KINGSVILLE, Texas – Closing out a successful start to their home and Lone Star Conference schedules, the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball team blew past UT Permian Basin, 25-14, 25-20, 25-23 on Saturday afternoon at the Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville, Texas.
Freshman Emily North (Red Oak, Texas) easily outpaced the field in assists with 22 while senior Madison Brabham (Kingwood, Texas) contributed 13. Freshman Nicole Murff (San Antonio, Texas) led the Javs with 17 digs and not far behind was junior Sarah Miller (Long Beach, Calif.) with 16. Junior Haley Hutchinson (Georgetown, Texas) had another good day on defense with seven blocks.
No Javelina reached double figures in kills but five contributed five or more in that category, with Brabham's nine leading the way. Freshman Jordan Wonders (Corpus Christi, Texas) put up the team's best attack percentage at .312.
Outstanding defense helped the Javelinas (7-3, 2-0) take the opening frame, as they held the Falcons (5-4, 0-1) to a kill rate of .000 while totaling four-and-a-half blocks. Two kills by Brabham helped Javs jump in front, 5-0, but a 6-0 run by the visitors put TAMUK down by one. After the teams drew even at 9-9, the home side took nine of the next 11 and never let their opponents get back on their feet. Freshman Jordan Wonders (Corpus Christi, Texas) put the set to an end with her third kill.
The second game proved to be a tougher test for TAMUK. Through 18 points, the score was tied and neither squad had held a lead larger than two. Sparked by a pair of smashes from Brabham, the Javelinas went on a 5-1 spurt to forge a 15-9 advantage. Not long after, UTPB tied things at 19 by taking five straight, but TAMUK had an answer. By taking six of the final seven rallies, with the clinching point coming on a block by freshmen Kailey Estrada (San Antonio, Texas) and Wonders, the Javs moved ahead 2-0.
The Javelinas were the first team to take a substantial lead in the third, scoring four-in-a-row to notch an 11-7 edge, only to see UTPB respond with four straight to tie things at 12. Another 4-0 spurt by UTPB put them up, 16-13 and their lead grew as large as four at 21-17, but they couldn't hold off another Javelina surge. Two kills from Miller in a 4-0 stretch helped tie the score. UTPB was able to go in front by one at 23-22, but the final three points went to the Blue and Gold capped off by Hutchinson's seventh block.
Conference play continues for the Javs when they visit Texas Woman's on Friday at 12 p.m. and Texas A&M-Commerce on Saturday at 1 p.m. 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.
