KINGSVILLE, Texas — The Texas A&M-Kingsville volleyball team is headed to Austin, Texas, for the Lone Star Conference Crossover Tournament, a three-day event that will see the Javelinas (5-3) take on a trio of LSC opponents in nonconference contests at the SEU Recreation and Athletics Center.
TAMUK will take on host-school St. Edwards (2-6) on Thursday at 6 p.m. in a matchup that features two teams that competed at the OBU Fall Tournament a week ago. The Hilltoppers went 2-2 on the weekend, falling to Newman and Oklahoma Baptist on day one before toppling Arkansas Tech and Union on day two. SEU is led by Maya Smalls in several statistical categories, including hitting percentage, kills per set, and points per set. Additionally, they are one of the conference's top defensive teams, sitting third in the LSC in blocks per set at 2.50 and seventh in digs with 15.17.
At 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, TAMUK will faceoff with Oklahoma Christian (6-2), who started the season strong, dropping contests only to Southwest Baptist and Central Oklahoma. The Eagles boast one of the league's top performers in Morgan Demuth. She ranks 10th nationally in blocks per set with 1.52 and is sixth in total blocks at 44. Demuth also owns a .316 hitting percentage and has helped opponents swing just .185 against OC. The Eagles record 3.03 blocks per set as a team, the second-best mark nationally.
Lastly, the Javs are set for a matchup with Eastern New Mexico (6-3) at noon on Saturday, ending their run of games in the Capital City. The Greyhounds also had an impressive start to their season, earning straight-set victories over Southeastern Oklahoma, Northwestern Oklahoma, and East Central. They had won five straight, including three at last week's Denton Volleyfest before running into Missouri Southern State on the final day. ENMU has excelled at the net in 2022, holding opponents to a .091 hitting percentage on the season, the best of any LSC program. Contributing to the cause, Mikaela Garvin, Jordan O'Conner Dempsey, and Gracelyn Stubbs all rank inside the top 20 on the conference blocking leader board, with Garvin also pacing the team in kills, points, and total attacks.
The Javelinas went 3-1 at the OBU Fall Tournament, picking up sweeps over Union and Arkansas Tech, before best the host school in a five-set thriller that saw TAMUK hand the Bison their first loss in the Noble Center since 2018, snapping a 23-game winning streak.
Notable performances came from senior Nicole Murff, who rewrote the Blue and Gold record books at the tournament, eclipsing the 2,000 dig threshold and etching her name atop the career leader board with her 2,010th dig in the contest with OBU. She recorded 91 total digs on the weekend, helping hold the opposition to a .156 attacking percentage.
Additionally, junior Jackie Alanis recorded a trio of double-doubles while averaging 3.8 kills per set. She logged 57 successful attacks across 15 sets, earning four service aces. Freshman Sydney Whitmire led the way in assists with 84, while sophomore Ayanna Jackson paced the team in blocks recording 12,
Fans can keep up with Javelina Volleyball all week 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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