KINGSVILLE, Texas – Texas A&M-Kingsville's volleyball team opened the 2023 season with two victories over Ouachita Baptist and CSU Pueblo on the first day of the TAMUK Invitational.
"Overall, as a team, we did a great job attacking today," said head coach Tanya All-Gonzalez. "Our pins were taking big swings out of system. I also thought our middles did a great job blocking. "
The day was highlighted by Jeri Ficklen who recorded a career and match-high number of kills against the ThunderWolves with 13 while recording a hitting percentage of .800.
"Ficklen and Jackson both did a great job of getting kills in transition," said Allen-Gonzalez. "They have big arms and they hit for very high percentages."
The Javelinas started the day with a 3-0 sweep of OBU, posting a .404 hitting percentage as a team, as senior and LSC preseason player to watch Jackie Alanis led the team with 11 kills.
Right behind Alanis was 2022 All-American Ayanna Jackson who recorded 9 kills with a .467 hitting percentage, aiding in 13.5 total points.
Defensively, the Javs recorded 10 blocks against the Tigers with Jackson and sophomore Rylan Pollard combining for 12 block assists in the match.
In total, the Blue and Gold stifled the Tigers, holding them to just a .104 hitting percentage as a team.
TAMUK followed up the opening game win, with a, 3-1 win over CSU Pueblo, a team that qualified for the NCAA Tournament just a season ago.
The ThunderWolves jumped out to a quick, 8-3 lead in the first set before the Javelinas rattled off seven straight points to take the lead and momentum back.
The Javs would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the set, as Pollard delivered the final kill to take set one, 25-18.
Set two was a back-and-forth affair with both teams trading blows and the lead. That was until once again the Javelinas went on a six -point run to take a 16-13 lead as TAMUK went on to win the set, 25-23 securing the last two points of the set after being tied at 23 with a kill from Jackson and an attacking error by Pueblo.
The third set was controlled by the ThunderWolves who led in the set from start to finish leaning on outside hitter Payton Van Veen to lead the offensive production.
Another run by TAMUK in the fourth set however, spurred them on to victory going for a seven-point run to go up 11-4 in the fourth set, latter capping off the win with an emphatic Ficklen kill down the middle.
As a team, the Javelinas recorded 12 blocks and had a team hitting percentage of .264.
Up Next
The Javelinas now prepare for day two of the TAMUK invitational facing New Mexico Highlands and Quincy at 12:30 p.m. and 6:30 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 X, @JavelinaVB and @JavelinaSports on Instagram, liking TAMUK Volleyball on Facebook, subscribing to the Javelina Athletics YouTube Channel and visiting Javelinaathletics.com
