CORPUS CHRISTI – The Texas A&M - Corpus Christi volleyball team cruised to a 3-0 sweep (25-19, 25-18, 25-17) over Sam Houston State tonight in the Dugan Wellness Center. Senior Ashley Phelps hit an impressive .382 and picked up 14 kills while freshman Kristyn Nicholson posted her 11th double-double of the season with 35 assists and 13 digs.
The Islanders (17-15, 10-5 SLC) registered their seventh Southland Conference sweep of the season on .281 hitting. A&M - Corpus Christi's defense was outstanding, holding the Bearkats (18-10, 11-4 SLC) to .107 hitting and out-blocking them, 7-2. Freshman Kate Klepetka led the surge with 24 digs, just one shy of her career high, and freshman Brittany Gilpin propelled the Islanders at the net with four block assists.
A&M - Corpus Christi came out red-hot to start the opening set with a 10-4 lead. The Islanders kept things rolling and built a 14-8 lead after Nicholson tipped it over for the kill. Following a timeout and a kill by SHSU, the Islanders scored five straight to extend their lead to 19-9. The Islanders maintained their lead the rest of the way to win 25-19. Phelps led the Islanders with four kills while Klepetka posted 10 digs. The Islanders hit .163 in the set and held the Bearkats to .024 hitting.
The Islanders carried over the momentum into the second set and hit an impressive .400 to breeze to a 25-18 win. After a back-and-forth battle early on, the Islanders gained control of the lead at 8-5 after a 3-0 run to force the Bearkats to call a timeout. During the run, junior Ivy Baresh put down a pair of kills and Gilpin served up an ace. The Islanders pulled away at 16-10 after a kill by Phelps and eventually closed out the set on a kill by Brink. The Islanders' defense limited the Bearkats to .182 hitting.
In the final set, the Bearkats hung with the Islanders to start the set, which featured six ties and three lead changes. After exchanging points back and forth to knot the set at 6-6, the Islanders put together a 6-1 run to push ahead 12-7. During the run, junior Kelsee Felux slammed down three kills and Brink posted one to give the Islanders the lead for good. A&M – Corpus Christi built its biggest lead of the set at 15-8 after back-to-back kills by Brink and an ace by Baresh. The Islanders kept cruising and padded their lead to 22-11 after consecutive kills by Phelps and Gilpin. The Islanders then clinched the 25-17 win after the Bearkats served out of rotation.
The Islanders will return to action when they will host Lamar in the regular-season finale on Saturday, Nov. 15, at the Dugan at 1 p.m. As part of the Senior Day festivities, the Islanders will honor seniors Brianna Brink and Ashley Phelps, along with junior Haley Satterwhite Day prior to the match.
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