CONWAY, Ark. – The Texas A&M - Corpus Christi volleyball team suffered a 3-0 loss (25-21, 25-18, 26-24) today to Central Arkansas in the Prince Center. The Sugar Bears hit .314 in the match and held the Islanders to .173 hitting. Senior Brianna Brink led the offense with 13 kills while senior Ashley Phelps picked up 10 kills in the loss.
The Islanders (16-15, 9-5 SLC) battled UCA with 20 ties and 11 lead changes but the offense of the Sugar Bears (17-9, 12-2 SLC) was too much as Evie Singleton posted 18 kills on .371 hitting and Heather Schnars registered 17 kills on .333 hitting to keep the Sugar Bears in second place in the conference standings.
Freshman Kristyn Nicholson ran the offense with 23 assists and served up three aces while freshman Kate Klepetka led the defense with 14 digs and junior Ivy Baresh chipped in 10. The Islanders who lead the nation in digs racked up 44 on the day. Junior Kelsee Felux led the Islanders' at the net with three block assists while freshman Brittany Gilpin, Phelps and Brink each picked up a pair of block assists.
The Islanders and Sugar Bears went neck-and-neck in the opening set with seven ties and five lead changes. After UCA jumped out to an 11-9 lead, the Islanders rallied back to garner a 13-11 lead on a 4-0 run. During the run, Phelps slammed down a kill off the UCA block, Nicholson served up a pair of aces, and Felux and Brink teamed up for the block assist. However, the Sugar Bears answered with a 7-1 run to take the lead for the good at 18-14. After exchanging points back and forth the Islanders pulled within two at 22-20 after a kill by Phelps, but UCA pulled away to win 25-21. The Sugar Bears hit .472 in the opening set while the Islanders hit .379 with just one attack error.
The Islanders bounced back to take an early 7-3 lead in the second set, but saw their lead evaporate as the Sugar Bears put together a 4-0 run to even the set at 9-9. From there both teams exchanged points back and forth before UCA put together a 5-1 run to push ahead at 15-12. Following a timeout, the Islanders and Sugar Bears battled before a 6-2 run by UCA padded its lead to 23-17. After a Sugar Bears' service error, UCA answered with a kill by Schnars and a block by Alicia Dittrich to secure the 25-18 second-set win. The Islanders were limited to .029 hitting while UCA posted a .243 hitting percentage.
The third set looked to be going in the Islanders' favor as they opened with a 6-3 early lead after a kill by Phelps. A&M - Corpus Christi maintained its lead before UCA responded with a 7-2 run to push ahead 13-10. Brink followed with a kill to jumpstart a 4-1 run, and knot the set at 14-14. During the run, Brink added another kill and Phelps chipped in one. From there, UCA pulled ahead on a mini 3-1 run to take a 17-15 lead. The Islanders stayed within striking distance and rallied back to tie the set at 18-18 after a kill by Baresh and an ace by Nicholson. Next Brink and Baresh nailed back-to-back kills to give the Islanders a 20-18 lead. UCA put a halt to the Islanders 4-0 run with a kill by Shelbee Berringer, but the Islanders held on to the lead until consecutive points by UCA tied the set at 23-23. Following an Islanders' timeout, Phelps hammered a kill to give the Islanders' a 24-23 lead, but a pair of kills by UCA and an attack error by the Islanders gave the home team a 26-24 win. The final set featured eight ties and four lead changes.
The Islanders will now return home for their final two regular-season matches. First up is a match against Sam Houston State on Thursday, Nov. 13. First serve at the Dugan Wellness Center is set for 7 p.m.
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