KINGSVILLE, Texas — St. Edward's volleyball built one of its best starts of the season behind career-best performances from middle blockers
GRACE MCDONALD and
CARRINGTON JAIMES, slicing through the Texas A&M-Kingsville defense to grab its first Lone Star Conference win, 3–1, on Friday night.
Jaimes broke open a 9–9 tie in the first set by sparking an 8–0 Hilltopper run, accounting for five straight points with back-to-back kills, an assist, a block assist with
KELLI FORDING, and another kill. The sophomore was nearly flawless, hitting 5-for-6 with no errors as St. Edward's rolled to a 25–14 win.
Setter
ALTHEA MORRIS continued to feed the middle in the second set, finding McDonald for five kills on seven swings while freeing
MIA CLAY on the outside for four kills on five attacks. The Hilltoppers hit .375 and .400 in the opening two sets to take a commanding lead.
Texas A&M-Kingsville (3–9, 0–6) rallied in the third, capitalizing on eight St. Edward's attack errors and seven kills from Ryan Pollard to extend the match with a 25–19 win.
St. Edward's regrouped quickly, jumping out to a 13–6 lead in the fourth behind two Jaimes aces and several Javelina miscues before closing out the match, 25–18.
McDonald finished with a career-high 12 kills on .400 hitting, matching Clay (.375) for the team high. Jaimes led the Hilltoppers with a career-best 14 points, posting 11 kills on .526 hitting, two aces, and two block assists.
Morris dished out 48 assists to guide a .257 team hitting percentage, while St. Edward's added six aces and five blocks in the win.
The Hilltoppers (4–7, 1–5 LSC) will look to build on their momentum Saturday when they travel to Laredo to face Texas A&M International.
