Kingsville - With one Lone Star Conference win already under its belt, the Texas A&M-Kingsville volleyball team will host No.10 West Texas A&M (Friday, 6:00 p.m.) and Eastern New Mexico (Saturday, 2:00 p.m.) to begin its home conference schedule.

The Javelinas bring the best overall record of any team in the conference into their tilt with the top-10 Buffs, who enter the weekend fresh off of a 3-0 sweep of No.13 Angelo State. TAMUK boasts a 5-1 record in the SPEC so far this year, and is looking for its first win over WT since the squad toppled the Buffs in Canyon back in 2018.

Kingsville started its LSC schedule with a Tuesday trip to Denton and a sweep of Texas Woman's. Because of the mid-week match, the team will enter the weekend's matches as the only team with a conference win. 

The team has been defined by incredible offensive numbers early in the year, including LSC-leading averages in hitting percentage (23rd in the nation), kills per set (24th), and assists per set (28th). It also ranks second in the conference in both team service aces per set and fewest opponent digs per set.

Junior MB Natalee Rush both leads the LSC and sits at fifth in the nation in hitting percentage with an excellent .478 average, while senior RS Kendall Harrington isn't far behind with a .391 average - she also averages the ninth-most kills per set with 3.21. Senior S Elisa Carli's 16 total service aces are tied for the fourth-most in th LSC.

Scouting the Competition: No.10 West Texas A&M

The Buffs have begun the season 8-3, with all three of their losses coming against top-15 teams. In its eight wins, WT has lost just two total sets. The team enters the weekend after back-to-back wins at home, including a sweep of No.13 Angelo St..

The Buffs, behind senior MB Taytum Stow, boast the sixth-best block in the nation, averaging 2.74 per set. Stow's 1.68 are the third-most of any individual in all of Division II. Despite their excellence above the tape defensively, however, the squad allows the second-most opponent kills per set in the LSC.

Serve receive has been another highlight for the Buffs, as they lead the conference in fewest opponent aces, allowing just .91 per set.

Sophomore Bromli Watson runs the offense, averaging 8.46 assists per set (third-most in the LSC), while senior OH Currie Marusak's 3.54 kills leads the team and ranks fourth-most in the conference.

The Buffs will be looking to continue a six-match winning streak against the Javelinas.

Scouting the Competition: Eastern New Mexico

The Greyhounds have struggled to start their season, and bring a 2-8 overall record into the weekend. They won just two sets during their eight losses.

Once the team saw its first Lone Star opponents of the year, last weekend at the LSC Challenge, ENMU kicked it up a notch, sweeping Sul Ross St. before taking down Western New Mexico in four sets. The squad brings momentum from its first two wins of the year into the weekend's matches.

Junior OH Sophia Valdez leads the crew offensively, averaging 3.60 kills per set which are the third-most in the Lone Star. Her swing helps lead ENMU to its LSC-second-best number in the fewest opponent blocks category, with just 1.49.

The Greyhounds hope to snap a three-match Javelina winning streak, with their last win over TAMUK coming at a neutral site match in September of 2022.