Dallas - In a four-set battle, the Texas A&M-Kingsville volleyball team came out on top over the Dallas Baptist Patriots, securing a road win that will undoubtedly prove significant in its race for a Lone Star Conference Tournament spot.
The Javelinas have now won two of their last three matches, with both wins coming over LSC opponents who sit close by the Hogs in the conference standings. The eighth triple double of the season for senior right-side hitter/setter
Rylan Pollard led the Javelinas, who had four total hitters reach double-digit kills. She dropped 10 kills, 17 assists, and 12 digs, while adding a service ace and a block assist. The team flexed its potent offense, swinging at .287 for the match, on the way to a dominant win.
The win not only gives Kingsville a potentially important tiebreaker, but it also clinches a winning season for TAMUK, the 12th straight season that the team will finish with more wins that losses, all of which have come under Head Coach
Tanya Allen-Gonzalez. By far the winningest coach in program history, Allen-Gonzalez tacks on another season to her all-time best streak.
To help reach that historic peak, Kingsville crushed DBU, cruising to a strong fourth-set win after trading a hard-fought first three sets. The first set saw TAMUK open up a lead as large as six points multiple times before the Patriots battled back, pulling within one twice in the final six points. The Javelinas grabbed the win, but dropped the second set, as the team allowed a 5-0 run early from the home team and was unable to make up the difference late. The third set was a dogfight, featuring nine ties and the score differential, after 15-13, never growing larger than a point until the final moments of the set. TAMUK then ran away with the fourth, hitting .469 as a team and securing the match win.
As part of a high-powered offensive explosion, every individual Javelina hitter posted an attack percentage of at least .250, including a pair of seniors, outside hitter
Kerigan Baumgartner and RS
Kendall Harrington, each of whom led the Hogs with 11 kills. That set a new career high for Baumgartner, which she paired with 16 digs for her first career double-double - she also had a pair of blocks and three assists. Junior OH
Rylie Barnett rounded out the double-figure hitters with 10 kills on 25 swings, adding three digs and a block assist.
TAMUK's elite pair of middles, senior
Madelyn Wallace and junior
Natalee Rush, continued their come-up, combining for 17 kills on 32 total swings. Rush had two solo blocks while Wallace had three block assists. Senior setter
Elisa Carli's 25 assists paced the Javelinas, moving her ever closer to the 6th spot on the Javelina all-time career aces list.Â
The Javelinas will be back on the court on Saturday, when they return home for a match against Texas A&M-International at 2:00 p.m. in the SPEC. The match will be Halloween themed and fans are strongly encouraged to wear a costume - there will be a costume contest held on the court between the second and third set.
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