KINGSVILLE, Texas – Two more matches remain in the regular season for the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball team before the Lone Star Conference Tournament begins on Nov. 16th and the Javelinas' final chance to secure a spot in the postseason comes during a weekend in they'll first be taking on the Oklahoma Christian Eagles at the Eagles' Nest in Oklahoma City, Okla. on Friday at 6 p.m., followed by a visit to the Arkansas-Fort Smith Lions, who will be hosting the Javs on Saturday inside the Stubblefield Center at 1 p.m in Fort Smith, Ark.
In the midst of a crowded race for the 12-team LSC Tournament, the Javelinas sit in 10th, 7-8 in league play and 13-8 overall. Their record puts them two games ahead of the first two teams out, Oklahoma Christian and Texas Woman's, but also just two games behind sixth-place Dallas Baptist. Just one game ahead of the Javelinas are St. Edward's and UAFS, with the eighth spot and the chance for a home match in the tournament's first round still up for grabs.
TAMUK will be trying to recapture the form it showed in its home finale, when they battled their way to a dramatic, five-set victory over St. Mary's, erasing a 2-1 deficit to win 23-25, 25-12, 17-25, 25-19, 15-12. The brightest star for the Javelinas on that day was freshman Ayanna Jackson (San Antonio, Texas), who churned out a career-high 22 kills and did so while hitting .442 with only three errors on 43 attacks.
Jackson was also credited with six rejections against the Rattlers, the sixth time in 2021 she's reached that plateau. Her efforts in the middle have yielded an average of 1.00 blocks per set for the season, tied for the second-best mark in the LSC.
The Javelinas have also received a boost from the return of sophomore Jackie Alanis (McAllen, Texas), who made her first start in nearly a month on Friday and contributed 26 total kills over her team's most recent home weekend. After leading all players with 12 smashes on Friday, she contributed 14 more kills and 11 digs on Saturday for her fifth double-double of the year. Alanis currently owns a rate of 3.54 kills per set, which is tied for fifth-best in the LSC.
Much like the Javelinas, the Eagles and Lions are also eyeing spots in the conference tournament, with UAFS at 8-7 in the LSC and OC holding a 5-10 record.
The Lions have been attempting to find some stability over the course of season that has included multiple win streaks and more than one losing skid. After winning five of six in mid-October, they've dropped three of their last five entering a weekend that they'll start by facing Texas A&M International on Friday.
UAFS has players in the top 10 in the conference in multiple statistics, led by sophomore Hannah Holland, who is second in the LSC in aces per set. She's collected nice aces over her team's last four matches and also owns the best hitting percentage on the roster at .313.
The Eagles' season began with four wins in their first six tries, but they had yet to string together consecutive wins since then until Nov. 5th and 6th, when they topped Midwestern State and Cameron. In just the program's second year since being revived in 2019, OC is attempting to make it back to the postseason after a brief LSC Tournament cameo in the spring. Among the players coach Jason Skoch will need to rely on is libero Brylie Berryman, who has posted the conference's sixth-best mark in digs per set.
Fans can follow Javelina volleyball all weekend via Javelinaathletics.com, where they'll find links to live video and stats and a recap at the end of each match. Stay up-to-date with everything related to Javelina volleyball all season long by following @Javelina_VB and @JavelinaSports on Twitter, @JavelinaVB and @JavelinaSports on Instagram, liking TAMUK Volleyball on Facebook, subscribing to the Javelina Athletics YouTube Channel and visiting Javelinaathletics.com.
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