CORPUS CHRISTI – In the final match of the Emerald Beach Islanders Classic, the Texas A&M - Corpus Christi volleyball team suffered a 3-0 (25-15, 25-20, 25-22) loss to Boise State in the Dugan Wellness Center. The Broncos were led by two players in double-digit kills and a match-high .327 hitting percentage.
Haley Satterwhite Day led the Islanders' (7-9) offense with 10 kills while Brianna Brink added nine kills and five digs. Chelby Stanford ran the offense with 26 assists and chipped in seven digs. Defensively Kate Klepetka propelled the team with 13 digs and Hailey King chipped in nine.
Boise State (7-5) came out strong in the first set to secure a 25-15 first-set victory on .500 hitting. Maddy O'Donnell hit .875 with seven kills while Sierra Nobley tallied four kills on .571 hitting. The Islanders were held to a .150 hitting percentage and were led by Satterwhite with four kills and Klepetka with seven digs. The Broncos put together a 12-3 run to take a 16-6 lead before Satterwhite racked up a kill. Boise State's offense then built a 21-9 lead on a 5-2 run before the Islanders rallied back to score four straight with a pair of aces by Ivy Baresh and kills by Ashley Phelps and Satterwhite. Boise State however held onto the lead to win 25-15.
The Islanders and Broncos went neck-and-neck in the second set with 10 ties and five lead changes. Both teams rallied back-and-forth before Satterwhite evened things up at 20-20 with her seventh kill of the match. Boise State then scored five straight with four kills and an Islanders' attack error to win 25-20. The Broncos hit .222 in the set and held the Islanders to .194 hitting.
A&M - Corpus Christi started off strong in the third set with a 12-8 lead after an ace by Brittany Gilpin. Boise State though rallied back to even things up at 13-13 and stayed with the Islanders until pushing ahead at 18-17 on an Islanders' service error. The Islanders stayed within striking distance, and cut the lead to two with consecutive kills by Satterwhite and Brink at 24-22, but a kill by Kaitlyn Oliver closed out the set and the match at 25-22.
Satterwhite and Gilpin each earned a spot on the all-tournament team. Satterwhite recorded 3.08 kills per set in the classic with 37 kills while Gilpin registered 41 kills and 2.28 kills per set. Gilpin also racked up 16 blocks in the five matches.
The Islanders will now hit the road for their next three matches. First up is a Monday night match at Texas A&M. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. and will air on the SEC Network+ on WatchESPN.
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All-Tournament Team:
Incarnate Word: Angelique Vidaurri
Boise State: Alyssa Gammel
Omaha: Kimberly Bailey
Houston: Kadi Kullerkann
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi: Haley Satterwhite
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi: Brittany Gilpin
Boise State MVP: Sarah Baugh
