CANYON, Texas – The No. 5 Lady Buffs survived the South Texas heat from the Texas A&M Kingsville Javelinas in five sets (19-25, 25-23, 18-25, 25-22, 15-12). 

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lady Buffs came out swing for swing with the Javalinas in the first set with a tie at 6-6. The Javelinas would go on a 7-2 run to take a five point lead at 12-18 against the Lady Buffs. Coach Potts called the first timeout in the first set, a rare call for the Lady Buffs but would make an impact as the Lady Buffs had a 4-0 run of points to come within one point at 17-18 with the Javelinas still leading. Pollard of TAMU-Kingsville led the Javelinas in kills with eight points in the first set hitting .500. It would be the first time this season that the Lady Buffs were held to a hitting percentage under .100 in the first set (.054). 

The Lady Buffs came out with a vengeance in the second set by taking the lead early at 14-9.  The Javelinas would come within three points but the Lady Buffs kept aggressive at the net with big plays from Torrey Miller and middle blockers Carly Evetts and Taytum Stow. Javelinas came back to tie it up 20 to 20 as the Lady Buffs took their final timeout of the set. The Lady Buffs went on a 3-0 run off a Miller kill, Stow block and Evetts ace. Emma Becker would finish the set on a kill to tie it up one to one in the match. 

The Javelinas kept the lead in the third throughout gaining momentum to finish out the set at 18-25. The Lady Buffs were kept to a .070 hitting average in the set while the Javelinas hit .200. Torrey Miller led the Lady Buffs in kills with ten at this point. 

The Lady Buffs started down and trailed the majority of the fourth until 19-20 with Javelinas leading. A couple aces from Patterson and a kill from Miller would push the Lady Buffs to 22-20. Javelinas would challenge a net call but lose the challenge. A hitting error from the Javelinas would give the set to the Lady Buffs. 

The fifth set went back and forth until the sixth point when the Lady Buffs took a three point lead at 9-6. The Javelinas would take a timeout but the Lady Buffs held onto the lead finishing the set 15-12. 
 
BY THE NUMBERS
Senior Torrey Miller led in kills for the Lady Buffs with 18 on 54 attempts and 7 errors to hit .204. Ainsley Malis led the offense with 22 assists and Bryli Contreras held down the back row with 25 digs. Bryli Contreras had a match high and career high 5 aces while Carly Evetts had a career high 11 blocks to lead the front line. 
 
MILESTONES

• WT leads the series all-time against the Javelinas (56-13)
• The Javelinas outscored the Lady Buffs in kills, assists, digs and points 
• This is the first time this season that the Lady Buffs were held to a hitting percentage below 200 (.083) 
• Torrey Miller was the only Lady Buff in double digit kills with 18 
• Carly Evetts had a career high 11 blocks 
• Bryli Contreras had a career high 5 aces 
• Most recent five set win was on Oct. 17, 2023 against Southwestern Oklahoma 

COMING UP
The Lady Buffs will take on the Texas A&M International Dustdevils tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 p.m. in Laredo, Texas. 
 
The Lone Star Conference will announce the LSC Championship host and eight team participants following the conclusion of the last match in regular season conference play tomorrow night.