Kingsville - For the first time since 2019, the Texas A&M-Kingsville volleyball team has taken down a top-10-ranked opponent, beating the No.10 West Texas Buffs in an electric, five-set thriller.
After going down two sets to one, the Javelinas won a dog-fight fourth set, 29-27, before running away with fifth set, 15-7, behind seven combined kills from senior right side hitter/setter
Rylan Pollard and junior outside hitter
Rylie Barnett. Kingsville out-blocked the best blocking team in the conference, 11.5-to-9.0, getting its first win over West Texas A&M since 2018.
"I think it's great, it's not just about what team we beat, West Texas is a great team every year, every year that we play them it's a great match," senior setter
Elisa Carli said. "I think it's about what we do on our side. I think everybody played great today. We stepped it up when we needed to."
Carli led the team in assists with a career-high 32, while adding seven digs and a pair of service aces. Pollard wasn't far behind, putting up another stellar statline, with 24 assists to go along with a team-high 16 kills, 12 digs, three block assists, and an ace - her 10th match in a row with double-digit kills. The triple double is her fifth of the season and her second in a row.
Three other Javelinas joined Pollard with double-digit kills, junior middle blocker
Natalee Rush and Barnett each had 14, while senior RS
Kendall Harrington had 11. Rush added seven blocks (one solo, six assists), while Barnett added six digs and three block assists. Junior libero
Monique Gonzalez led the team in the back row with 13 digs, while senior OH
Kerigan Baumgartner, who led the way on the team's match-sealing block, added 12 digs and seven kills.
Perhaps the team's best attribute, however, didn't show up on the stat sheet - the Javelinas' grittiness defined the late stages of the match, the back-and-forth finish to the fourth set in particular. After yielding a late four-point lead, TAMUK faced multiple match points from the visiting Buffs, but the squad responded each time, producing excellent ups in the back row and collecting 20 team kills in the set (eight by Pollard, five by Barnett). The Hogs pulled out the set win, carrying momentum into the fifth set, where they dominated.
"Of course it was gritty, but I honestly don't feel it as stressful, it was fun," Head Coach
Tanya Allen-Gonzalez said. "It was so fun to watch. I know it was fun for them to play. I think it was more like 'lets just do things the right way' as opposed to being stressful. I think we try as a coaching staff to mirror that all the time, talking about 'this point is no bigger than the point at 1-0, so I really think they were having a lot of fun. It definitely showed, it was good game."
Kingsville moves to 2-0 in Lone Star Conference play and maintains its position at the top of the conference standings with a 10-2 overall record.
The Javelinas will be back on the court tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. for their second home LSC match of the season, taking on the Greyhounds from Eastern New Mexico. A free-to-the-public Tots (ages 10-and-under) volleyball clinic will be held by Javelina coaches and athletes immediately following the end of the match.
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