SPEARFISH, S.D. - The Texas A&M-Kingsville Volleyball team lost both of its Friday matches on the first day of the Yellow Jacket Classic hosted by Black Hills State, falling to South Dakota Mines, 3-0, and Northern State, 3-2.
"We have to have a higher side out percentage tomorrow," said head coach Tanya Allen-Gonzalez. "Our offense was not as efficient today as we need it to be. We need to come back tomorrow with more energy."
The losses drop the Javelinas to 4-2 on the season while the Hardrockers and Wolves improve to 5-1, and 6-1 respectively.
Match 1 vs. South Dakota Mines
The Javs kept every set close against the Hardrockers falling, 25-21, 25-21, 26-24. With each set being determined by runs that came towards the end of the set by Mines.
In the first set, the Javelinas jumped out to an early lead via a 7-0 run that put them up, 7-4 in the opening frame.
After trading points for most of the set, Mines went on an 8-2 run to take a 21-17 lead before taking the set.
The Hardrockers jumped out to an early lead in the second set, but TAMUK pulled within two later in the set via a 6-1 run that brought the score to 17-15.
Mines responded with a 5-1 run of its own later in the set on the way to securing the second set at 25-21 again.
The Blue and Gold looked set to send the match to a fourth set, holding a 24-21 lead in the third, but Mines went on another run, scoring five consecutive points to take the set 26-24, and the match, 3-0.
The duo of Jackie Alanis and Ayanna Jackson led the team in kills for the match with 9 and 10 respectively but were unable to match Mines' team .225 hitting percentage.
Match 2 vs. Northern State
The Javelinas came one set short of pulling off their second, reverse sweep of the season after dropping the first two, but ultimately loss, 25-21, 25-11, 23-25, 15-25, 15-10.
The Wolves controlled most of the first two sets, with TAMUK only holding the lead twice in the two sets as NSU recorded eight of the last nine points of the second set to take a 2-0 lead.
TAMUK bounced back to win the third set with a massive 10-2 run to take a 20-17 lead in the third frame, later sealing the set win via an NSU service error.
The Javelinas cruised in the fourth set, thanks in large part to a 11-3 run to go up, 15-10 lead with Ayanna Jackson who provided three kills, a solo block, and a block assist.
The Javs forced a fifth and final set with a 6-1 run to end the fourth set, with Alanis delivering the final kill to win the set, 25-15.
At just over halfway in the final set, the Wolves and Javelinas were tied at 8-8, before NSU ended the match with a 7-2 run to close the match.
Up Next
The Javelinas will now look to bounce back tomorrow, on the second day of competition in the Yellow Jacket Classic, taking on the University of Mary and host Black Hills State at 2 and 6 p.m. CT.
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
