CORPUS CHRISTI, TEX. --- The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
volleyball team finished its third season with a third place finish
at the Holiday Inn Emerald Beach Southern Independent Tournament,
Saturday.
The Islanders, who finished with a 15-19 mark, defeated Centenary
30-16, 30-18, 27-30, 30-17 in the finale. Earlier, A&M-CC
dropped a tightly contested 30-26, 22-30, 22-30, 31-29, 16-14
decision to arch rival UT-Pan American.
In the finale, Sarah Hill (Plano, Tex.) hammered down a match-high
15 kills, while Lauren Smith (Richmond, Tex.) and Laura Mann
(Corvallis, Ore.) chipped in 12 and 11-kill efforts in the victory.
It was A&M-CC?s third win over the Ladies this season.
The Islanders took control of the match early and gave playing
time for their reserves. A&M-CC hit .327 (68-18-153) on the
evening while holding Centenary to .110 (44-28-146).
Erin McClanahan (St. Louis, Mo.) led A&M-CC?s strong serving
effort with a match-high 4 aces. The freshman ended the season with
a school record 57 aces.
Alexis Berger (Yoakum, Tex.) had a strong effort against the
Ladies in registering 8 kills, 6 assists, a team-high 12 digs, 3
aces and 4 blocks.
In the middle of the second game, McClanahan handed over the
setting duties to Audrey Leger (Austin, Tex.). The junior dished
off a career-high 24 helpers before McClanahan re-entered the match
at the beginning of the fourth and decisive game.
Smith led a dominant blocking effort by the Islanders. The
sophomore tallied seven blocks (one solo and six assists) en route
to finishing the season with school record 110 block assists.
Smith?s 135 blocks on the season was one shy of her own mark set
last season.
Miyuki Terry (Houston, Tex.), the team?s lone senior, posted four
digs in her career finale.
Kelley Heckman led Centenary with 14 kills and 14 digs, while
Catey Batte finished one kill short of her second triple double of
the tournament. The sophomore recorded 9 kills, 19 assists, and 11
digs in the defeat.
The loss to UT-Pan American overshadowed many outstanding Islander
efforts. McClanahan became the second Islander to post a triple
double with a season-high 10-kill, 51-assist, 16-dig performance.
Former standout Cassiana Costa was the only other player to
accomplish this feat two years ago against Incarnate Word. The
freshman also collected 6 blocks and a school-record 8 aces, while
bested the former record of seven set two times this year, most
recently by Kaley Rombs (Ingleside, Tex.) at UTPA, November 8.
Smith led the Islander offense with a career-high 22 kills, while
Melanie Travis (Austin, Tex.) chipped in 11 kills in a losing
effort.
A&M-CC built a two games to one lead behind strong serving and
blocking. Besides for McClanahan, four other players tallied aces
in the 15-ace barrage. Rombs posted three herself.
Smith was dominant at the net with a 12-block performance (one
solo, 11 assists). Berger tallied her best blocking effort of her
career with 8 blocks, while Laney Bardin (Rockport, Tex.) and
McClanahan added 6 blocks each. A&M-CC had 18 team blocks in
the loss (1 solo, 34 assists).
Jackie Muszynski?s match high 23 kills paced the Lady Broncs.
Cathi Netemeyer added 17, including the match winner.
Southern Independent All-Tournament Team
IPFW ? Fabiana Souza (MVP)
Lindi Bankowski
UTPA ? Jackie Muszynski
Cathi Netemeyer
A&M-CC ? Lauren Smith
Centenary ? Catey Batte
Lipscomb ? Kristin Peck
