CANYON, Texas — The Texas A&M-Kingsville volleyball team dropped a heartbreaker to UT Tyler in the 2022 Lone Star Conference Championship quarterfinals as the Javelinas recovered from a two-set deficit before falling 25-20,25-21, 16-25, 22-25, 17-15 at The Box. 

The No. 5 Seed Javelinas (20-10, 12-4 LSC) couldn't complete the comeback against the No. 5 Patriots (20-8, 12-4 LSC), despite logging more blocks and a better hitting percentage than their opponents. 

Junior Jackie Alanis and sophomore Ayanna Jackson led the way, with Alanis topping the match in kills with 24 at a .294 percent clip and Jackson dropping 16 kills with a .484 hitting percentage while logging the most blocks in the contest with six. 

Alanis, sophomore Meghan Stiefer, and freshman Elisa Carli all recorded double-doubles, with Alanis posting 11 digs, while Stiefer recorded 10 terminations and 20 digs. Additionally, Carli dished out 21 helpers and dug 14 of the opposition's attacks, as senior Nicole Murff matched Steifer's dig total, tying for the team lead. 

The Javelinas used back-to-back blocks by Estrada to take a 5-3 lead early in the first frame before the Patriots strung together five straight points to flip the script and take an 8-5 edge. Shortly after, consecutive kills by Jackson and Stiefer knotted the contest at 10 before UTT broke the tie with a string of points. The Javelinas trailed 18-17, as the Patriots claimed six of the following seven rallies for a 24-18 lead. Jackson and freshman Madelyn Wallace recorded kills, but UTT collected the final score for a 25-20 opening set win.

TAMUK trailed 10-9 in the second stanza before a three-point Blue, and Gold swing featuring a Carli ace resulted in a 12-10 Javelina lead. UTT then used a five-point shift later in the set to go up 17-14 before a Jackson kill, and a sophomore Sydney Whitmire ace helped knot the contest at 19. UTT, however, took six of the following eight points for a 25-21 win. 

After a 5-5 start to the third set, the Javelinas rattled off eighth-straight points in a run that saw kills by Stiefer, freshman Rylan Pollard and Alanis, as well as a Murff ace and multiple Jackson blocks. Now leading 13-5, TAMUK never took their foot off the gas, collecting a 25-16 victory and extending the match to a fourth set.

The squads traded three-point runs to begin the fourth before consecutive kills by Jackson resulted in a 10-7 Blue and Gold lead. The Javelinas kept UTT at arm's length for the majority of the set; however, the Patriots chipped away at the deficit until working an 18-18 tie. Things remained tight going down the stretch as a pair of sensational Alanis kills and a Carli ace handed the Javs a 25-22 victory that forced a fifth and deciding set.

UTT jumped out to an 8-6 lead in the fifth before Jackson logged a pair of kills and teamed up with Stiefer for a block allowing the squad to go up 9-8. The Patriots answered, tying things up before taking a 14-12 lead. A pair of UTT miscues knotted the contest at 14, forcing a win-by-two scenario with the winner advancing to the LSC semifinals. Hanna Carlson then worked a kill for the Patriots and Alanis for the Javelinas for a 15-15 tie. From there, a Javelina error and Jeorgia Jones kill cemented a 17-15 set victory and the match for UTT. 

The Javelinas now await their postseason fate after being ranked No. 10 in the NCAA South Central Region rankings ahead of this week's LSC Tournament. The NCAA selection show will be livestreamed on www.ncaa.com on Sunday, Nov. 13, at 9:30 p.m. 

Fans can follow Javelina volleyball all season long via Javelinaathletics.com, where they'll find links to live video and stats and a recap at the end of each match. Stay up-to-date with everything related to 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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