The university volleyball team continued conference competition last weekend with two come-from-behind victories on their home court against the Tarleton State Texans and Dallas Baptist University.
The first game against Tarleton seemed to be clinched by the Javelinas, but the visitors stifled the early hot streak. The home team had the first set point of the night at 24-22, but Tarleton hit four points in a row to pick up the game win.
Tarleton took the win in the next game handedly, 11-25. The second game proved to be the worst performance of the night by the Javelinas. It was also the wake-up call that they needed to catalyze a comeback.
Set three was a back and forth affair, with no team claiming any more than three points in a row and consisting of 11 ties. TAMUK held the largest lead of the frame, 11-8. The Texans would come back to tie, and then take the lead 19-17. An onslaught of blasts from Talleyshia Morris, Emily North and Meghan Merlino built up the home team’s momentum. Merlino would claim her 10th finish of the night on the winning point of set three.
After an early point battle in set four, the Javelinas would go on a momentum-churning 8-3 run that was capped by a smash from North. The Blue and Gold victory sent the match into a fifth and final set.
In the decisive game, the Blue and Gold jumped out ahead and never looked back. Never down, they pushed ahead to a 14-9 match point. The visitors resisted three straight services before Merlino sealed the deal for the home team.
For the second straight day, the Texas A&M-Kingsville women’s volleyball team fell behind against a Lone Star Conference opponent, then mounted a spirited comeback, capturing their third straight win by defeating the Dallas Baptist Patriots, 22-25, 26-24, 22-25, 25-20, 15-11 on Saturday afternoon at the Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville.
DBU never trailed in the first set, but the Javelinas made the visitors earn the first game-point. After a 13-5 run by the Blue and Gold, the score was tied at 22. DBU would score the next three points to take the first set victory.
After swapping the lead many times early on during the second game, the Javelinas found themselves down 19-15. Casteel racked up five kills in a 7-1 TAMUK run that put the home team up 23-20. DBU grabbed the next four points, but Casteel, Morris and North pulled off the next three points to claim the second set victory for the home team.
TAMUK’s first lead in the third set came during a 4-0 spurt that included two Murff aces and turned an 8-6 deficit into a 10-6 edge. DBU wasted no time crafting a rally of their own to go up 14-12, and later 21-16 after the home team crept within one. While that difference quickly shrunk to two, the Patriots held on and moved one set away from a win following a kill by Brooke Clark.
The fourth set was claimed by the home team, 25-20.
An intense battle ensued in the match’s decisive set. The Javelinas broke an 8-8 tie with blocks by Morris and Kapri Pelle. After a three-point exchange, Jordan Wonders picked up a kill and pushed the set to match point, which was claimed by an Estrada kill.
Javelina volleyball returns to conference play this week with away games against Lubbock Christian and Texas A&M International (TAMIU) and a second game against TAMUI at home.