KINGSVILLE, Texas – The first month of the season is almost in the books and the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball team is set to close September and start October during a five-match stretch that will include the team's first two intradivision games of 2019.
This portion of the schedule will begin with perhaps the Javelinas' (9-4, 1-1) toughest test of the season to this point, a home matchup against Lone Star Conference rival and division foe No. 11 Tarleton on Friday at 6 p.m. at the Steinke Physical Education Center, in Kingsville, Texas. The SPEC will play host to another conference match on Saturday at 2 p.m., when the Javs take on Dallas Baptist University. On Monday, coach Tanya Allen and her squad will be in Weatherford, Okla. tangling with Northwestern Oklahoma State at 1 p.m. and Southwestern Oklahoma State at 4 p.m. Finally, TAMUK will visit Lubbock Christian on Tuesday for a match that will begin at 6 p.m. inside the Rip Griffin Center, in Lubbock, Texas.
Four of TAMUK's next five opponents have a winning record entering the weekend, including the 7-3 Texans, who started their LSC schedule by topping two other teams placed in the same division as TAMUK and TSU, St. Edward's and St. Mary's. With the LSC absorbing the Heartland Conference and splitting the volleyball programs into three divisions, each team's divisional record will determine its seeding in the conference tournament.
Even with the influx of new teams, Tarleton (7-3, 2-0) was still picked to finish atop the table in the LSC's preseason poll after they won the league title in the regular season and advanced all the way to the national quarterfinals in the NCAA Tournament. Among the returners for coach Mary Schindler are seven players who were on the 2018 All-LSC roster, including outside hitter Adriana Darthuy, who was named the conference's preseason offensive player of the year in August. Darthuy and her teammates will be looking to add to a five-game win streak Tarleton owns over TAMUK that includes a matchup in the 2016 LSC semifinals.
In contrast to the Texans, DBU (8-4, 1-1) was placed 13th in the LSC in the preseason, but coach Cathy Kokel has guided the Patriot to a 7-4 record through 11 matches, including a six-game win streak, the program's longest since 2015, which was broken in a Saturday loss to St. Edward's.
DBU's defense has put together the fourth-highest rate of blocks per set in LSC and its anchored in part by Keely Hardin and Alyssa Pevehouse, who are both in the top 10 in the conference in digs. Topping DBU's leaderboard on offense is junior Brooke Clarke, who owns 110 kills, ninth in the LSC.
"We need to watch a lot of film," said Allen, "and know these teams as much as possible. Tarleton and DBU are both really good. Tarleton has really good offense and a lot of firepower. Dallas Baptist is very good defensively. I think, at this point, we do what we do best and try to put that on the floor and hopefully it matches well with whoever our opponent is."
The stalwart for the Javelinas on defense has been sophomore Nicole Murff (San Antonio, Texas), the conference's leader in digs with 257 and 5.59 digs per set. Murff has totaled 61 more scoops than anyone else in the LSC and her average puts her in the top 30 in the country. She's also reeled off 21 aces, which puts her atop the LSC and ties her for 18th in Division II. As team, TAMUK has racked up 84 aces, 20th in the nation.
Sophomore setter Lauren Kadilis (Spring Branch, Texas) has continued to carve out a spot for herself in the starting lineup. Over TAMUK's previous four matches, she's collected 88 assists and two double-doubles, including a 32-assist, 27-dig evening against Henderson State, helping the Javs battle past the Reddies in five sets.
"When Lauren first came in," said Allen, "we knew she was extremely talented. She's very athletic, she's a smart kid and she has a lot of passion for the game. Starting out, we knew she was going to be a very good setter and a very good player in general, but she needed to calm down and learn the offense and hone her skills a little bit. She's started to do that and she's also one of our better defenders."
One of the players who's been joining Kadilis in putting up double-doubles is junior Roxanne Morris (Goliad, Texas). In the victory over HSU, her 13 kills were accompanied by 19 digs. Against UT Tyler on Saturday, she put up 10 smashes and as many scoops in a come-from-behind win that got TAMUK its first Lone Star conference win.
Links to live video and stats for every match can be found on Javelinaathletics.com, where you'll also find postgame recaps after the final point. Watch your Javelinas live today on the Javelina Sports Network sponsored by Mendoza's Pharmacy. 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.
