KINGSVILLE, Texas – The Colorado State University women's volleyball team closed out the first day of action at the Texas A&M-Kingsville Invitational here Friday evening with a four-set loss (19-25, 23-25, 25-18, 18-25) to the host school at the Steinke Center on the TAMU-Kingsville campus.

Friday's night setback was the second of the day for the ThunderWolves as they opened the 2023 campaign with a five-set loss to Tiffin University.  The 0-2 start to the season is the first for the Pack program since 2019 when the team opened the season with five straight losses en route to finishing the season with a 14-14 overall record. TAMUK improved to 2-0 on the season. The Pack will conclude the two-day season opening event with matches on Saturday against Quincy University, who received votes in the Preseason AVCA Division II Coaches Poll and Ouachita Baptist at 9:30 a.m. MT and 1:30 p.m. MT respectively.

"We competed a lot better this evening, but just ran into a more cohesive team. Hats off to TAMUK, that's a veteran squad," Pack head volleyball coach Austin Albers said following the match. "We saw some good things from ourselves tonight and these type of battles are going to force us to grow together more quickly. As much as we don't like to lose…these matches today will benefit us in the long run."

Sophomore outside hitter Sadie Scoville (Pleasant Grove, Utah/Pleasant Grove) paced the Pack for the second consecutive match as she followed up her 15 kills in the season opener with a match-high tying 13 kills against the Javalinas. Scoville also hit .345 in the match and added seven digs and three block assists.

In addition to Scoville, redshirt sophomore outside hitter Payton Van Veen (Springfield, Mo./Washburn) added 11 kills, while sophomore setter Sabrina King (Parker, Colo./Lutheran) added a double-double of 12 assists and 10 digs and had four of the Pack's match-high eight aces. Through two matches this season, the Pack has recorded 21 aces.

Defensively, redshirt sophomore middle blocker Golden Finch (Albuquerque, N.M./Cal State-Bakersfield) had five blocks and four kills, while freshman libero Braelyn Woodworth (Gilbert, Ariz./Perry) added eight digs in the loss. Senior setter Grace Jansen (Sandy, Utah/Jordan) finished with a team-high 25 assists and had two aces.

Three Javalinas' recorded double-digit kills in the match with Jeri Ficklen leading with the way with 13 kills, six blocks and hit .800 in the win. In addition to Ficklen, Jackie Alanis added 12 kills, 14 digs, three blocks and hit .355 and Ayanna Jackson had 11 kills, four blocks and hit .455.

For the match, the Pack was outhit, .264 to .203, but each team had 49 kills and combined for 14 aces. TAMUK finished the night with 12 blocks to eight for the Pack. The Pack have been outblocked in their first two matches by nearly three blocks per match.

Set 1: The Pack controlled the first set early on as they sprinted out to an 8-3 lead, but that would evaporate quickly as TAMUK responded with a 7-0 run capped by a Jackson ace to take a 10-8 lead. The Pack, though, would rally back and score seven of the next 10 points to push out to a 15-13 lead. The run was capped by a Scoville kill. The home team would respond as they answered back with a 9-2 run to take control of the set at 22-17. After the Pack pulled within 22-18, the Javalinas' would score three of the final points to secure its 25-19 win. In the set, the Pack hit .070 with 11 kills, while TAMUK hit .267 with 11 kills, two aces and a 5-2 edge in blocks.

Set 2:  This was the most competitive set of the match as it featured 12 ties and six lead changes. The Pack out to an early 8-6 lead in the set and led 12-9 when the Javalinas' used a 7-1 run that was aided by three attack errors from the Pack to push in front 16-13. The home team would hold the lead until the Pack responded with a 7-4 run capped by kills from freshman outside hitter Ceanna O'Loughlin (Beaverton, Ore.) to tie the set at 23-all. A kill by Jackson and a solo block by Ficklen on a ball hit by Finch helped the Javalinas' secure its 25-23 win and take a 2-0 lead in the match. In the set, the Pack hit .333 with 16 kills, including a combined nine from Van Veen and Scoville, while TAMUK hit .276 with 13 kills.

Set 3: The third set belonged to the Pack as they hit .429 in the set with 15 kills, including six from senior opposite side hitter Bailey Combs (Fresno, Calif./Central Oklahoma) and three aces. Combs also hit .857 in the set, while Van Veen hit .400. The Pack never trailed in the set, in fact, they led by as many as six points in the set at 18-12. The Pack closed out the set with two kills by Combs that were sandwiched around a kill by Scoville. TAMUK hit .321 in the set and had 12 kills.

Set 4: While the third set belonged to the Pack, the fourth set was dominated by the Javalinas as they hit .211 with 13 kills, two blocks and two aces, while holding the Pack to an .062 attack percentage and one block. The Pack did hold an early 4-3 lead in the set, but TAMUK used an 8-0 run to push out to an 11-4 lead. The lead would grow to as much as 21-15, before the teams traded points to push the Javalinas' lead to 23-17. Following a service error by TAMUK brought the Pack within 24-18, Ficklen sealed her team's win with a kill to cap a 25-18 set victory.

Up Next: The Pack will open the second day of action at the TAMUK Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 2 with a 9:30 a.m. MT match against Quincy University (1-1), who opened the season with a 3-1 loss to Tiffin and then earned a three-set sweep over New Mexico Highlands.