KINGSVILLE, Texas – Less than six months since the end of arguably the best year in program history, the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball team is taxiing back into take-off position for the start of the 2021-22 season, which will begin with four matches in San Angelo, Texas at the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational at the Stephens Arena at the Junell Center on Friday and Saturday.
Day one in San Angelo will pit the Javs against the Western Colorado Mountaineers at 10 a.m. and the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers at 2 p.m. One day later, TAMUK will take on the East Central Tigers at 8 a.m. and the Anderson Trojans at 6 p.m.
No volleyball team in school history ever finished with a better record or put together a longer winning streak than the 2020-21 Javelinas, who also made history by capturing the program's first-ever division title with a 12-0 regular season record. Nearly all of the members of that squad have returned for the fall, giving the Javelinas another chance to chase what would be the first Lone Star Conference Championship in school history. Unlike in the spring, TAMUK will also have the opportunity to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Headlining the list of those back in Blue and Gold for coach Tanya Allen are a pair of LSC preseason award winners in junior Emily Witt (Rose Hill, Kan.) and freshman Ayanna Jackson (San Antonio, Texas). Witt's recognition came after a spring season in which she led the conference in assists per set at 10.07, a mark that was the sixth-best for a single season in program history. She also logged the team's second highest rate of digs per set at 3.68 and hit double figures in that stat in every match she appeared in.
Jackson's spring saw her become the first Javelina ever named LSC Freshman of the Year and LSC Defensive Player of the Year. No one in the conference could match her average of 1.29 blocks per set, the 13th highest rate in the country and the best by anyone from TAMUK in more than 20 years. Jackson led the Javs in kills as well with a season-high of 21 in a Jan. 27th victory over St. Edward's.
The Javelinas will also benefit from another year with two-time all-conference selection Nicole Murff (San Antonio, Texas) holding down the libero spot. Through three seasons, Murff owns an average of 5.15 digs per set, far and away the best in program history. She also enters the year with 1,432 career digs, putting her within striking distance of the program record of 2,009, which currently belongs to Kim Martinez.
One of the changes for the Blue and Gold will be on the outside, where Roxanne Morris has gone from outside hitter and jack-of-all-trades to assistant coach. To fill the role Morris left behind, the Javs will be looking to take advantage of the talents of a group that includes seniors Kelsi Luckenbach (Calallen, Texas) and Kapri Pelle (Auburn, Calif.) and sophomore Tammy Jo Grohman (San Antonio, Texas), as well as newcomer Jackie Alanis (McAllen, Texas). Luckenbach's average of 2.94 kills per set in the spring was a career-high and good enough for third on the team, while Alanis arrives in Kingsville after spending her the last two seasons at Nicholls St.
In order to reach their goal of winning a championship, the Javelinas will have to battle their way through a 27-game schedule and take on a list of conference foes that includes the preseason No. 1 in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Poll, Angelo State. The defending conference champion Rambelles were joined in the AVCA's preseason top 25 by No. 20 UT Tyler and two other teams from the LSC also received votes.
The Javs begin the year with nine consecutive matches on the road or at neutral sites before starting their home and conference schedules on Sept. 17th with a 7 p.m. matchup against the Cameron Aggies. TAMUK will play nine times at the SPEC in the 2021 regular season, with the final home date being No. 6th, when they'll host St. Mary's at 1 p.m.
Fans can follow all the action from the season's first weekend by visiting Javelinaathletics.com, where there will be links to live stats, live video and a post-match recap at the conclusion of each contest. 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.
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