LAREDO, Texas – Junior Kailey Estrada (San Antonio, Texas) churned out 11 kills while swinging at a .529 percentage to help the No. 10 Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball team push their season-opening win streak to a program-best eight games by sweeping the Texas A&M International Dustdevils, 25-20, 25-22, 28-26 on Tuesday night in Lone Star Conference action at the TAMIU Kinesiology and Convocation Building in Laredo, Texas.
"I love that this team is so competitive," said coach Tanya Allen. "In the third set, we made too many unforced errors, but managed to fight back and win the set. Our middles were really effective attacking in transition and that opened it up for Meghan on the outside. She was able to capitalize on the one-on-ones and had a great night."
The Javelinas remain the only undefeated team in the South Division and their 8-0 record gives them a four-and-a-half game lead over second-place St. Edward's. TAMIU is now 3-6 in the LSC and 5-6 overall.
For Estrada, this is the second time in three games she's led the team in kills and posted a hitting percentage above .500. Her 11 smashes were matched by senior Meghan Merlino (Sacramento, Calif.) and 10 more were added by freshman Ayanna Jackson (San Antonio, Texas).
Merlino's night also included a 13 digs for her third double-double of the year and junior Emily Witt (Rose Hill, Kan.) reached that benchmark for the sixth time in six games with 31 assists and 10 scoops. Junior Nicole Murff (San Antonio, Texas) picked up a team-high 19 digs and senior Roxanne Morris (Goliad, Texas) was credited with 10.
The Javelinas used a streak of four straight points in the first set to break an 8-8 tie and their hosts were never able to erase that lead. Another 4-0 spurt later in the frame boosted TAMUK's lead to 20-14 and, after the Dustdevils closed to within three points, the Javs won three of four, capped by a TAMIU attack error to put away the first game.
In the second stanza, a block and an ace from Estrada helped the Javs gain a quick, 5-3 edge and they never trailed after that, eventually building a 17-12 advantage. While the Dustdevils eventually cut that lead to two, successful attacks from Merlino and Estrada help TAMUK rattle off four-in-a-row to make the score 21-15. Another comeback attempt from TAMIU followed and they soon moved to within one point of their guests at 23-22. Estrada stopped the rally there, however, with consecutive kills to ice the set and put the match at 2-0
Through most of the third frame, it looked like the Dustdevils would force a fourth set and they built a lead of 22-18. At that point, the Javs began a comeback that would end the night. A rejection and a rocket from Estrada helped TAMUK put together a 6-1 run to jump ahead 24-23. While TAMIU rebounded to reach set point twice, a block by Witt and Jackson, a kill from Jackson and a Ariana Guerra attack error provided the Javs with the points they needed to lock down victory No. 8.
The Javelinas will meet the Dustdevils again on Wednesday in Laredo for another match at 6 p.m. 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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