMUK found their composure and used kills by junior Talleyshia Morris (Tulsa, Okla.) and Miller to retake the lead. An attack error by Maddie Miksch then allowed the Javelinas let out a sigh of relief and collect the victory.
A Lone Star Conference opponent is next on the docket for the Javelinas, who will visit Angelo State on Friday at 7 p.m. Be sure to follow @JavelinaVB on Twitter and @javelinasports and @JavelinaVB on Instagram, like Javelina Volleyball on Facebook and visit Javelinasports.com to keep up with Javelina volleyball all year long.
