KINGSVILLE, Texas – For the second time in the last three Lone Star Conference Tournaments, the No. 8 Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas and the Texas A&M-Commerce Lions will butt heads in the conference postseason, with the newest chapter in this rivalry taking place in the LSC Tournament quarterfinals inside the Steinke Physical Education Center at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in Kingsville, Texas.
In 2018, these squads met in the conference semis for a match that went the distance. The Javs raced in front by capturing the first two sets, only to see the Lions take the next three on their way to an LSC Tournament title. This marked the first meeting between these programs in the postseason since 1991, when A&M-C defeated TAMUK in the tourney's first round.
Only three players who took the court in that 2018 nail-biter are still on the Javelina roster, two of whom are junior Nicole Murff (San Antonio, Texas), the squad's leader in digs, and junior Kailey Estrada (San Antonio, Texas), who owns TAMUK's best hitting percentage. Estrada's .328 kill rate is the conference's fourth-best and Murff's average of 5.39 scoops per set places her third in the LSC
Among the new faces the Lions will have to contend with are freshman Ayanna Jackson (San Antonio, Texas) and junior Emily Witt (Rose Hill, Kan.). Jackson has put together one of the best freshman seasons the program has ever seen, a year good enough that she's in the top 10 in the conference in hitting percentage, kills per set and blocks per set.
No one in the LSC can come close to matching Witt's rate of 10.58 assists per set, a number that is also 17th in the nation. She also owns a mark of 3.83 digs per set, second-highest on the roster and 16th in the conference.
The second-seeded Lions earned a date with No. 1 seed Javelinas by disposing of Oklahoma Christian in four sets in the tournament's opening round. Over the last two sets of their win over the Eagles, A&M-C hit .366 and committed only five errors on 82 attacks. Among the leaders for the Lions was freshman Maddy Rashford, who set a new career-high with 17 kills, a team-high. Junior Nicki Gonelli matched her season-high with 15 finishers and hit .333 on 33 swings.
On defense, the Lions are second in the conference in digs per set at 19.92 and are led in that category by senior Riley Davidson and junior Lyric Hebert. Hebert posted a new season-high against OC by putting up 32 digs and her seven assists were also a new personal best. Davidson is fourth in the conference in digs per set at 5.06 and she's also contributed 20 kills and 10 blocks over her last six matches.
Fans can keep up with all the action on Wednesday evening by visiting Javelinaathletics.com, where there will be links to live video and live stats, as well as a recap postgame. 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.
