ABILENE, Texas – Four Islanders finished in double-digit kills to lead the Texas A&M - Corpus Christi volleyball team to a 3-1 (25-27, 25-13, 25-15, 25-21) victory over Abilene Christian today in Moody Coliseum. Senior Brianna Brink propelled the Islanders' offense with her eighth double-double of the year to help the Islanders improve to 5-2 in Southland play.
Brink posted 17 kills and 14 digs while Ashley Phelps, Brittany Gilpin and Kirstee McGarva chipped in 10 kills apiece. It marked a career high for McGarva. Kristyn Nicholson passed out 33 assists while Chelby Stanford dished out 17. The Islanders who currently lead the nation in digs registered 87 in the match and held the Wildcats (2-19, 0-8 SLC) to .072 hitting. Hailey King powered the defense with 24 digs, while Ivy Baresh collected 22 and Wall added 10. At the net, Kelsee Felux notched five block assists to lead the team.
The Islanders (12-12, 5-2 SLC) fell short in the first set, 27-25, after a late comeback. A&M - Corpus Christi opened with an early lead before ACU answered back to take a 10-8 lead on a 3-0 run. The Islanders then evened things up at 11-11 after straight kills by Baresh and Gilpin. However, the Wildcats garnered the lead for good after pushing ahead 13-11. ACU maintained their lead but the Islanders gained a spark after a timeout and a kill by the Wildcats at 23-18. A&M – Corpus Christi followed with a 4-0 run to pull within one at 23-22. After a kill by ACU, Gilpin followed with a kill and an attacking error by the Wildcats evened the set at 24-24. After exchanging points, ACU scored two straight to seal a 27-25 victory.
The Islanders bounced back in the second set to win 25-13 and even the match at 1-1. A&M - Corpus Christi recorded a perfect sideout percentage and hit .267, while holding ACU to .000 hitting. The Islanders surged out to an 8-3 lead after Nicholson and Gilpin teamed up for a block assist. After back-to-back blocks by the Islanders extended their lead to 11-4, A&M - Corpus Christi kept things rolling to pad its lead to 11 at 20-9 after scoring five straight. The Islanders eventually finished off the set at 25-13 after a kill by Nicholson.
A&M - Corpus Christi carried over their momentum into the third set to secure a 25-15 victory. The Islanders jumped out to an 8-2 lead after consecutive kills by McGarva and Brink. The Islanders then extended their lead to 14-4 on a 6-1 run after an ace by Baresh. McGarva then put down a kill at 21-11 before an attacking error by ACU at 22-11 sparked the home team on a 4-1 run to cut the Islanders lead to 23-15. However, a kill by Phelps and an attacking error by the Wildcats gave the Islanders the 2-1 match lead. The Islanders hit a set high .333 in the set and held ACU to .000 hitting.
In the fourth set, the Wildcats built an early lead before the Islanders tied the set at 10-10 after scoring four straight. The Islanders kept trimming away at ACU's lead and eventually pulled away on a 4-0 run at 14-12. During the run Phelps and Brink put down back-to-back kills. A&M - Corpus Christi maintained its lead until ACU rallied back to knot the set at 17-17 with three straight points. After tying two more times, the Islanders put together a 3-0 run with kills by Nicholson and Phelps to push ahead at 22-19. After battling back-and-forth, A&M - Corpus Christi received a kill by Felux, an ace by Wall and an attacking error by the Wildcats to secure the win.
The Islanders will return home for a three-match homestand at the Dugan Wellness Center. First up is a Tuesday night match against two-time defending Southland Conference champions Central Arkansas in the annual Dig Pink match. First serve is set for 7 p.m.
For all the latest on Islanders Volleyball, like the team on Facebook (IslandersVolleyball) and follow them on Twitter and Instagram (@IslandersVB).
