CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi beach volleyball team continued its dominant run at the No.1 seed on home sand Thursday, sweeping No. 2 Southeastern 3-0 in the SLC tournament winner's bracket semifinal at Water's Edge Park.
With the victory, the Islanders advance to Friday's championship match at 1 p.m., needing just one more win to claim the conference title and secure an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Awaiting them will be the winner of the consolation semifinal between No. 2 Southeastern and No. 4 HCU, both teams A&M-Corpus Christi has already defeated during this tournament run.
The Islanders struck first at the top flight, where
Kristin Bobay and
Madison Morrow delivered a decisive 21-13, 21-15 victory to give the hosts an early 1-0 lead. Momentum continued at No. 3 as
Mille Maxwell-Berthou and
Bryce Ranney battled through a competitive second set to secure a 21-17, 24-22 win, pushing the Islanders ahead 2-0 and within one point of the dual.
The clinch came at No. 2, where
Maria Duda Fernandes de Melo and
Millie Olsson controlled both sets in a 21-13, 21-11 victory to seal the sweep and send the Islanders into the title match.
Playing in front of a home crowd throughout the week, the Islanders have yet to drop a team point in the tournament and will look to carry that momentum into Friday's championship match with trip to the NCAA Tournament on the line.
They will be fighting for their seventh overall championship and fourth tournament title in just five years.
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