AUSTIN – The St. Edward's Hilltoppers volleyball team set a formidable defense at the net but couldn't supplement it with enough consistent offense in a 3-1(25-22, 18-25, 25-17, 25-20) loss to the Texas A&M-Kingsville Javelinas. 

St. Edward's front row produced 17 blocks, keyed by middle blocker AJANI HODGES' career-high 12 block assists. MAYA SMALLS and ESTHER GRUSSING supplemented the blocks with 22 and 20 digs, but the Hilltoppers hit just .120 in the set and the Javelinas turned that into a 55-36 kills advantage. 

Texas A&M-Kingsville opened the first set with a 4-0 lead and maintained that margin through most of the set until a late Hliltoppers' run brought the score to 24-22 before the Javelinas closed out the set. 

The Hilltoppers built on that late run in the first set to open up a 20-10 lead in the second, getting four kills from Smalls and five block assists from Hodges, limiting the Javelinas to a .029 hitting percentage to take the set 25-18 and even the match at a set apiece. 

The Javelinas responded with five kills on a .625 clip from Ayanna Jackson and dominant defensive performance that limited the Hilltoppers to seven kills with seven attack errors to go back up with a 25-17 win. 

Both teams exchanged the lead six times in the fourth set with 12 ties. After Texas A&M-Kingsville tied it for the last time at 17-17, the Javelinas reeled off an 8-3 run to close out the match. 

Smalls and Sanders had nine kills each for St. Edward's and LOURDES GOMEZ added eight. Texas A&M-Kingsville had four different players with double-digit kills, led by Jackson's 15 on a .400 hitting percentage. 

The Hilltoppers fall to 2-7 with the Javelinas improving to 6-3. St. Edward's hosts Eastern New Mexico University tomorrow at 6:00 p.m.