KINGSVILLE, Texas – For the first time in three weeks, the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball team will host a weekend of Lone Star Conference matches, with the West Texas A&M Lady Buffs due in town for a 7 p.m. meeting on Friday, followed by the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds, who will face the Javelinas on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville, Texas.
The Javs recorded a good start and a good finish to their most recent weekend of action, but those victories were sandwiched around a pair of conference losses. These two contests will give TAMUK a chance to get back to .500 in the LSC, as they currently sit in eighth in the league.
Freshman Nicole Murff (San Antonio, Texas) put together an outstanding weekend for the Blue and Gold, anchoring the defense with an average of 5.88 digs per set, the best total in the LSC. That stretch included TAMUK's victory over St. Edward's, during which Murff was credited with 39 scoops, the second-highest total in program history in a single match. Her rate of 5.14 digs per set is the LSC's third-best mark.
TAMUK's defense has also proved to be excellent at the net this season, as evidenced by the team's average of 2.18 blocks per set, second-best in the conference. Against St. Edward's, the Javs tied a season-high with 15 rejections, led by senior Haley Hutchinson (Georgetown, Texas), who collected eight block assists. The senior from Georgetown continues to close in on the program's all-time record for total blocks. The 62 she's accumulated in 2018 gives her a career total of 441, 42 away from the record held by Ada Ihemelu.
"We've settled down a little and decided who we want to be and who we're going to be," said coach Tanya Allen, "but I still think we have so much room for improvement that I think [our identity] is going to keep evolving and keep changing."
The Lady Buffs used the most recent weekend to leap above .500 by taking home dates against UT Permian Basin and Western New Mexico. Coach Jason Skoch saw his team post hitting percentages above .200 in each contest, with WT scoring sweeps on both occasions.
Outside hitter Taylor Kress was one of the stars of the weekend for Skoch, logging a double-double in both outings, including a 15-kill, 12-dig afternoon against Western New Mexico on Saturday, during which she hit .394. Sophomore Destiny Jones crafted a kill rate of better than .400 in each victory and has been WT's most efficient player on the offensive end, posting a success rate of .307 in 2018, fifth-best in the LSC.
"Hopefully, we can serve tough enough to get them out of system," said Allen. "We've also been a good blocking team and a good defensive team overall. I think what it boils down to is if we can side out well out of serve receive, they won't get those opportunities to transition and get kills."
Sophomore Chandler Vogel has been the anchor of West Texas's defense and is leading the league with an average of 5.42 digs per set. She set a season-high with 31 against Eastern New Mexico on Sept. 18th.
While the Lady Buffs hold an overwhelming, 50-7 edge over TAMUK in the all-time series, the Javelinas have been able to gain ground over the last four seasons, winning five of eight, including a 2016 series that saw the Blue and Gold dispatch WT three times.
The Greyhounds also own an advantage in their all-time series with the Javelinas, but the tables have turned over the last 13 seasons. Since 2005, TAMUK has gone 18-4 against their rivals from Portales and none of ENMU's wins during that stretch have come in Kingsville.
Outside hitter Jasmine Gannon presents the most formidable challenge for Allen's defenders. Her mark of 3.64 kills per set stands as the best in the LSC and her total of 222 finishers is 36 more than Texas Woman's Maggie Pyles, who sits in second. The native of Clovis, N.M. began her season with 21 smashes against Emporia State and has reached double figures in that category in every match this year.
"She has a really big arm," said Allen. "You have to make sure blockers are in the right position or she's going to be able to get the ball by you because of the pace she's putting on it. She also swings across the net and hits a few different types of sets, but I think the girls will be ready for it."
Gannon and her teammates recently got done with a string of five straight home conference games, a stretch they finished with three straight wins. The Greyhounds mark of 5-3 in the LSC has them in fourth place as they attempt to improve on a seventh-place finish in 2017.
Links to live video and stats of each match can be found on Javelinaathletics.com, which is also where recaps of each contest will be published postgame. 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.
