KINGSVILLE, Texas – For the third time under coach Tanya Allen, the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball team has started a season 4-0 and the Javelinas will try and keep their hot start rolling when they come home for five matches in three days as part of the Emerald Beach Hotel Javelina Volleyball Invitational, which will take place from Sept. 12th – 14th at the Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville, Texas.
The Javs will start off with two matches on Thursday, first taking on St. Mary's at 12 p.m. before battling Westminster at 6 p.m. Friday pits them against Augustana at 1 p.m. and Edinboro at 7:30 p.m., preceding a Saturday matchup with Southwest Baptist at 10:30 a.m.
The Javelinas' 4-0 start was achieved with the loss of just a single set during the season's opening weekend and they've won 11 consecutive games through those four matches. This start is the program's best since they began the 2016 campaign 7-0, which represents the longest win streak to start a season in program history.
"I think we did a lot of positive things," said Allen, "and obviously its great that we won, but we've got a lot that we need to work on and a lot that we need to refine. The good thing is we have a lot of talent and we have a lot of kids that are really contributing and can contribute more."
Outstanding defense was a common theme in each win for TAMUK and they've held their four opponents to a combined hitting percentage of .034. Against Southeastern Oklahoma State, the Javs collected 24 total blocks, including eight from sophomore Kailey Estrada (San Antonio, Texas), which matched a career-high. They then held Fort Lewis to a hitting percentage of -.087, forcing 22 errors against 14 kills on 92 attacks in a 3-0 win. Both of those marks represented new single-game bests in the Tanya Allen era. For Estrada, her 16 total blocks are fifth in the Lone Star Conference.
"I think we can get better," said Allen. "We did a phenomenal job and our numbers were pretty good. We did a great job blocking and a great job defending, but I still think a lot of balls hit the ground that I know we can dig. I know there are situations where we aren't reading the play the way I that we should be. I think we did a very good job, but we're only going to get better."
Senior Melanie Casteel (Dallas, Texas) has started the year as a force for her team on the offensive end. She's fired off 46 kills with a .344 attack percentage. In two of the Javelinas' first four victories she hit better than .400, the two highest kill rates in her Blue and Gold career. For her efforts, she joined sophomore Nicole Murff (San Antonio, Texas) on the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational's All-Tournament Team.
"Melanie's an excellent athlete," said Allen. "She jumps high, she has a cannon for an arm. She just lacks confidence every now and then. I think, with a year under her belt, she's a little more confident. If she can stay confident and not be critical of herself, she'll do really good things for us this year."
The list of five opponents who'll be in Kingsville for this tournament includes two programs that will be taking on the Javelinas for the first time, in Westminster and Edinboro. At the other end of that spectrum is St. Mary's, who recently became league rivals for TAMUK, having joined the Lone Star Conference prior to the start of the 2019 campaign.
The Rattlers and the Javelinas will be meeting for the 37th time in a rivalry that goes back to 1988. While StMU holds a 28-18 advantage in the series, the Javs won all three matchups in 2018. For 2019, three all-conference players are back in the fold for third-year coach Stephanie Armstrong. Through three games, St. Mary's owns a 2-1 record that includes consecutive sweeps of Tuskegee and Southern Arkansas. Sophomore Alissa Tolbert has reached double-digits in kills in all three of her team's matches so far in 2019 and senior Bree Perry is averaging better than 10 assists per sets. Both players were first-team All-Heartland Conference players a year ago.
Live video, live stats and postgame recaps of every match can all be found on Javelinaathletics.com throughout the weekend. 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.
