NATCHITOCHES, La. – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team advanced to the Southland Conference Semifinals by winning a five-set thriller (25-21, 25-21, 22-25, 17-25, 17-15) over Houston Baptist on Friday at Prather Coliseum. The third-seeded Islanders (19-15) will now take on No. 2 seed Central Arkansas (20-11) Saturday at 11 a.m.
Seniors Brianna Brink and Ashley Phelps led the way for the Islanders offensively, with Brink leading all players with 23 kills and Phelps adding 17 of her own. Brink posted a double-double with 17 digs as well, marking the second time this season she has accomplished the feat against the Huskies. Kristyn Nicholson added 51 assists for the offense.
Libero Kate Klepetka led four players in double-digit digs with her career-high 35, as the Islanders pulled up 91 HBU attacks in the game. Brink (17), Hailey King (16) and Nicholson (13) also finished in double digits. Kelsee Felux (2-3) and Brittany Gilpin (0-5) each had five blocks as the Islanders put together 10 blocks in the contest.
The Huskies outhit the Islanders by a slight margin (.132-.128) in the evenly-matched contest, with Jessica Wooten leading a balanced attack with 15 kills. Blair Gillard also had a standout day for HBU (15-17) as she delivered nine kills and nine blocks (2-7). Megan McStravick led the way with 20 digs for the Huskies.
The deciding set was an adventurous one, as A&M-Corpus Christi jumped out to an early 4-1 lead on the strength of a pair of Ivy Baresh aces, and the Islanders began to pull away, opening up a 9-4 lead in the fifth. From there, the two teams traded points, with a Felux kill giving the Islanders match point at 14-9.
But HBU was undeterred, running off six straight points with Kayla Armer at the serve to put the game in the Huskies' hands, ahead 15-14. Head Coach Tony Graystone called a timeout, and the Islanders regrouped under the leadership of their seniors. Brink got the first kill to tie the game at 15-15, and Phelps followed with a kill of her own to put match point back in the hands of the Islanders. Brink then finished it off with a thunderous hit from the right side to allow the Islanders to advance.
Early on, it did not appear that the match was headed for such a dramatic conclusion. The Islanders led from start to finish in the first set and in the second set only trailed 1-0. A&M-Corpus Christi was in control of both sets with a strong offensive performance, outhitting HBU .275-.171 in the first stanza, then .205-.057 in set number two to take a commanding 2-0 lead into the locker room.
HBU came out of the break strong, though, and the third set was a back-and-forth battle that saw the score tied on nine different occasions. A pair of blocks late in the set from the Huskies, combined with kills from McStravick and Jessica Wooten, put HBU up 24-20 before back-to-back kills from Brink trimmed it to a 24-22 score. Wooten finished it off, though, delivering a kill to keep Houston Baptist alive.
Early in the fourth, the team teams traded blows to a 5-5 score, but HBU slowly began to open a gap. A kill from Brink trimmed the deficit to 11-9 midway through the set, but the Huskies were able to score 10 of the next 13 points to open a 21-12 lead. The Islanders rallied, scoring the next five points to cut it to 21-17, but HBU came back with a run of its own, finishing off the last four points to send it to the final set.
The Islanders will look to unseat the defending champion Sugar Bears on Saturday, as the teams square off in a morning affair in Natchitoches. UCA took both matches from A&M-Corpus Christi in the regular season, with a 3-1 victory over the Islanders at the Dugan Wellness Center on Oct. 21 and a 3-0 victory in Conway on Nov. 8 – the only loss for the Islanders in their last five matches.
Live stats will be available on NSUDemons.com, while Southland.org will provide a free video stream of the event. Updates will also be provided on the official Twitter feed of Islanders Volleyball (@IslandersVB).
