SAN ANGELO, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball team logged its highest number of aces in nearly two years and also totaled 12 blocks en route to a 25-18, 22-25, 25-14, 25-14 victory over the New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls in their 2019 season opener at the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational at the Stephens Arena at the Junell Center in San Angelo, Texas on Friday.
The 11 aces racked up by the Javelinas were the team's most in a match since Sept. 23rd, 2017, when they logged 16 against A&M-Commerce. Seven different players contributed at least one to that total, including junior Kapri Pelle (Auburn, Calif.), who had three.
Senior Melanie Casteel (Dallas, Texas) led all players with 13 kills on 27 swings for a kill rate of .296, second on the team behind only Talleyshia Morris (Tulsa, Okla.), who was successful seven times on 16 attacks with only one error for a .375 mark. Casteel and Morris were also two of five TAMUK players with multiple blocks, a group that included Pelle who filled up the stat sheet to the tune of 10 digs and nine kills.
Sophomore Emily North (Red Oak, Texas) piled up a match-high 26 assists and she helped her team craft a .309 attack percentage over the final two sets. On the back line, sophomore Nicole Murff's (San Antonio, Texas) 22 digs led all players.
The Cowgirls jumped in front by taking four of the first five points, but the Javelinas tied the score three times before using a run of seven straight points to move in front 14-9. Morris and North each had a kill and combined for a block during that run and TAMUK never looked back, leading by as many as nine before securing the set, 25-18. Murff totaled 12 digs in the first stanza.
Six tie scores marked the early going in set two before TAMUK logged five straight points, including a Kailey Estrada (San Antonio, Texas) solo block, to go up 12-8. The Cowgirls quickly erased that lead and drew level at 14-14. They later used four straight points to grab a two-point edge at 21-19 and held the lead the rest of the way to even the match.
The third set was completely dominated by the Javelinas, who posted a .364 success rate on 33 attacks in the frame, making only two errors. At one point, the Javs went on a 12-2 run to transform a slim, 5-4 advantage into an insurmountable 17-6 lead. Five different players logged a kill over that stretch and Pelle contributed her first ace. Any comeback attempt by NMHU was snuffed out by a Meghan Merlino (Sacramento, Calif.) kill and another Pelle ace for the final point of the frame.
A quick, early lead turned into another runaway for the victors in the final set, as the Blue and Gold used an ace and a block by junior Roxanne Morris (Goliad, Texas) to move in front, 6-2. With the score at 9-5, a spurt of five straight points gave the Javs a stranglehold on the set and the separation between the two teams grew as large as 12 before the Cowgirls crept within eight. Consecutive blasts by Casteel helped the Javs move to match point, where Pelle applied the finishing touch with her ninth spike to put Allen's crew at 1-0 in the new year.
Another match is on the docket for the Javelinas on the season's first day, as they'll take on Northwestern Oklahoma State 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.
