AUSTIN, Texas – The St. Edward's Hilltoppers hit .263 on the night and narrowly slipped past the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball team in three straight sets to claim a 25-23, 26-24, 25-21 victory on Friday night in Lone Star Conference action at the Recreation and Convocation Center in Austin, Texas.
The .263 hitting percentage, which came on 114 attacks, is the second-highest mark allowed by the Javelinas in 2019. The Hilltoppers finished with 42 kills and 12 errors, as well as 39 assists and eight aces. SEU's defense was credited with 51 digs and 10 total blocks.
The Javelinas hit .185 on the night with 33 kills, 13 errors and 108 attacks. TAMUK's 33 assists and two aces were accompanied by 56 digs and six blocks.
Sophomore Jordan Wonders (Corpus Christi, Texas) tallied a team-high nine kills without an error on 20 attacks. Wonders' .450 hitting percentage led all players.
Sophomore Lauren Kadilis (Spring Branch, Texas) was the night's top setter with 20 assists. Her 14 digs gave her her sixth double-double of the year while sophomore Nicole Murff (San Antonio, Texas) led the team in scoops with 16.
Neither side led by more than three points during a first set in which the lead changed hands six times. The Javs started the night by taking five of the first seven rallies, only to see their hosts win four straight for a 6-5 lead. The Hilltoppers took their largest lead of the game at 12-10 and again at 13-11, but the Javelinas came back to tie five times before moving ahead at 18-17. The Javelinas outscored SEU 7-3 over one stretch for a 23-20 lead, but it was all Hilltoppers after that. They notched the last five points, the last one coming on an ace from Madison Heald, to steal the set.
The Hilltoppers took an early, 8-4 lead in the second after consecutive scores from Alex McAndrew and Heald, but four smashes from Wonders made the difference in a 7-3 run that tied the score at 11. The lead continued to go back-and-forth before a kill from sophomore Kelsi Luckenbach (Calallen, Texas) and block courtesy of freshman Tammy Jo Grohman (San Antonio, Texas) and sophomore Kailey Estrada (San Antonio, Texas) put the Javs up and at set point at 24-23. However, the home team nabbed the next three points, clinching a 2-0 advantage thanks to a Maya Smalls block.
The initiative in the third set was quickly seized by SEU, as they grabbed a 7-2 lead and pushed their advantage to as many as six at 17-11. At that point, the Javelinas got back into the set, winning six of seven and slicing their deficit to one. The Javs got as close as one point two more times, the final instance being at 20-19, but St. Edward's then regained control, winning four of the next six points before a kill from Katarina Mendez closed out the contest.
On Saturday, the Javelinas will be in San Antonio, taking on St. Mary's for the second time this season in a match that will start at 2 p.m. To keep up with Javelina volleyball all season long, follow @JavelinaVB and @JavelinaSports on Twitter and Instagram, visit TAMUK Volleyball on Facebook, subscribe to the Javelina Athletics YouTube Channel and visit Javelinaathletics.com. Watch your Javelinas live today on the Javelina Sports Network sponsored by Mendoza's Pharmacy.
