Kingsville - The Kingsville volleyball team hopes to respond to last weekend's conference losses as it gets back on the road for its third and fourth straight away matches at Oklahoma Christian and Cameron on Friday and Saturday respectively.

After losing at Lubbock Christian and No.14 Angelo St. to open up its road trip last weekend, TAMUK dropped to 2-4 in Lone Star Conference play (10-7 overall). The team will now look to do exactly what it did after losing its first two LSC of the year: respond with back-to-back conference wins. 

"All road games are tough in the LSC," Head Coach Tanya Allen Gonzalez said. "We are going to have to step it up a little this weekend, and perform at our best to get two wins."

Despite their recent losses, the team still ranks among the best defensive squads in the whole conference. Kingsville's 2.23 blocks per set are the second most in the conference and the 45th most in the nation. More than half of those blocks have come from senior middle blocker Ayanna Jackson, who averages 1.14 per set, the second most in the LSC. Jackson has been arguably even more excellent offensively, with the 11th best hitting percentage in the country: .420.

Behind Jackson defensively, sophomore Natalee Rush averages the 10th most blocks in the conference. TAMUK also allows the third fewest opponent digs in the LSC, with 13.48 per set.

A key weekend for the Javelinas will begin when it visits a team whose conference record mirrors their own - Oklahoma Christian. Unlike Kingsville, however, the Eagles bring a good deal of momentum into the Friday match. The team has won six straight sets, taking down Southern Nazarene and Sul Ross St. in back-to-back sweeps last weekend. 

Play at the net has been a key for OCU all year, as the team ranks third in the LSC in fewest opponent blocks allowed, while also sitting at fourth in the conference in most blocks defensively. While Kingsville is one of those three teams that averages more blocks per set than the Eagles, OCU is coming off of one of its best defensive performances of the year, holding SNU to .121 hitting and totalling nine blocks across just three sets.

Junior Camryn Mcgough's 0.93 blocks per set is the eighth most in the conference and paces the team. While Mcgough leads the team defensively, freshman Chloe Jones has been spectacular for the team on the offensive end. In her first collegiate season, Jones is 11th in the conference in kills and 20th in hitting percentage.

TAMUK can't overlook their Saturday opponent either. Though the Aggies have won just one match all season, that win came against an LSC foe just over a week ago. CU will look to carry momentum from its four-set win over Eastern New Mexico into a match with the Javelinas in front of its home fans.

First serve for Kingsville's Friday matchup with OCU is set for 6 p.m., while its Saturday CU match is set to begin at 2 p.m., both will be streamed live on FloSports.