SHAWNEE, OKLA. — In a day that saw senior
Nicole Murff shatter the Texas A&M-Kingsville school record for career digs, the volleyball team split on the final day of the OBU Fall Invitational, besting host-school Oklahoma Baptist 25-21,16-25,26-24,20-25,16-14, before falling to No. RV UT Tyler 28-26,30-28,23-25,20-25.
Early in the matchup with OBU, Murff surpassed the 2,000 digs bench mark before collecting her 2,010th career dig, rewriting the Javelina records and surpassing Kim Martinez's previous record that's stood since 1999.
"Nicole did a fantastic job this weekend," said coach
Tanya Allen-Gonzalez on Murff's new school record. "I'm proud of her and so excited for her accomplishment. She's worked hard and earned it. Overall, I'm proud of our performance this weekend. We showed a ton of improvement and showed a lot of potential to grow. I enjoy working with this group!"
Game One vs. Oklahoma Baptist
The Javelinas survived a five-set thriller against the Bison, delivering OBU's first loss at the Noble Complex since 2019 and snapping a 23-game winning streak inside their home arena.
A sensational game by junior
Jackie Alanis highlighted a slew of incredible performances that helped the Javs win. Alanis launched 23 successful attacks while recording 18 digs and a pair of service aces.
In her record-breaking match, Murff led the squad in digs with 24 while dishing out five helpers and recording two aces of her own. Helping Murff in defense, senior
Kailey Estrada and- sophomore
Ayanna Jackson totaled four blocks each, with sophomore
Allison Stachowiak and sophomore
Meghan Stiefer logging three. Both sophomore
Sydney Whitmire and freshman
Elisa Carli eclipsed the 20-assist threshold, with Whitmire piling up 25 and Carli 21.
The Bison started hot, earning the first six points of the first set before kills by freshman
Madelyn Wallace and Jackson cut the deficit in half. Back-to-back kills by Jackson later in the frame resulted in a 13-12 score line before a back-and-forth slugfest ensued, tying the game at 18. OBU took a one-point edge before a four-point Blue, and Gold swing featuring a kill by Stiefer and a block by Jackson put the Javs up 22-19. Another Stiefer kill and two Bison miscues then handed TAMUK a 25-21 victory in the first frame.
OBU again got out in front, scoring the first five points before gaining a 9-4 lead. They remained in front throughout the set, taking six of the last seven points and winning 25-16.
The Javelinas started hot in the third, using a four-point run to take a 9-3 lead early in the set. A six-point swing that saw multiple Alanis aces resulted in a 14-6 score line before OBU slowly crawled their way back, eventually finding themselves down 24-22. Consecutive Bison kills followed, knotting the competition at 24 before a kill by Jackson and a poor OBU set allowed the Javs to win 26-24.
The Bison began the fourth set with a 7-1 lead before the Javelinas pieced together five straight to tie the game 9-9. A battle ensued, with teams trading points until OBU developed a slim one-point lead. Up 19-18, OBU strung together four straight before taking the set 25-20.
Neither team could gain an inch in the fifth and deciding set; trading blows until the Bison saw themselves grab a 14-12 lead. Stiefer and Estrada then combined for a block before an OBU attacking error knotted the contest at 14, creating a win-by-two situation. Wallace fired a successful attack over the net, putting the Javelinas in the driver's seat before a solo block courtesy of Stiefer cemented a 16-14 victory.
Game Two vs. UT Tyler
The Javelinas fell to the Patriots in four sets, despite a pair of double-double performances. Alanis posted 12 kills and 11 digs, while Stiefer logged 10 kills and 14 digs. Nobody was more efficient in attack than senior
Tammy Jo Grohman, who boasted seven kills at a clip of .875. Additionally, Stachowiak led the way with 14 successful attacks, Whitmire set up 22 kills, and Murff added 27 digs to her season total, which now sits at 2,046.
This first set saw a back-and-forth battle, with teams exchanging points right from the start before a Wallace kill put the Javs up 12-9. The Patriots answered quickly, grabbing the next five, and rallying to take a two-score lead. TAMUK eventually worked a 23-23 tie, thanks to a Stiefer kill. Estrada and Stachowiak then eamed up for a block and the 24th point. The Patriots wrangled a tie, forcing a win-by-two situation broken by a Carli kill and a Murff ace that afforded TAMUK a 28-26 set win.
Similarly, the second set saw the score knotted at six apiece before the Javelinas stole five of the following six points and took an 11-7 lead. UTT used a run of their own to fight their way back and take a 24-22 edge. Stiefer logged a kill, and Whitmire recorded a service ace for another 24-24 draw. The teams continued to fight until the Patriots recorded back-to-back kills for a 30-28 win.
In another tight set, the Javelinas used kills by Jackson and a Stiefer ace to take a 5-2 lead before a UTT spurt resulted in an 8-8 tie. Up 18-16, the Patriots rattled off three straight for a 21-16 edge representing the largest lead in the set. Successful attacks by Stachowiak and Steifer, combined with a UTT attack error for a 24-23 score line favoring the Patriots, before a UTT kill cemented the frame in their favor.
The Javelinas jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the fourth set thanks to multiple Grohman kills before UTT worked their way back, tying the contest at 10. The Patriots stole six of the subsequent eight rallies, affording them a four-point edge. Later in the frame, UTT used another four-point swig to stretch teir lead to eight before winning the set 25-20.
TAMUK now turns their attention towards St. Edwards, with a matchup in Austin, Texas slated for 6 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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