SHAWNEE, OKLA. — The Texas A&M-Kingsville volleyball team wrapped up its first day of competition at the OBU Fall Invite on Friday, picking up a pair of three-set wins. First they bested Union 25-17, 25-22, 25-16, before sweeping Arkansas Tech 25-23, 25-19, 25-14 to close out the day.
"I challenged the girls to make better offensive decisions this weekend, and I thought they did a nice job of responding," said coach
Tanya Allen-Gonzalez." "We were way more productive with broken plays today, and it paid off. I'm excited to see how much they are improving!"
Game One vs. Union (TN)
The Javelinas overwhelmed the Bulldogs, taking the victory in straight sets with standout performances from a handful of student-athletes. Sophomore
Ayanna Jackson was incredibly efficient on both sides of the ball, totaling nine kills with a .727 hitting percentage. Additionally, she blocked three Union attacks, a total matched only by freshman
Madelyn Wallace.
Junior
Jackie Alanis led the match in kills, recording 10, while sophomore
Meghan Stiefer launched nine successful attacks. Alanis also logged 15 digs for her third double-double of 2022. Nobody dug more balls than
Nicole Murff in the contest, as she logged 23. Sophomore
Sydney Whitmire paced the Javs in assists, setting up 15 Blue and Gold points, while freshman
Elisa Carli managed 11. Additionally, Carli served exceptionally well for the Javelinas with three aces.
The Javelinas claimed the first four points of the first set in a surge that featured an ace by Whitmire and a kill by Alanis. Union responded with three points of their own, trimming the Javelina's lead to one. TAMUK then went on an 8-1 run that saw a pair of Carli aces as well as multiple kills courtesy of Jackson. With a 13-5 edge, the Javelinas never looked back taking the set 25-17.
Union jumped out in front in the second set, taking a 4-1 lead before the Javelinas battled back and tied the contest at five apiece. The teams the exchanged blows until the match was knotted at 11. Kills by Wallace and sophomore
Allison Stachowiak, combined with a pair of Bulldog errors, put the Javelinas up 14-11. Later in the set, successful attacks from Alanis and Stachowiak handed the Javs a 17-13 lead before Carli's third ace and a Union miscue resulted in a five-point Blue and Gold lead. With a 22-16 score line, the Bulldogs won four of the subsequent five rallies, cutting their deficit to two. Alanis, however, halted the run, blasting the ball over the net for a kill and a 25-22 set win.
While down 5-4 in the third set, TAMUK using kills by Jackson, Alanis, and Steifer, gained a 10-7 lead. Each team took rallies before consecutive kills by Sitefer afforded the Javelinas a 16-12 edge. Union got a point back before a trio of errors increased TAMUK's lead to five. Two more Bulldog miscues, a kill by senior
Kailey Estrada, and an ace by Jackson then allowed the Javelinas to gain a nine-point edge. From there, Stachowiak put the finishing touches on a 25-16 victory with one final kill.
Game Two vs. Arkansas Tech
The Javs completed their second sweep of the day in dominant fashion, with both Jackson and Alanis recording 12 kills, while Whitmire totaled 22 assists and 12 digs along the way for the third double-double of her career. Jackson helped out defensively as well with two solo blocks, while Alanis led all competitors in aces with two. Additionally, Wallace set a new career-high in kills, launching seven successful attacks.
Murff delivered another solid performance, logging 17 digs, dishing out two assists and helping hold the opposition to a .077 hitting percentage.
The Javs got on the board quickly, using multiple Wallace and Jackson kills to take a 7-2 lead. Kills courtesy of Stiefer and Jackson combined with a Whitmire ace, resulting in a 14-7 score line favoring TAMUK later in the set. The Javs stretched their lead to eight before the Golden Suns stormed back, cutting the deficit to just one for a 23-22 score. ATU matched a kill by Sitefer before Jackson slammed an attack over the net, allowing her team to win the set 25-23.
TAMUK again found itself in the driver's seat, taking a 7-3 advantage to open up the second set. ATU whittled the Javelina lead down to two before a 7-1 run that saw Jackson and Alanis log multiple kills resulting in a 17-9 Blue and Gold lead. ATU answered, taking five out of the subsequent six rallies before fighting back to within three. With the score 23-19, a trio of Golden Sun errors allowed TAMUK to take the second set 25-19.
The third set was knotted at eight before back-to-back Alanis aces kick-started an eight-point TAMUK swing that put the squad up 16-8. Short after, with the score of 17-11. A kill by Stiefer and a slew of Golden Sun errors resulted in a 23-12 lead that was capped off by another successful Wallace attack and an ATU miscue for a 25-14 Blue and Gold win.
Competition in the Sooner State continues on Saturday, with the Javs facing host-school Oklahoma Baptist at 10:30 a.m. before taking on No. RV UT Tyler at 2:30 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.
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
