KINGSVILLE, Texas – Sophomore Kelsi Luckenbach (Calallen, Texas) fired off a career-high 16 kills and junior Emily Witt (Rose Hill, Kan.) nearly snagged a triple-double as the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball team breezed past the St. Mary's Rattlers in straight sets, 25-17, 25-21, 25-21 on Tuesday night in Lone Star Conference action at the Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville, Texas.
The Javelinas continue to reset their program-record for longest winning streak and best start to a season with a record that's now 10-0. The Rattlers dropped to 2-8.
"I think we worked really hard," said coach Tanya Allen. "There were a lot of players where we were scrappy and we got balls in the air. We covered really well. I thought St. Mary's did a great job blocking and we were able to get a lot of those balls in the air and give ourselves a second-chance opportunity to swing."
Luckebach's 16 kills bested the career-high of 13 she set on Wednesday and she reached Tuesday's total while hitting .342. Witt led all players with 30 assists, logged 10 digs and added seven kills without an error for a .636 hitting percentage. Freshman Ayanna Jackson (San Antonio, Texas) hit .421 with nine kills on 19 swings to go with four total blocks. Junior Nicole Murff's (San Antonio, Texas) 11 digs tied for a match-high.
The night's momentum was quickly stolen by the Javelinas in the opening frame, when three rockets from Luckenbach helped the home team go up, 5-0. The Rattlers fought back to get within one at 9-8, but they could never forge a tie and TAMUK increased its lead to three at 17-14 before going on a 6-1 run that provided some breathing room. Moments later, an StMU ball handling error providing the set's clinching point.
It was the visitors who held the lead for much of the next game, using an early 4-0 spurt to go ahead 7-5 and later increasing that margin to 19-15 after stringing together three-in-a-row. The Javs took over after that however, starting with a streak of four straight points that leveled the score. The Rattlers won the next rally, but a kill from Jackson followed by a Roxanne Morris (Goliad, Texas) ace put the home team on top. The Javs sealed the set by taking four of the next five, capped by a solo block courtesy of junior Kailey Estrada (San Antonio, Texas).
The third set required another come-from-behind effort by the Javelinas after a stretch in which the Rattlers took six of nine points put the guests ahead 18-16. Smashes from Witt and Morris helped spark a 5-0 TAMUK run, making the score 21-18, and both players added another kill after the Rattlers closed to within two. The teams followed that by exchanged scores before freshman Allison Stachowiak (Brownsville, Texas) applied the final blow with her first kill of the night.
The Javelinas and Rattlers will meet again at the SPEC at 6 p.m. on Wednesday. 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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