KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville volleyball team went five sets for a second night in a row with the Javelinas coming up short against the Arkansas Fort Smith Lions, 3-2 (21-25, 25-20, 18-25, 25-22, 15-9).
The loss drops TAMUK to 7-3 on the season and snaps a 15-match home winning streak that dated back to 2021.
"We competed hard in crunch time, but we are a little inexperienced," said head coach
Tanya Allen-Gonzalez. "We didn't stick with the scouting report when points were on the line."
Sophomore
Rylan Pollard put together a strong performance in the loss, recording her second triple-double of the season with 15 kills, 22 assists, and 13 digs.
TAMUK started the night strong, taking the first set, 25-21 as
Jackie Alanis and
Ayanna Jackson recorded five kills each followed closely by
Meghan Stiefer with four.
The Lions struck back in the second set tying the match following the 25-20 set win thanks in part to a 7-2 run to go up 23-15 late in the set.
The Javs responded with five straight points, before UAFS found the final two points to kill any comeback attempt.
Defense was the order of the third set as the Blue and gold recorded four total blocks as a team in the set.
The Javelinas jumped out early to a 5-1 lead in the set, then later finished stronger with a 10-2 run to go up 2-1 for the match winning the set, 25-18.
UAFS did not go away though, with a 25-22 win in set four with 17 kills as a team while holding the Javelinas to a .154 hitting percentage as a team.
In the fifth set, the Lions took the lead early and did not relent taking the 15-9 set win and the match, 15-9.
The Javelinas are back in action tomorrow afternoon, as they face St. Mary's at the SPEC for their Gold Rush game at 3 p.m. against the Rattlers.
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
