KINGSVILLE, Texas – While senior Madison Brabham (Kingwood, Texas) picked up her third triple-double of the season, the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball team was handed a narrow, 18-25, 25-16, 18-25, 25-22, 16-14 defeat by West Texas A&M on Friday evening at the Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville, Texas.
Brabham finished the evening with 23 assists, 19 kills and 10 digs. All three of her triple-doubles have come in her last five matches and she's also reached at 20 assists three consecutive times.
Two other Javelinas joined Brabham in topping 10 kills, as junior Sarah Miller (Long Beach, Calif.) was credited with 13 and senior Haley Hutchinson (Georgetown, Texas) matched her season-high with 12.
Freshman Emily North (Red Oak, Texas) passed out 34 assists, a game-high, as were freshman Nicole Murff's (San Antonio, Texas) 36 digs. North set a season-high with 18 scoops.
TAMUK's offense started the match firing on all cylinders. They took a quick 5-2 edge and never trailed after that. The Lady Buffs battled back to tie things at 10, but TAMUK snatched 10 of the next 12 rallies for a 20-12 advantage and they secured the game when Miller buried a set from North. The Javs posted a .410 hitting percentage in the stanza to move ahead, 1-0.
The Lady Buffs turned the tables on their hosts in the second frame, never trailing as they drew level. Four straight points stretched a 6-5 lead out to 10-5. TAMUK managed to creep within two by taking seven of the next 11 and they remained only two points back as the score moved to 19-17, only to see the Lady Buffs win five of the eight rallies that followed to earn a set point. On their third chance, the visitors tied score thanks to a Destiny Jones kill.
With the score tied at six in the third, the Javelinas took control and never looked back. Of the next 16 points, 12 went to the Blue and Gold, with Hutchinson contributing a pair of kills and two block assists. The closest WT could get after that was within four. The Javs scored seven of the last nine points before freshman Kailey Estrada (San Antonio, Texas) sent one to middle of the floor to put her team one set away from a win. TAMUK's defense allowed just eight kills from the Lady Buffs in the frame while forcing just as many errors.
Unfortunately, it was not to be. WT held a slim lead for most of the fourth game before a 4-1 spurt gave them breathing room at 15-11. Three times, the Javs closed to within one, the last instance at 23-22 but they couldn't find the tying tally and a blast from Lindsey Smith sent the match to the final set.
The first three points of the last frame went to the Blue and Gold and they held that lead again when Miller contributed a kill, putting the Javelinas ahead 9-6. West Texas came back to tie, but TAMUK edged in front by two. The Lady Buffs managed to even things again at 13-13 before a service error by the visitors set up a match point. That would be the last time the Javelinas would score, however. A pair of kills provided the Buffs with a match point that Selena Batiste capitalized on with an ace.
Saturday brings with it a new challenge, in the form of the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds, who will take on the Javelinas at 2 p.m. inside the SPEC. Live video and stats, as well as a recap of the match will be available via Javelinaathletics.com. 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.
