KINGSVILLE, TEXAS –On Saturday, the Texas A&M-Kingsville volleyball team claimed victory, defeating the St. Mary's Rattlers 23-25,25-12,17-25,25-19, 15-12, thanks to a handful of impressive performances.
 
"It was an exciting match," said head coach Tanya Allen. "Up and down on both sides of the net, I thought tonight we did a much better job offensively. We had a few different hitters contributing which definitely made us more of a threat".
 
Junior Emily Witt (Rose Hill, Kan.) played an integral part in the victory leading all competitors with a career-high 55 assists to go along with 10 digs. Additionally, Witt represents the first Javelina to compile more than 50 assists in a single match since Casey Klobedans picked up 57 against Midwestern State in November of 2017.
 
While Witt was setting the table, sophomore Jackie Alanis (McAllen, Texas) and freshman Ayanna Jackson (San Antonio, Texas) dominated at the net, with Alanis earning a double-double, combing 14 kills with 11 digs, with Jackson terminating the ball a match-high 22 times. In addition to her success offensively, Jackson led the Javelinas in blocks with six. 
 
Third-year Javelina Nicole Murff (San Antonio, Texas) recorded 31 digs against StMU, increasing her career total to 1,832, which places her second-all time in the statistic, as she passes Kenisha Reaux, who reached 1,804 in her Blue and Gold tenure spanning from 1996-99. 
 
Also, putting together a stellar defensive performance, sophomore Jordan Schenkel (San Antonio, Texas) collected 15 scoops and led all competitors with four service aces. 
 
After a 5-5 start to the first set, St. Mary's rattled off four straight points that earned them a 9-5 lead before TAMUK stormed back with a four-point run of their own to even the set at 10 apiece. The set went down to the wire as back-to-back kills by senior Kelsi Luckenbach (San Antonio, Texas) knotted the frame at 23, before a Javelina error and a Rattler kill handed StMU the victory, 
 
The Javs began the second set in a hurry jumping out to a 3-0 advantage, thanks to kills by Alanis and junior Kailey Estrada (San Antonio, Texas) and an ace by Witt. The Rattlers stormed back, taking a 4-3 lead before the Javelinas stole 11 of the next 14, resulting in an 18-9 advantage, and they never looked back to claim the set by 13 points.
 
SrMU began the third set with an 8-1 run, collecting a lead that they never relinquished with the Javelinas unable to string together more than a trio of points at a time. Blue and Gold errors piled up until St. Mary's snagged a 25-17 win, placing them one set away from victory. 
 
After claiming the first two points in the fourth frame, StMU stormed back to a 7-4 lead before the Javelinas evened things up at 13 apiece. Teams traded points until TAMUK rattled off 10 of 12, delivering a 22-17 lead capped off by a trio of kills courtesy of Jackson, Witt, and Murff. 
 
The deciding set came down to the wire with both teams rattling off runs until the match was deadlocked at 10 each. Kills by Jackson, sophomore Tammy Jo Grohman (San Antonio, Texas), and freshman Allison Stachowiak (Brownsville, Texas) combined with three Rattler errors allowed TAMUK to run away with the final set, 15-12.
 
The Javelinas now turn their attention to a pair of road games against Oklahoma Christian and UAFS in the final regular-season contests of the 2021 campaign. Keep up with 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.
 
Watch your Javelinas live today on the Javelina Sports Network sponsored by Mendoza's Pharmacy. Get the Official Javelina Athletics Mobile App today! Download on the App Store or Get It on Google Play to keep up with all the news, scores, and updates of your favorite Javelinas