KINGSVILLE, Texas – Southeastern picked up its first win of the Javelina Volleyball classic, defeating Bridgeport 3-0 in the first contest of the day, and would later fall to Texas A&M-Kingsville 3-0 to split day two's round of matches.
The Savage Storm (3-4) concludes the Jevelina Volleyball Classic tomorrow at 2 p.m. when they take on Saint Martin's for the first time.
MATCH ONE: SE 3, UB 0
SET ONE
It was all Southeastern early in set one, as the Storm opened the contest with a 4-0 run, and the lead would soon grow to 8-1 following a pair of kills by
Faith Kruebbe and two errors from the Purple Knights. Kruebbe stayed the hot hand, chipping in two kills and a service ace during a 6-0 flurry to stretch the gap to 14-2. That run would soon grow to 11-0 after a Bridgeport timeout, and the Storm would close out the dominant set 25-5, as
Noelia Rocha slammed down the final kill of the frame.
SET TWO
Set two was a back-and-forth affair with the Purple Knights getting the frame started with a 5-1 lead. SE was quick to reply, rattling off eight straight points to grab a 9-5 lead behind two kills by Jones and four attack errors from the Bridgeport attack. The two sides continued to trade scores, as the blue and gold held a four-point margin, up 16-12. Once again, SE was able to capitalize on errors by the Purple Knights with two more that sparked a blue and gold 4-0 run to set a 25-15 set victory.
SET THREE
Similar to the opening of the frame, Southeastern used a fast start to build a 10-2 lead at the first break after three consecutive service aces by
Laura Weatherford. SE continued to grow its lead after the break, using a 6-0 flurry to extend the 16-3, which soon grew to 19-5 after
Gabby Jones and
Jasmin Dion combined for three points. The Savage Storm remained in control through the final rallies to cap off the match with a 25-8 set win.
Kruebbe led the attack with nine kills and added another eight digs and four service aces to her totals, while Dion dished out 22 assists to the attack. Weatherford was lethal from the service line, recording a team-high five aces, and the team would finish 11 total aces for the match.
MATCH TWO: TAMK 3, SE 0
SET ONE
Little separated the two sides at the start of the frame, with the Javelinas leading 7-6, but the hosts would soon break things open on a 10-0 run to lead 17-6. Southeastern chipped into the deficit with a quick 3-0 burst and followed with four straight points, capped off by a Kruebbe service ace to trim the gap to six. Despite the late pressure, the gap would prove too much, as TAMK took the first set 25-18.
SET TWO
Southeastern held the early edge in set two, leading 7-5 after
Maci Morrison and
Alexis Williams combined for four kills. From there, it was TAMK's turn to go on a run, as the Javelinas took a 13-9 lead on an 8-2 flurry. Texas A&M-Kingsville remained the hot hand with its lead stretching to 16-10 and later 19-12. SE replied with a 4-1 run to cut the hosts' lead to four and remained on the heels with a kill by Morrison and Rocha, down 21-18.
SE continued to battle back, stringing together four straight points to tie the frame 23-all and force Texas A&M-Kingsville to use two quick timeouts. Out of the break, the two sides traded a point, but it was the Javelinas who broke the deadlock, scoring the final two points to win 26-24.
SET THREE
The Storm led 4-1 to start the final frame, but quickly found themselves down 9-7 after a 4-0 run by the Javelinas. Texas A&M-Kingsville stayed on the front foot, stretching its lead to 16-9 with another burst of points, but Southeastern would have an answer with a 6-2 run, featuring two kills by Kruebbe and Jones to slash the lead to 18-15. However, the Javelinas matched the Storm's flurry with a 5-1 burst to help secure a 25-19 win.
Pacing the attack, Williams slammed down 12 kills and had three blocks, while Jones led the defensive efforts with a team-high six denials. Dion pulled the strings for the offense, dishing out 31 assists, while Weatherford had ten digs.
