EDINBURG, Texas – The Texas A&M - Corpus Christi volleyball team suffered a pair of losses to Northern Arizona (4-0) and Texas Tech (4-0) today to wrap the UTPA Invitational. Senior Brianna Brink led the Islanders' offense with a combined 24 kills with 3.0 kills per set while freshman Kristyn Nicholson dished out 67 assists in the two losses. Defensively, freshman Kate Klepetka averaged 5.50 digs per set with a total of 44 digs today.
The Islanders (3-3) will next be in action when they head to Houston on Tuesday, Sept 9, to take on Rice at 6 p.m.
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MATCH 2: TEXAS TECH 3, TEXAS A&M - CORPUS CHRISTI 1
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi hit a set-high .256 in the first set to secure a 25-21 victory over the Red Raiders, but the Islanders were unable to hold off Texas Tech in the next three sets, falling 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 19-25, 20-25). The Red Raiders hit .203 in the match and held the Islanders to a .143 hitting percentage. Tech also registered 11 block assists and held the Islanders to four.
Junior Haley Satterwhite Day led the offense with 13 kills while senior Ashley Phelps chipped in 11. Nicholson racked up her third double-double of the season with a career-high 37 assists and 11 digs. Brink also had a career-high 17 digs while Klepetka added a match-high 19 digs and junior Hailey King added 10.
The Islanders took control in the first set at 10-9 and stayed ahead the rest of the way. A&M – Corpus Christi put together a 5-1 run to extend its lead to 20-15 before pulling away to win 25-21. The Islanders held Tech to .167 hitting and tallied 14 kills in the set.
In the second set, A&M - Corpus Christi fell behind 12-8 before Kelsee Felux and Brink hit back-to-back kills to trim the deficit to two. The Islanders stayed within striking distance before Tech closed it out with a kill to win 25-21. The Red Raiders registered a .191 hitting percentage and limited the Islanders to .118 hitting.
Tech kept the momentum going into the third set to push out to an 11-7 lead on a 4-0 run. The Islanders fought back with consecutive kills by Satterwhite and Nicholson to trim Tech's lead to 19-15. After trading points back and forth, Tech's offense closed out the set, 25-19. The Islanders committed eight hitting errors in the set while putting down 10 kills. Tech hit .219 with 13 kills and six errors.
A&M - Corpus Christi rallied back in the fourth set to jump out to an 8-6 lead after Brittany Gilpin hammered it down. The Islanders maintained their lead at 11-9 before Tech clawed their way back on a 7-0 run to take a 16-11 lead. Satterwhite responded with straight kills before the Red Raiders sealed a 25-20 victory on a set-high .243 hitting.
MATCH 1: NORTHERN ARIZONA 3, TEXAS A&M - CORPUS CHRISTI 1
The Islanders dropped a 3-1 (14-25, 25-21, 13-25, 22-25) loss to Northern Arizona in the first match today. Brink led the Islanders' offense with 15 kills on .257 hitting and Phelps chipped in eight kills. Nicholson recorded her second double-double of the season with a team-high 31 assists and 13 digs. Klepetka had a career day with 25 digs and King added 12 digs for the Islanders' defense.
The Lumberjacks (4-0) held the Islanders to a season low .064 hitting while hitting .259 hitting themselves. NAU finished with four players in double-digit kills, led by Sydney Kemper's 16 kills.
NAU jumped out to an early 12-7 lead on a 7-2 run in the opening set. The Lumberjacks extended their lead to 18-10 with five straight points before winning the first set 25-14 on .262 hitting.
The Islanders bounced back in the second set to notch a 25-21 victory on a set-high .333 hitting. After battling back-and-forth early on, the Islanders garnered the lead for good with a kill by Brink at 17-16. The Islanders closed out the set with a block assist by Brittany Gilpin and Kristyn Nicholson to win 25-21. The Islanders held the Lumberjacks to .306 hitting in the win.
NAU opened with an early 11-4 lead in the third set before Brink and Nicholson hit consecutive kills to halt a 5-0 run. Ivy Baresh added an ace to pull the Islanders within six at 16-10, but NAU built a 22-11 lead on a 6-1 run before closing it out at 25-13 with a kill.
In the fourth set, the Islanders stayed with the Lumberjacks until pulling ahead 9-7 with three straight blocks. However, the lead evaporated as NAU regained the 12-9 lead with a 5-0 run. Phelps followed with her sixth kill of the match and the slanders pulled within one with a kill by Brink and an ace by freshman Erica Luke. NAU fired back with three straight points to pad their lead to 17-13. Following an Islanders' timeout, Gilpin put down a kill and then teamed up with Nicholson for the block assist to keep the Islanders within striking distance. The Islanders stayed within two before the Islanders put together a 3-0 run that included a kill by Phelps and an ace by Nicholson to trim NAU's lead to one. The Lumberjacks put together a 3-1 run following a timeout to win 25-22.
