KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Lone Star Conference Preview started with a bang on Thursday night as Texas A&M-Kingsville knocked off Angelo State in five sets, 3-2, to earn the program's first home win over the Rambelles since 2015.
The duo of Jackie Alanis and Aayanna Jackson led the way again for the Javelinas in kills with 18 and 12 respectively, with Jackson adding eight blocks in the win.
The improves TAMUK to 7-2 on the season, and marked the 15th straight win for the team inside the Steinke Physical Education Center.
"We really fought as a team tonight," said head coach Tanya Allen-Gonzalez. "There were at times we were unfocused and made some mistakes, but we always bounced back and found a way to win tonight."
As a team the Javelinas posted a .202 hitting percentage, and limited ASU to just .186, thanks in part to 11 total blocks produced by the Javelina defense on the night.
How it Happened
The Javelinas took the first set of the night 27-25 after the two teams went back and forth trading the lead throughout with both teams posting separate 4-0 runs in the set.
Late in the set, the Rambelles held set point on two separate occasions before TAMUK rallied at the end to score three straight points capped off by a kill by Rylan Pollard to take the set.
Angelo State took the next two sets, 25-21, 25-19, scoring 27 kills as a team across the two sets.
TAMUK answered in the fourth, jumping out to a 11-6 lead to open the set.
After trailing shortly in the fourth, TAMUK led the rest of the set as a service ace by Samantha Estrada clinched the set with service ace to win, 25-20 forcing the decisive fifth set.
After being tied at 7-7, to open the final frame, the Javelina offense came alive with eight of the last 10 kills.
Four different Javelinas contributed kills in the run, aided by three ASU errors, the last of which sealed the win for TAMUK, 15-9 for the set, and 3-2 for the match.
Up Next
The Javelinas now prepare to take on the Lions of Arkansas Fort Smith in day two of the LSC Preview tomorrow at 6 p.m.
