Kingsville - Texas A&M Kingsville only dropped one set in its final two matches of the Javelinas Volleyball Classic on Friday.
The Javelinas (3-1, 0-0 Lone Star Conference) would get a huge day two performance after finishing day one with a 1-1 record. Finishing Southern Nazarene off in four sets and sweeping Missouri Southern State in their final match of the tournament.
"I think we did very well as a team for the first weekend," senior
Meghan Stiefer said. "We're still getting a system down but I feel like we're all working hard to try and put points up on the board."
The victories would not come easy however, the Javelinas were in constant close contests throughout the day. Clutch play after clutch play would ultimately lead the Javelinas to an unbeaten day two.
In match one, Texas A&M-Kingsville came out of the gates red hot, winning 25-15 in the first set. A slow start in set two however would doom the Javelinas and even the match at one win apiece.Â
Set three would start very similar to set two, with the Javelinas falling behind six points early in the set. Slowly but surely they began to claw their way back, and would take set three thanks to a 12-2 run to put set three on ice.Â
In the final set of the match, both teams would trade blows with each other, with no team finding a decisive advantage. It would once again be the Javelinas who pulled away late, icing the match with a 6-0 run.
Ayanna Jackson led the way with 11 kills and five total blocks, Stiefer would also add 11 kills and
Kendall Harrington would finish with 10 kills herself.
Nadia Pena would have a monster performance as well, going off for 18 digs and 20 assists for the match.
In the second match, the Javelinas would open up very similarly to the previous match, winning set one 25-15. Set two would not have the same result as the previous series however, as a quick four-point flurry in the middle of the set would put the Javelinas ahead for good in set two.
Set three was another back-and-forth affair between the teams, with the largest lead being only two points in the early goings. A barrage of points for the Javelinas in the middle of the set would give them a five-point lead heading into the waning moments of the set. A late Lion run would make it interesting, but the Javelinas would quell the comeback and secure the victory.
Jackson once again led the way with 10 kills,
Rylan Pollard and Stiefer both added nine kills as well. Pena also turned in an 18 assist performance for the series.
Texas A&M-Kingsville will hit the road next week, as they face off against Adams State on Sept. 11.Â
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