KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville volleyball team remained perfect through the second day of the TAMUK Invitational, earning two wins on Saturday over New Mexico Highlands and #RV Qunicy.
In its first match of the day, TAMUK dismantled the Cowgirls in straight sets, 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-26) before capping off the invitational with a 3-2 victory over the Hawks after dropping the first two sets (24-26, 16-25, 25-17, 25-20, 15-12).
"We really stepped up our offense in the last three sets tonight. Our pin hitters did a fantastic job attacking," said head coach Tanya Allen-Gonzalez. "This team is so fun. They work incredibly hard and are so smart. I'm so proud to be able to coach them."
Against Highlands, the Javelina defense was stifling holding the Cowgirls to a .087 hitting percentage as the Javs added six total blocks as they cruised to the straight set win.
Jackie Alanis led the team offensively with 8 kills across 19 total attacks for a .421 hitting percentage, while Rylan Pollard provided 17 assists in the match.
The final match of the invitational saw the then only two undefeated teams left undefeated in the invitational meet, as Quincy narrowly won the opening set after a TAMUK comeback fell short, 26-24.
The Hawks continued their momentum through the second set going on a six-point run early in the set to go up 9-6, never relinquishing the lead the rest of the set.
Coach Allen-Gonzalez's squad would not go away easily though, opening the third set scoring seven of the first eight points. The offense continued to deliver throughout the set as the Javs sealed it with a kill from Meghan Stiefer.
The Javs created separation in what had been a back-and-forth fourth set going on a 7-1 run to go up 20-13 oroute to a 25-20 set win.
In the fifth set, the Steinke Physical Education Center crowd delivered the energy they got from their team right back to them, cranking up the noise level late in a set that was tied 8-8. As the crowd energy rose the team delivered scoring six of the next eight points setting them up for a match point which was delivered by a Pollard kill.
Meghan Stiefer led the team in kills with 18 total, while Pollard set a new career-high in assists with 31.
Freshman libero Isabel Neu also provided 30 Digs for TAMUK.
As a team, the Javs held the Hawks to a .181 hitting percentage with 10 total blocks.
With the wins, the Javelinas have extended their home win-streak to 14-straight matches.
Up Next
The Javelinas will now hit the road for the first time in 2023 to Spearfish, South Dakota for tournament hosted by Black Hill State beginning on Friday, Sept. 8.
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
