KINGSVILLE, Texas — The Texas A&M-Kingsville volleyball team trounced Lubbock Christian 25-21, 25-18, 25-20 in Lone Star Conference action at the Steinke Physical Education Center on Friday.
"We did a nice job offensively," said coach Tanya Allen-Gonzalez after the win. "I thought we actually did a nice job of blocking, we didn't have a whole lot of blocks but I felt like we took up a lot of space and we also did a very good job of serving which really helps keep them out of system."
The Javelinas (12-8, 4-3 LSC) swept the Lady Chaps (9-13, 5-6 LSC), winning their 12th straight set at home while remaining unbeaten inside the SPEC. Three Javelinas managed double-digit kills in the victory as sophomores Meghan Stiefer and Ayanna Jackson each posted 12, with junior Jackie Alanis recording 10. Additionally, Alanis tied senior Nicole Murff for the team's team dig leader, as the two logged 11 apiece. Jackson also paced the squad in blocks sending two LCU attacks back.
TAMUK hit .340 as a team, largely thanks to an impressive setting performance by sophomore Sydney Whitmire and freshman Elisa Carli. Both reached the 20-assist threshold, while Whitmire led the match with 23. Additionally, newcomer Madelyn Wallace and Steifer helped the team's efficient hitting percentage as the two each hit over .500.
Back-to-back kills by Stiefer kickstarted the match before LCU answered with two of their own. From there, the Javelinas scored five of the next six with multiple kills by senior Kailey Estrada as well as a block contributing to a 9-5 Blue and Gold lead. The Lady Chaps responded by scoring four straight and tying the contest. Consecutive kills by Stiefer combined with a freshman Rylan Pollard block to hand TAMUK a three-point edge. LCU slowly whittled the lead down, eventually pulling within one. With the score 22-21 favoring TAMUK, Jackson logged a kill before teaming up with Alanis for a block as a Lady Chap miscue resulted in a Blue and Gold set win.
The Javelinas started hot in the second frame, with a 7-2 lead thanks to a surge that saw multiple Alanis kills and an ace by Carli. The success continued with an Alanis ace putting the Javs up 9-3 before multiple LCU spurts cut the deficit to three. With the Javs up 13-10, Steifer, Jackson, and freshman Jeri Ficklen logged kills en route to an 18-11 edge. The Javelinas didn't let up, cruising to a 25-18 set win.
TAMUK picked up right where it left off in the third set, taking an early 9-2 lead, featuring two kills and two aces by Jackson. The Lady Chaps responded with a four-point swing later in the frame that saw an 11-9 Blue and Gold edge. With the Javs leading 16-14, a Wallace kill, Carli ace, and LCU error rebuilt a lead that wasn't relinquished as Wallace's seventh kill of the match capped off a 25-20 third-set win and a sweep.
The Javelinas will be back in the SPEC on Saturday, as they invite the Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds for a 1 p.m. matchup on homecoming.
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