KINGSVILLE, Texas – For the second time in three seasons, the No. 6 Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball team has reached the semifinals of the Lone Star Conference Tournament, but to reach the tournament final for the first time in program history, the Javelinas will have go through the nation's No. 9 team, the Angelo State Rambelles, who they'll take on at 5 p.m. on Tuesday inside the Louise Herrington Patriot Center in Tyler, Texas.
The Rambelles have put together a 14-2 record that included a 13-0 start to the spring. They enter the tournament semis with an offense that ranks in the top three in hitting percentage and kills per set and they've also allowed the lowest rate of kills per set in the LSC.
ASU earned a date with the Javelinas by racing past Midwestern State in three sets on Wednesday thanks in large part to a spectacular evening from junior right side Kailyn Gilbreath. On 28 swings, she piled up season-high 17 kills while committing only one error for a .571 hitting percentage, another season-high. Gilbreath has racked up at least 10 kills in 14 of her team's 16 matches and her 3.48 kills per set average puts her third in the LSC.
Trying to slow down Gilbreath and her teammates will be a TAMUK squad that owns a rate of 2.61 blocks, tops in the conference and in the top 10 in the nation. It is also the best blocking average posted by TAMUK in their 10 years under coach Tanya Allen.
In the Javs' quarterfinal win over A&M-Commerce, they collected 17 rejections, their second-highest total of the year and that charge was led by freshman Ayanna Jackson (San Antonio, Texas). She finished with eight denials, marking the fifth time in 2021 she's posted more than five total blocks in a match. No one in the LSC can claim a higher mark than Jackson's 1.23 blocks per set average and she's the only player in the conference in the top 10 in blocks per set, kills per set and hitting percentage.
One student-athlete who's also put herself among the conference leaders in rejections and kill rate is junior Kailey Estrada (San Antonio, Texas). Her .312 hitting percentage is the league's fourth-best and she's sixth in blocks per set. For her career, Estrada averages owns a rate of 0.98 blocks per set, which is fourth-best in program history. The last time ASU and TAMUK met in the LSC postseason, Estrada tallied five denials and seven kills in a five set Javelina victory.
Links to live video and live stats for Tuesday's match will be available through Javelinaathletics.com and be sure to check back after the match for a complete 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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