SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Senior Talleyshia Morris (Tulsa, Okla.) set career-highs with 21 kills and 11 total blocks and the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball team earned a narrow victory over the St. Mary's Rattlers, 25-20, 25-19, 21-25, 19-25, 15-13, on Saturday afternoon in Lone Star Conference action inside Bill Greehy Arena in San Antonio, Texas.
The Javelinas maintained their hold on first place with a 5-1 division record. They are also 6-2 in the LSC and 15-7 overall. StMU is 1-3 in divisional play, 2-6 in the conference and 8-8 overall.
The 11 blocks Morris piled up are tied for the fifth-most in a match in program history and the most by a Javelina since Laura Macek has 11 on Sept. 24th, 2011. She's also the first Javelina to top 20 kills in a match this season. She also hit .450 for the day, with just three mistakes on 40 attacks.
Another player who had a career day was sophomore Lauren Kadilis (Spring Branch, Texas). Her 38 assists are the highest total by a Javelina player in 2019 and she also pocketed her seventh double-double of the year with 11 digs. Sophomore Emily North (Red Oak, Texas) also put up a double-double with 17 helpers and 13 scoops.
Four Javelinas rattled off better than 10 digs, led by sophomore Nicole Murff (San Antonio, Texas) with 32. This represents the third time in 2019 Murff has logged over 30 digs.
A stretch of seven points out of 10 for the Javelinas, including two kills by Morris, put TAMUK up 8-5 in the first set. A quick 5-2 burst for the Rattlers brought them back to tie at 11 before a 9-1 run allowed the Javelinas to build a 20-12 lead. Morris tallied two solo blocks, a block assist and another kill during TAMUK's run, but StMU quickly moved within five points by collecting five-in-a-row. The Javs never relinquished the lead however and a Jordan Wonders (Corpus Christi, Texas) kill secured the first set for the Blue and Gold.
The Javelinas didn't waste much time reestablishing control in the second set, using an 8-1 run to gain a 10-4 edge. Three times, the Rattlers cut their deficit to one point, but their attempts to tie were turned away. With the score at 14-13, the Javs took nine of the next 11 rallies to make the score 23-15 and freshman Tammy Jo Grohman (San Antonio, Texas) provided the final smash for a 2-0 TAMUK lead.
The Rattlers grabbed the first four points in the third and spent most of the rest of the game trying to hold off comeback attempts by the visitors. The Javs cut their deficit to two, trailing 11-9, but StMU won seven of the next eight points to make the score 18-10. TAMUK again battled back, closing to within three points of the lead, only for the home team take three of the set's final five rallies, closing to within 2-1 in sets following a kill by K.K. Payne.
A 5-1 burst helped the home team quickly put the Javelinas behind, 10-4 and the Rattlers kept the Javelinas at arms-length for the rest of the fourth frame. Their lead was eventually stretched to eight as they reached set point at 24-16. The Javs collected the next three points before Shea Slusser's 10th finisher sent the match to a fifth game.
Neither team had a lead larger than two points in a barnburner of a fifth set, which included eight ties. St. Mary's earned the first breathing room in the last stanza, going ahead 7-5, but the Javelinas grabbed five of the next six points to go up, 10-8. The lead for the Blue and Gold later stood at 12-10 before a kill and an ace pulled the Rattlers level. A response came from the Javs in the form of smashes from Morris and sophomore Kailey Estrada (San Antonio, Texas), putting the visitors at match point. On the second match point, Morris capped her fantastic afternoon with one more kill to put this match in the win column for the Javelinas.
On Friday, the Javelinas will play the first of two consecutive home games, welcoming the Cameron Aggies to the Steinke Physical Education Center for a 6 p.m. match. 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.
