KINGSVILLE, Texas – A stat line of 25 assists, 16 kills and 15 digs gave senior Madison Brabham (Kingwood, Texas) her ninth triple-double of 2018 and junior Loren Washington (Austin, Texas) led all players with a .423 kill rate, leading the Texas A&M-Kingsville women's volleyball team past the Texas Woman's Pioneers, 25-17, 25-18, 23-25, 25-21 on Saturday afternoon in Lone Star Conference action at the Steinke Physical Education Center in Kingsville, Texas.
Brabham now has a triple-double in eight of her last 10 matches while Washington's totals of 13 kills, a new season-high, and 11 digs represented her fourth double-double of the season.
Freshman Nicole Murff (San Antonio, Texas) posted a match-high 25 digs and freshman Emily North (Red Oak, Texas) led the Javs with 29 assists.
TWU lead by two early in the first frame, but an 8-3 burst by the Javelinas put them ahead 10-7. The home team continued to build on their lead, moving in front by eight at 22-14 thanks to a block by Brabham and junior Talleyshia Morris (Tulsa, Okla). A kill by Washington and a Brabham ace put TAMUK at set point and a Pioneer service error finished the opening game. TAMUK hit .360 in the set and Brabham, Washington and Morris all posted a kill rate of .500 or better. Morris would finish the match with five total blocks, leading all players.
Four straight Javelina scores, including two kills by Brabham extended a three-point lead to seven at 12-5 in the second frame. TWU used an 8-2 spurt to close within two at 17-15, but the Javelinas came back to life, winning eight of the set's final 11 rallies, with Morris providing the clincher. The Blue and Gold again functioned well on offense, forging a spike rate of .275 while moving ahead, 2-0.
The Pioneers took a small but secure lead to start the third game, leading by three six times before four straight points for the Javelinas tied the set at 12 and despite five more instances of the Javelinas tying the score, the home side couldn't take the lead. After the teams drew even at 22, TWU took three of the next four rallies and a smash from Elizabeth Ugbaja brought the visitors to within 2-1.
The visitors held a pair of three-point leads in the fourth frame, first at 9-6 and again at 13-10, only to see the Blue and Gold tie the set at 13 thanks to two blasts from junior Melanie Casteel (Dallas, Texas) and an attack error by TWU. The Pioneers jumped back in front 16-13 and TAMUK rallied for another tie at 17-17. After the sides drew level again at 19-19, Brabham provided consecutive kills to spark a 6-2 run that ended the match. Smashes by Morris and Washington put the contest on ice.
TAMUK ended the day with an attack percentage 82 points higher than that of their guests. The Javelinas hit at a .287 clip while holding TWU to a percentage of .205. The Javs collected 62 on 143 attacks, while the Pioneers needed 151 attacks to log 51 finishers.
The final match on TAMUK's three-game homestand will take place on Tuesday, when the Javelinas are scheduled to host No. 13 Tarleton at 7 p.m. at the SPEC. To keep up with everything related to Javelina volleyball all season long, follow @JavelinaVB on Twitter and @javelinasports on Instagram, like Javelina Volleyball on Facebook and visit Javelinasports.com.