The TAMUK volleyball team kicked off 2019 with four straight wins at the Kathleen Brasfield Invitational in San Angelo.
The Javelinas four-win weekend began with the 25-18, 22-25, 25-14, 25-14 victory over the New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls. The set loss suffered against the Cowgirls would be the Javelina’s only set loss of the weekend.
The TAMUK women were dominant from the service line racking up 11 aces. This was the team’s most since 2017 when they racked up 16 against Texas A&M-Commerce.
Melanie Casteel and Roxanne Morris led the offensive attack with a combined 24 kills.
The Blue and Gold continued the winning on Friday with a 25-21, 25-19, 25-18 sweep over the Rangers of Northwestern Oklahoma State.
The offensive dominance of Casteel and Morris was backed up by solid defensive play from sophomore Nicole Murff who had 19 digs in game two and 78 over the course of the weekend.
Saturday continued in similar fashion with wins over Southeastern Okla-homa and Fort Lewis.
The Blue and Gold put on a blocking clinic in a sweeping victory over the Savage Storm of SE Oklahoma. Sophmore Kailey Estrada and junior Kapri Pelle commanded play at the net, combining for 14 of the team’s 24 blocks.
In a post-game recap by Javelina Athletics, ninth year coach Tanya Allen described how the team’s play at the net fit into the weekend’s to-do list.
“I told the team we had two goals this weekend,” Allen said. “We wanted to run a faster offense and be great at defense. Nicole [Murff] did a phenoenal job digging and I thought, as a whole, we did a very good job blocking.”
Sophomore Emily North went on a passing frenzy in the Javelina’s sweep over Fort Lewis. North’s 28 assists were twice as many as any other Javelina player.
The Javelinas resume play this weekend in Kingsville. They’ll be at the Steinke Physical Education Center for five matches in three days starting on Thursday, the first day of the Emerald Invitational. The Blue and Gold will take on St. Mary’s, Westminster, Augustana, Edinboro and Southwest Baptist.
