KINGSVILLE, Texas — After a tough fight to come back on Friday night, the St. Mary's University Volleyball team struggled to maintain a rhythm on Saturday afternoon, falling in straight sets to Texas A&M-Kingsville, 25-18, 25-16, 25-20.
The Rattlers (7-10, 4-3) were unable to string together long point runs, unlike the Javelinas (13-4, 5-2), which used extremely disruptive serving to keep StMU out of system a majority of the match.
Senior
Landri Withers (Stephenville, Texas) led the team with nine kills, while
Laurene Robinson (Bedford, Texas) added seven. Senior
Dallasstar Johnson (San Antonio) tied for match-high honors with three blocks and two aces, while fellow senior
Alyssa Koehl (New Braunfels, Texas) paced the team with 12 digs.
Set 1
The only hitting error for the Javelinas in the first set was a solo block by
Landry Cate, as TAMUK hit .552 in the opening set to win 25-18. Both Alston and Withers had three kills each to lead StMU. Robinson and Wilk each had an ace serve, with Wilk's coming on the first point of the match.
Set 2
An 8-0 run by the Javelinas midway through the set stretched their lead from 11-9 to 18-9 before Laurene snapped the streak with a kill deep in the court, but StMU could not mount a prolonged comeback and fell 25-16 in the second stanza.
Set 3
The Rattlers pushed late, fighting back from a 17-10 deficit to close within one, 20-19 on an ace serve by Johnson, but the Javelinas managed to score five of the last six points for the 25-20 victory.
St. Mary's comes home for four straight home matches, beginning with DBU on Friday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m. The Patriots swept Sul Ross State on Saturday afternoon, as seven of the eight home teams that won were victorious in straight sets. St. Edward's was the only road team to get a win, sweeping the Dustdevils.
