KINGSVILLE, Texas – After starting their season by battling through a difficult nonconference lineup, the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball team is set to open their Lone Star Conference schedule as well as their home slate with a match against Western New Mexico on Friday at 4 p.m. and a 2 p.m. tilt with UT Permian Basin on Saturday with both matches at the Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville, Texas.
"[I'm] really excited to be at to be at home," said coach Tanya Allen. "Having the support of the crowd and being able to sleep in our own beds and go to class, all of those things will help up play better."
Allen will be looking to reach .500 in conference openers, but her record in home lidlifters stands at a sterling 6-1, with the only loss coming in her in first match as TAMUK head coach in 2011.
The Javelinas finished strong in their most recent tournament, capturing two wins on the final day of the Barry University Classic. In both contests, the Blue and Gold posted attack percentages above .250 and that mark jumped above .300 in four of seven sets. After scoring their first sweep of the season at the expense of Southern Connecticut, the Javelinas flexed their defensive muscle in their final match in Florida, limiting the Bridgeport Purple Knights to an attack percentage of .064. Three players reached double figures in digs in TAMUK's final win of the weekend.
Freshman Nicole Murff (San Antonio, Texas) has quickly assumed a prominent role on the squad, posting an average of 4.90 digs per set, a mark that places her fifth in the LSC, and has reached 20 scoops in half of her team's matches. She's joined in conference's top 15 in digs per set by teammates Sarah Miller (Long Beach, Texas) and Loren Washington (Austin, Texas). Murff has also proven herself adept from the service line, with a team-high 14 aces.
Another first-year Javelina, Emily North (Red Oak, Texas) continues to set the pace for the Javs in the assists department with 194 for an average of 6.47 per set. Both marks place her in the conference's top 10.
"I've been very impressed with [both Emily and Nicole]," said Allen. "I've always been pretty hard on setters. Emily's done really well responding to that pressure. I think Nicole has a lot of talent as a libero. She hasn't even tapped in to what she's capable of yet. I think they've both done a great job so far.
Senior Madison Brabham (Kingwood, Texas) continues to be the team's sparkplug on offense. Her rate of 3.73 kills per set places her atop the conference and she's also contributed 122 assists, including a season-high of 25 against Bridgeport.
The Javelinas will be facing a pair of teams they haven't lost to since the programs joined the Lone Star Conference. In 2017, both the Mustangs and the Falcons were swept when they visited Kingsville and Western New Mexico was also shutout at home by TAMUK. Coach Jim Callender is in his 21st season in Silver City and he's amassed more than 700 victories during that time, including a pair of wins over the Javelinas, but he hasn't seen his team beat TAMUK since 2008.
Callender's biggest challenge heading in to 2018 was replacing all-region middle blocker Heather Verrill. Their current record stands at 3-5 with WNMU's most impressive win coming over Arkansas-Fort Smith, a team that was receiving votes nationally at the start of the season. Freshman Bria Augustine has been the squad's most potent offensive weapon, averaging 3.65 kills per set, behind only Madison Brabham in the LSC, while Gabi Lau has spearheaded the Mustang defense. Her 5.32 digs per set lead the league.
UTPB is trying to climb out of the LSC basement after a 4-25 year in 2017. The Falcons are looking for their first winning season on the volleyball court since 2011 when they went 19-16. Attempting to end that drought, coach Tim Loesch brought in seven new players, including five freshmen.
The Falcons' season has gotten off to a solid start and they currently sit at 4-3. Junior Skyler Friel will present the toughest challenge for the Javelina defense. Her .301 hit percentage has her in the conference's top five, as do her 12 aces. Her best performance of the season came in UTPB's first win, when she accumulated 20 kills to with a .455 kill rate, five assists, four aces, five digs and six total blocks. Friel will be looking to stop a trend that has seen the Falcons held to a hit percentage under .100 in each of their last two visits to Kingsville.
Links to live stats for both matches will be available at Javelinaathletics.com and a recap of each contest will be published on the website as well. 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.
