The Texas A&M – Corpus Christi volleyball team split its matches today at the Long Beach State/Loyola Marymount Tournament. The Islanders clinched a tight five-set thriller over St. Mary's College today before dropping a 3-2 loss to host LMU. Seniors Brianna Brink and Ashley Phelps powered the Islanders' offense today with a combined 64 kills in 10 sets.
The Islanders will continue play Saturday in Long Beach, Calif. against Long Beach at 2 p.m. CDT and Northern Colorado at 8 p.m. CDT.
For all the latest on Islanders Volleyball, like the team on Facebook (IslandersVolleyball) and follow them on Twitter and Instagram (@IslandersVB).
MATCH 1: TEXAS A&M - CORPUS CHRISTI 3, ST. MARY'S COLLEGE 2
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The Texas A&M - Corpus Christi volleyball team clinched a tight five-set thriller (22-25, 25-15, 25-16, 21-25, 18-16) over St. Mary's College today in the opening round of the Long Beach State/Loyola Marymount Tournament. The Islanders posted a .259 hitting percentage and were powered by four players in double-digit kills. Brink led the way with 18 kills and 13 digs, while Ivy Baresh racked up her fourth double-double of the year with 11 kills and a season-high 17 digs.
The Islanders' (4-4) defense held the Gaels (4-4) to .198 hitting while registering 85 digs, just one shy of their season high. Kristyn Nicholson also recorded her fourth double-double of the year with a career-high 47 assists and a career-best 18 digs. Also helping the defense was Hailey King with 15 digs and Kate Klepetka with 12.
A&M - Corpus Christi dropped a close first set 25-22. The Gaels limited the Islanders to .148 hitting while posting a .256 hitting percentage. Both teams stayed neck-and-neck and were tied at 16-16 until St. Mary's pushed ahead for good to win 25-22.
The Islanders bounced back to secure the next two sets to take a 2-1 lead in the match. In the second set A&M - Corpus Christi came out red-hot to hit an impressive .500 and win 25-15. The Islanders committed just one hitting error while putting down 13 kills and holding the Gaels to .148 hitting. In the third set, the Islanders propelled to a 25-16 victory and posted a .242 hitting percentage. The Islanders collected 12 kills in the win.
St. Mary's answered back in the fourth set to win 25-21 on .268 hitting. The Islanders fell behind early before pulling within two at 18-16 and forcing the Gaels to call a timeout. Out of the break, the Islanders cut the lead to one, before St. Mary's maintained their lead to win and force a fifth set.
The Gaels built a 13-11 lead in the fifth set before the Islanders rallied back to even things up at 14-14 after a kill by Baresh. After trading points back and forth to knot the set two more times, Brittany Gilpin and Brink hit back-to-back kills to secure the set and the match, 18-16. The Islanders hit .333 in the set with Gilpin leading the team with four kills.
MATCH 2: LOYOLA MARYMOUNT 3, TEXAS A&M - CORPUS CHRISTI 2
LOS ANGELES – The Islanders dropped a tough five-set match to host Loyola Marymount in the second match tonight (19-25, 25-22, 25-19, 13-25, 9-15). The Islanders (4-5) recorded a season-high 11 blocks to control the net but the Lions (8-0) hit .259 to rally past the Islanders. Brink led the Islanders for the second straight match with 18 kills on .310 hitting and a career-high seven blocks. Haley Satterwhite Day chipped in a season-high 16 kills and Phelps added 13 for the Islanders' offense.
Nicholson ran the offense with 45 assists while Baresh racked up a team-high 15 digs. Also helping the defense was King who recorded 12 digs, Klepetka who added 11 digs and freshman Madeleine Doud posted a career-best nine blocks, including eight block assists.
The Lions came out strong in the first set to build an early 12-6 lead. The Islanders rallied back to even things up at 15-15 before LMU took the lead for good on a 10-4 run to win.
A&M - Corpus Christi bounced back in the second and third sets to take a 2-1 match lead. In the second set, the Islanders hit an impressive .406 hitting percentage. Satterwhite led the Islanders with six kills while Phelps added five. LMU opened with an early lead before the Islanders rallied to knot the set at 17-17. After battling back and forth the Islanders surged ahead for good with consecutive kills by Satterwhite and Brink to take a 22-20 lead. Gilpin then secured the 25-22 victory with a kill. In the third set, the Islanders ignited for a solid .400 hitting percentage to win 25-19. Brink put down six of the Islanders 16 kills in the set. A&M - Corpus Christi battled back after falling behind 12-6 to put together an 18-8 run and win.
LMU responded in the fourth and fifth sets to clinch the match. In the fourth, the Lions posted a .519 hitting percentage and limited the Islanders to just .094 hitting to win 25-13. In the final set, LMU put together a 6-0 early lead before clinching a 15-9 victory.
