SAN ANGELO, Texas — The Texas A&M-Kingsville volleyball program began its 2022 season on Friday, splitting contests against a pair of in-region opponents as part of the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational Tournament inside Stephens Arena at the Junell Center. They fell victim to a potent Colorado State-Pueblo squad, 25-20, 25-20, 25-19, before securing a five-set win over East Central 25-12, 25-15, 16-25, 20-25, 15-11.
"I thought we did some good things today, we just didn't do them consistently enough," said coach
Tanya Allen-Gonzalez after the first day of the season. "In the first match our blocking numbers weren't where they needed to be and our offense was up and down. In the second match we were out of system a lot and that made it harder for us to get kills. Overall, I'm proud of the team and I'm excited about how much we've learned on day one."
Game One vs. Colorado State-Pueblo
TAMUK fell to CSU-Pueblo in the opening matchup of the tournament, despite a trio of Javelinas leading the way in three different statistical categories.
Nobody racked up more assists than sophomore
Sydney Whitmire, who tallied 17 helpers, while sophomore
Ayanna Jackson led the way in kills, logging 11. Additionally, senior
Nicole Murff recorded 17 digs, five more than anyone else on the floor.
Senior
Tammy Jo Grohman kick-started the first set, logging three of her team's first five points and handing TAMUK a 5-4 lead. A back-and-forth set followed, with the game tied at 10 apiece before consecutive blocks and a trio of kills put the ThunderWolves up 15-11. The Javelinas fought their way back with a service ace by newcomer
Elisa Carli, a kill by classmate
Rylan Pollard, and a CSU-Pueblo miscue resulting in a 17-17 score line. The teams traded points down the stretch before the ThunderWolves closed the set out on a 5-0 run.
The Javelinas began the second set scoring three straight points thanks to a junior
Jackie Alanis ace and a sophomore
Meghan Stiefer kill. Strong defensive play allowed CSU-Pueblo to fight back, resulting in an 11-11 score. From there, the ThunderWolves took seven of the following eight points and an 18-12 lead. Consecutive miscues by the opposition and another ace by Carli had the Javs down three before kills by Jackson and Alanis resulted in a 20-19 Thunderwolf lead. However, a 5-1 CSU-Pueblo run followed, cementing their second-set win.
The Thunderwolves built up a 12-6 lead in the third set before the Javelinas rallied behind Wallace who logged a pair of kills, and Jackson, who sent back-to-back strikes over the net, trimming the deficit to two. With the score 15-13, the ThunderWolves rebuilt their lead, eventually taking the final set and winning the match.
Game Two vs. East Central
In a five-set thriller, the Javelinas battled their way to victory over the Tigers, largely thanks to strong offensive performances by Alanis and Jackson. Alanis piled up 21 kills, with Jackson totaling 13, while Whitmire logged 31 assists. Meanwhile, Murff recorded 34 digs, a figure tied for the fifth-best single-game performance in program history. Jackson and Alanis also helped defensively, each logging three blocks, with Estrada managing four.
The first set began in a hurry, with the Javelinas snagging the first seven points of the contest with a run that featured an ace by Whitmire as well as kills by Alanis and freshman
Madelyn Wallace. TAMUK continued the set leading wire-to-wire until a kill by Murff cemented the 25-12 win.
The Javs picked up right where they left off in the second frame, starting with a 5-2 edge before the Tigers tied things at six apiece. The teams traded blows until TAMUK gained a slim 11-10 lead. From there, the Javelinas picked up 10 of the following 11 points with multiple kills by Wallace and an ace by Murff gifting a 22-11 Blue and Gold lead. A Tiger error put the finishing touches on the stanza, positioning the Javelinas one set away from victory.
The third frame featured a back-and-forth start, resulting in a 14-13 score line favoring the Tigers. ECU strung together an 8-1 run, allowing them to coast into the fourth set.
A 7-0 Tiger run began the fourth set before the Javelinas answered with a four-point surge of their own. TAMUK continued to chip away at the deficit, tying the game at 15 apiece, courtesy of a Jackson kill. Later in the frame, an ace by Whitmire kept things knotted at 19 before a 5-1 ECU run forced a deciding set.
ECU claimed the first two points of the fifth before the Javelina rattled off five straight, with Alanis, Estrada, and Grohman all recording kills. The Tigers eventually evened the contest at 9-9 before Alanis launched three successful attacks for a 12-9 Blue and Gold lead. A kill by Estrada and a Tiger service error put the Javs one point away from victory, as Jackson slammed home a Whitmire set to earn the program its first win in 2022.
The Javelinas wrap up the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational on Saturday, with a faceoff against Southern Nazarene at 8 a.m. and a matchup with New Mexico Highlands at 4 p.m.
Fans can follow Javelina volleyball all weekend 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.
Watch your Javelinas live today on the Javelina Sports Network sponsored by Mendoza's Pharmacy. Get the Official Javelina Athletics Mobile App today! Download on the App Store or Get It on Google Play to keep up with all the news, scores and updates of your favorite Javelinas
