LAREDO, Texas – The Texas A&M-Kingsville volleyball team traveled to Laredo on Wednesday where they dropped a non-conference match against the Texas A&M International Dustdevils, 3-0 (27-29, 22-25, 25-18, 20-25).
The Javelinas (10-4, 2-0 LSC) came into the day on a 6-0 unbeaten set streak ranking top five in the LSC in Hitting percentage and Assists. The Dustdevils (9-5, 1-1 LSC) came into the day confident as they swept the Western New Mexico Mustangs and ready to rematch the Javelinas.
"We were error prone tonight and our defense broke down at crucial times, " said head coach Tanya Allen-Gonzalez. "The TAMIU crowd was very loud and I think it got to some of our players. We have to use this loss to help us grow as a team."
Neither team played to their full potential it seemed as they left the gym both hitting under .200, however the bright spot for the Javelinas being that defensively they still were able to do their part with nine total blocks as opposed to the Dustdevils four.
Both squads started out keeping things interesting in set one with 20 total tie scores and four total lead changes. The Javelinas going kill for kill in the set until a 6-3 run on behalf of the Dustdevils ended set one.
TAMIU took the confidence gained from set one, took an early 6-2 lead until the Javelinas battled back with a 4-0 run tying things six all. From there it was a fight until, 22-22 when the Dustdevils ended the match with a run of their own rattling off three straight points.
The third set the Javelinas able to find their mojo a bit as they started off leading 5-2 and never really looked back only having three lead changes, ultimately winning the set 25-18.
In set four, it was the Dustdevils that took the lead early, this time unlike the sets before they never gave it back.
The Javelinas are on the road for their next match Friday September 29th, as they face yet another familiar foe University of Arkansas Fort Smith at 6 p.m. at the Stubblefield Center.
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
