Springfield, Ill. – Texas A&M International women's volleyball opened the season on Friday with a pair of wins at the UIS Tournament, defeating Arkansas Tech 3-1 and the hosts, Illinois-Springfield 3-1.
TAMIU def. Arkansas Tech 3-1 (25-16, 25-15, 19-25, 25-13)
The Dustdevils (2-0) used a balanced attack that saw five players record five or more kills to defeat the Golden Suns.
Senior Jasmin Garcia led TAMIU with 13 kills, senior Giulia Hortelan, freshman Mia Molina and freshman Anna Ligart all totaled nine kills and fifth year Hannah Thompson finished with eight.
Sophomore Emma Lade dished out 42 assists, Garcia totaled three blocks and senior Lixai Perez finished with 10 digs.
The first set was back and forth through the beginning and Arkansas Tech went on a 5-2 run to tie the set at 14-14.
The Dustdevils found their groove after a kill from Ligart and went on an 11-2 run to close the set.
TAMIU continued to roll in the second set, leading by 6-1 and never looking back. Arkansas Tech got as close as 18-14 before the Dustdevils closed the set on a 7-1 run.
TAMIU took another 6-1 lead in the third set but the Golden Suns used an 11-3 run to take a 15-11 lead and held on for the set victory.
The Dustdevils bounced back in the fourth set, starting on an 8-3 run and led 13-5 halfway through the final set. Arkansas Tech went on a run to close the gap to 16-12 but TAMIU finished the match with a 9-1 run.
TAMIU def. University of Illinois-Springfield 3-1 (23-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-20)
Garcia and senior Ariana Guerra combined for 29 kills in the victory over the Prairie Stars.
Lade dished out another 47 assists and the Dustdevils totaled 10 blocks.
The first set was back-and-forth the entire way either neither team leading by more than three points the entire set. TAMIU led 23-22 but UIS closed the set on a 3-0 run to seal the victory.
The Prairie Stars continued to roll in the second set and led 14-9 before the Dustdevils rattled off a 6-1 run to tie the set.
UIS battled back to take a 17-15 lead, but TAMIU took control in the second half of the set and went on a 10-5 run to tie the match.
Both teams traded points in the third set, but with the score tied at 14-14, the Dustdevils went on a 6-1 run to take a 20-15 lead and control of the set.
The Prairie Stars battled back within two points but TAMIU closed on a 3-2 run.
The fourth set saw both teams go on run early and battle to the end in the second half of the set. After UIS went on a 3-1 run to make the score 15-15, neither team led by more than two until the very end when the Dustdevils went on a 5-1 run to seal the victory.
TAMIU is in action next at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 2 against McKendree. They will also play Missouri Western State at 1 p.m.
