DALLAS, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville volleyball team matched up in the first round of the Lone Star Conference tournament Thursday where they took down the UAFS Lions in five sets (20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 23-25, 15-11).
The Javelinas (20-9, 11-5 LSC) came into Thursday after sweeping the Cameron Aggies to close out the regular season three sets to none. The Javelinas also came into the match award winners as three Javelinas took to the court with honors.
"Man that was a good match" said head coach
Tanya Allen-Gonzalez. "It was good volleyball, there was a lot of offense happening and I think in the fifth set we jumped to an early lead and then we were able to control it the rest of the way out. I thought we stepped up tonight and overall our team played great".
The Javelinas ended the day with a .214 hitting percentage and 4 blocks on the evening. Senior outside hitter
Allison Stachowiak shined for the Javelinas recording a career high 16 kills while having a .441 hitting percentage, the highest in the match.
Set one began with the Javelinas coming out of the gates hot leading 5-2 before Arkansas Fort Smith battled back tying the set at 6 apiece. The Javelinas and Lions would go point for point until the 9-9 mark when a 3-0 run from UAFS made it a 9-12 set. The Javelinas however would battle back with a 3-0 run of their own tying things at 12. The Lions would then go on an 8-4 run being the first to 20 and leading the set 20-16. The Javelinas would begin a comeback of their own closing the gap to four at 23-19 before the Lions would end the set 25-20.
Set number two saw the Javelinas start out rattling off two in a row before the Lions got going and battled to a four all set. The Javelinas however would go on a 3-0 run making it 7-4 before a UAFS timeout cooled things off turning the set into a battle once again. Both squads trading blows until a 4-0 run by the Lions put them in front 11-10. The Javelinas would respond however going on a 5-0 run putting things at 15-11 before another UAFS timeout in an attempt to stop the TAMUK momentum. The Lions would retake the lead with a 3-0 run before the Javelinas went on a 3-0 run of their own, and then another 3-0 run making things 23-18. The Lions, however, wouldn't go quietly as they went on a 4-1 run getting within two at 24-22. A well-timed timeout and an even better-timed challenge would give the Javelinas set two 25-22
The third set saw the Javelinas come out on a roll as they led the lions 4-1 before forcing a UAFS timeout. This wouldn't do much to stop the momentum this time as the Javelinas came out of the timeout on a 6-4 run before another Lion timeout putting things at 10-5. The Lions would come out of the timeout and immediately respond with a score, but the Javelinas would follow with three of their own making it a 13-6 set. The lions would chop at their deficit getting into double digits at 14-10 before the Javelinas would go on yet another run accompanied by two
Rylan Pollard Aces making the set 17-10. The Javelinas would be the first squad to 20 leading 20-13 before the lions would put together a run of their own getting them to the 20-mark making the set 23-20. The Javelinas however would quickly extinguish any signs of a run and end set three 25-21.
Set four saw the Javelinas playing catch-up early as they went down 2-5 before a 4-0 run brought them back on top 6-5. The Lions would respond with a 7-0 run putting the set at 6-12. The Javelinas would have a hard time getting things started until the 8-15 point in the set where they went on a 6-1 run putting the set withing two at 14-16. The Lions would keep the Javelinas within arms reach for the time being putting together a 3-1 run extending the lead 19-15. The Javelinas would gain some momentum and threaten to end the match as they put a 4-1 run together coming withing one at 19-20. The Lions would gain a 24-21 lead at set point before the Javelinas knocked on the door putting it within one at 23-24. The Lions would prevail however, taking things to five sets with a 23-25 set four victory.
The Fifth and final set was all Javelinas in the early going as TAMUK had an early 6-1 lead before any signs of life on the UAFS side. The Lions would in fact come roaring back as they were able to go three straight coming within two at 6-4. The Javelinas would put a stop to the run going on a 5-1 stint of their own before UAFS rattled off four straight making it a close 11-9 set. The Javelinas quickly able to get to set point as they took three straight. UAFS not backing down began to gain some momentum before
Madelyn Wallace sent the Javelinas on to the next round.
The Javelinas are headed to round two, the semifinals of the Lone Star Conference Tournament facing DBU on their home turf as they are the host institution. First serve at 7:30 P.M in the Berg Center in Dallas, Texas.
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 X, @JavelinaVB and @JavelinaSports on Instagram, liking TAMUK Volleyball on Facebook, subscribing to the Javelina Athletics YouTube Channel and visiting Javelinaathletics.com
