San Antonio - Texas A&M-Kingsville fell short in their first conference match of the season, losing to St. Mary's on Wednesday at Bill Greehey Arena.
The Javelinas (8-4. 0-1 Lone Star Conference) could not get in an offensive rhythm throughout the match. Combine that with the Rattlers (9-3, 1-0 LSC) hitting .331 for the match, it was a tough day at the office for the Javelinas.
As the match began, the Javelinas at Rattlers were evenly matched. Eventually, the teams found themselves even on the scoreboard at 10-10. St. Mary's would then erupt for an 8-0 run to go up 10-18 and eventually close the set out soon after.
In set two, Texas A&M-Kingsville got an advantage early, thanks to two straight kills from
Madelyn Wallace. St. Mary's would close the gap however, and find themselves up four midway through the set. Despite their best efforts, the Javelinas just could not close the distance, and would find themselves down two sets.
In the do-or-die set, the Javelinas would battle the Rattlers to an early 6-6 tie. However, St. Mary's would rip off a 6-0 run to give themselves a cushion in the set. Texas A&M-Kingsville would battle and fight and eventually get the game within a single point, but the Rattlers closed the door on a Javelina comeback attempt.
Rylan Pollard led the Javelinas with 10 kills, Wallace contributed eight of her own and
Meghan Stiefer added seven.
Elisa Carli and
Nadia Pena both logged double-digit assists with 17 and 15 respectively, with Pena also leading the team in digs with 12.
The Javelinas hit the road again for their second match in conference play against Texas A&M-International at 2:00 p.m.in Laredo.
Â
