CORPUS CHRSTI – Junior Ivy Baresh tallied a career-high 26 digs for the Texas A&M - Corpus Christi volleyball team, but it wasn't enough as Stephen F. Austin controlled the net with 10 blocks to win 3-1 (22-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-18). The Ladyjacks (12-7, 5-0 SLC) recorded 18 block assists and one solo block while the Islanders were held to two team blocks tonight in the Dugan Wellness Center.
Ashley Phelps led the Islanders (9-12, 2-2 SLC) with 15 kills on .324 hitting while Brianna Brink added 11 and Brittany Gilpin chipped in 10. Kristyn Nicholson dished out 40 assists while Hailey King added 11 digs. The Ladyjacks hit .331 in the match and limited the Islanders to .222 hitting.
The Islanders opened with an early 10-5 lead in the first set after an ace by Gilpin and an attack error by the Ladyjacks. However, SFA quickly evaporated the Islanders' lead with a 7-0 run to push ahead 13-11. Phelps followed with a kill before both teams exchanged points back and forth. After another kill by Phelps evened the set at 16-16, the Islanders and Ladyjacks traded points. The Islanders then gained momentum and took the lead for good after Nicholson and Kelsee Felux put down consecutive kills. After a service error, Phelps and Brink nailed straight kills before Nicholson followed with an ace to pad the Islanders' lead to 22-18. After a mini run by the Ladyjacks, the Islanders closed out the set with a kill by Gilpin to win 25-22. The Islanders hit .304 in the set and held the Ladyjacks to .244 hitting. Phelps led the Islanders with six kills while Baresh tallied 11 digs.
SFA rallied back to win the next three sets to win the match. The Ladyjacks hit .278 in the second set to pick up a 25-19 victory. After a back-and-forth battle at the start, SFA pushed ahead for good at 11-10 and put together an 8-3 run to take an 18-13 lead. The Islanders battled back to trim the deficit to three at 20-17 after a kill by Gilpin and a solo block by Morgan Carlson to force the Ladyjacks to call a timeout. SFA however put together a 5-2 run to secure the second set. SFA hit .324 and held the Islanders to .189 hitting.
The Ladyjacks built early leads in both the third and fourth sets to clinch the win. In the third, SFA hit .349 while the Islanders posted a .238 hitting percentage. After SFA jumped out to an 11-9 lead, the Islanders rallied back to even things at 12-12 with kills by Gilpin and Nicholson. After battling back and forth, Felux racked up a kill to knot the set at 16-16, however, from there it was the Ladyjacks who gained momentum and maintained the lead en route to a 25-22 third-set win.
SFA closed out the match in the fourth set on a set-high .448 hitting to win 25-18. The Islanders were limited to .135 hitting and were out-blocked 5-0. The Ladyjacks opened with a 9-5 lead on a 6-1 run before Phelps nailed a kill. After straight points by SFA, Baresh registered a kill and Gilpin followed with consecutive aces to pull the Islanders within two. SFA then extended their lead on a 5-2 run to take a five-point advantage. After rallying back and forth, the Islanders kept fighting to trim the deficit to three after Phelps and Gilpin put down straight kills at 19-16. After exchanging points, the Ladyjacks capped the set on a 5-1 run to win 25-18.
The Islanders return to action on Saturday, Oct. 11, at 1 p.m. against Northwestern State in the Dugan Wellness Center.
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