KINGSVILLE, Texas – The No. 10 Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball team has battled through the first half of its 2021 campaign and put together a perfect 6-0 record, but the Javelinas will start the year's second half by immediately being tested with three road matches in four days, starting on Sunday with a 4 p.m. clash against the St. Mary's Rattlers at Bill Greehey Arena in San Antonio, Texas. On Tuesday, the Javs will travel to the TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building in Laredo, Texas to take on the Texas A&M International Dustdevils at 6 p.m. and the two teams will meet again in the same setting on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
The Javelinas capped off the regular season's first half with consecutive wins over St. Edward's, completing a four-match sweep of a Hilltopper team that handled the Javs twice in 2019. In a sweep of SEU on Tuesday, TAMUK hit a season-best .310, led by junior Kailey Estrada (San Antonio, Texas) and her 12 kills at a .526 clip. Estrada's .364 hitting percentage for the season ranks third-best in the LSC and 16th in the country.
In Wednesday's rematch, the Javelinas accumulated a 13 blocks, their highest total of the year, and sophomore Tammy Jo Grohman (San Antonio, Texas) set a career-high with seven block assists.
The Javelinas continue to rank in the top half of the Lone Star Conference in every offensive category, including assists per set, where the squad's 13.95 mark puts them at the top the LSC and is fourth-best in the nation.
Most of the credit for the Javs excellent assist numbers goes to junior Emily Witt (Rose Hill, Kan.), whose average of 11.29 assists per set is easily the best in the conference and only six players in the nation own a better average. Witt is also second on the team in digs per set and hitting percentage. Her efforts recently made her the first Javelina in eight seasons to take home the LSC's Setter of the Week award.
After the season's first week, the Javelinas were tied with the Rattlers at the top of the South Division, but since then, StMU has dropped four-in-a-row, including a pair of heartbreakers to SEU in which the Rattlers won the first two sets. Saturday's match will afford them the chance to return to San Antonio for their first home match since their last victory on Jan. 27th.
On the flip side, the Dustdevils will be attempting to continue building off the momentum from a pair of victories over StMU. The showstopper for TAMIU in those wins was outside hitter Mackenzie Catalina, who averaged 5.63 kills per set for the week. In her team's second meeting with the Rattlers, Catalina set a career-high with 26 kills and added 16 digs and three total blocks. For the season Catalina is averaging 4.57 kills per set, tops in the conference and fourth in the nation.
To follow each match live, visit Javelinaathletics.com, where links to live video and stats will be posted, as will a post-match recap. 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.
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