KINGSVILLE, Texas – Eight games remain in the 2019 regular season for the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball team and the Javelinas find themselves in a deadlock with the St. Edward's Hilltoppers for first place in their division in the Lone Star Conference, as another weekend of conference play approaches for each team.
TAMUK will be on the road as they attempt to keep pace with SEU, first visiting the Midwestern State Mustangs on Friday for a 6 p.m. match at the D.L. Ligon Coliseum in Wichita Falls, Texas. On Saturday, the Javs will invade Denton, Texas, attempting to steal a win from the Texas Woman's Pioneers at 1 p.m. at Kitty Magee Arena.
The Hilltoppers will also be on the road, battling TAMUK's last two opponents. SEU will play Cameron on Friday evening before a Saturday afternoon clash with Arkansas-Fort Smith. The 'toppers do own a head-to-head advantage over the Javs, having won the first meeting of the season between the teams, but they will tangle one more time in 2019: in Kingsville on the season's final day. TAMUK and SEU own identical records in division and conference play and have the same win percentage overall.
Senior Talleyshia Morris (Tulsa, Okla.) and junior Roxanne Morris (Goliad, Texas) have played integral roles for their team in 2019, on both offense and defense. Talleyshia Morris has remained a fixture in the middle, with a team-high 93 blocks and an average of 1.04 blocks per set that puts her in the top 10 in the LSC. On the offensive end, the senior's 160 kills are the second-most on the roster and just two shy of her total from all of 2018. Against St. Mary's on Oct. 12th, she set a pair of season-highs for her team with 21 kills and 11 total blocks, the highest rejection total for a Javelina since 2011.
Roxanne Morris is right behind her teammate in kills, ranking third on the team with 120. She's also played an important part on the back line, racking up 252 digs and 2.90 digs per set, second-best on the squad behind only sophomore libero Nicole Murff (San Antonio, Texas), who remains atop the conference in both statistics.
Both TWU and MSU are looking for a strong finish to the season to lock down spots in the conference tournament. The top 12 teams earn a chance to compete in the LSC's postseason and TWU (10-10, 6-4, 3-3) currently owns the ninth seed. MSU and St. Mary's are locked in a battle for the final spot, both possessing records of 2-4 in their divisions and 3-7 in the conference, but StMU owns the edge in overall record.
One of the breakout stars in the LSC in 2019 has been TWU's Trixie Oche. The sophomore middle blocker sits at the top of the conference leaderboard and is tied for 22nd in Division II in blocks per set at 1.22. Oche is the most obvious reason the Pioneers own the second-best rate of blocks per set in the conference and are tied for 26th in the nation in that category. In a road win over West Texas A&M on Oct. 5th, Oche collected a double-double with 10 kills and 10 blocks as TWU topped the Lady Buffs in four sets. Oche also has her team's second-highest kill total and highest hit rate.
Despite a sluggish first month of the season, the Mustangs have won three of their last four matches. The player who has caused the most trouble for MSU's opponents this season has been middle blocker Sarah Eakin. Her .321 hitting percentage places her eighth in the LSC and no one on the MSU roster comes close to her rate of 2.45 kills per set. In her team's win over Southwestern Oklahoma State on Tuesday, Eakin made just one error on 13 attacks for a .538 kill rate, as her team scored a sweep.
Links to live coverage of each Javelina match can be found on Javelinaathletics.com and a postgame recap will be on the site at the conclusion of each contest. 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.
