KINGSVILLE, Texas — The Texas A&M-Kingsville volleyball team took down Arkansas Fort-Smith in three sets on Friday, besting the Lady Lions 25-20, 25-17, 25-20 in a Lone Star Conference matchup inside the Steinke Physical Education Center.
"They obviously did a very good job," said coach Tanya Allen-Gonzalez after the sweep. "Our offense was fast and I thought we did a great job of siding out, our side out percentage was really high, our hitting percentage was really high …. I think we just offensively overwhelmed them a little bit."
The Javelinas (10-6, 2-1 LSC) took down the Lady Lions (9-7, 3-2 LSC) for the first time in program history after UAFS got the better of the Javelinas in each of their first four matchups.
TAMUK's offense played a significant role in the win, as they used a .406 hitting percentage to cruise past UAFS. The figure marks the team's best offensive performance since the team used a. 417 hitting percentage to sweep Western New Mexico in 2017.
Sophomore Ayanna Jackson and junior Jackie Alanis were integral in eclipsing the .400 threshold, with Jackson turning in kills at a .520 clip, while Alanis boasted 16 successful attacks at .481. Joining Jackson and Alanis with double-digit kills, freshman Madelyn Wallace logged 10 with a .368 hitting percentage.
Setters Sydney Whitmire and Elisa Carli were excellent as well, with Whitmire recording 31 assists while Carli managed 15 and a service ace. Defensively, Nicole Murff led the way in digs with 14 as fellow senior Kailey Estrada posted three blocks.
UAFS jumped out a 10-7 lead early in the first set before multiple three-point Blue and Gold streaks that featured kills by Jackson, Alanis, and freshman Rylan Pollard tied the contest at 13. The matchup remained deadlocked until a 16-16 score line saw TAMUK string together four straight with a kill by sophomore Meghan Stiefer, an ace by Murff, and a successful attack by Pollard. The Javs never looked back with a Lady Lion miscue handing them a 25-20 set win.
In the second frame, UAFS again got out in front with a 5-2 edge, but the Javs battled back with an Alanis kill capping off a three-point surge. The squads traded rallies until Jackson slammed a Carli set over the net for a 10-10 tie. The Lady Lions then sided out before Jackson and Wallace's five consecutive Blue and Gold kills put the Javelinas in the driver's seat. Later in the set, with a 16-13 lead, an Alanis kill, and Carli ace propelled TAMUK to a 20-13 edge that eventually resulted in a 25-17 victory.
With TAMUK one set away from victory, the Javelina strung together five straight kills courtesy of Jackson, Murff, and Alanis for a 12-7 Blue and Gold lead. The Lady Lions answered with a run of their own and cut the deficit to one. Still leading 17-16, TAMUK took four of the next five, using momentum from a Jackson/Stiefer block assist to take a 23-18 edge. From there, Wallace and Alanis logged successful attacks securing a 25-20 set and match victory.
The Javelinas will be back in action on Saturday, hosting Oklahoma Christian in the Steinke Physical Education Center at 1 p.m. in another LSC contest.
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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