CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Senior Ivy Baresh's fourth double-double in the past five games powered Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to a 14th consecutive victory as the Islanders swept past Sam Houston State 26-24, 25-22, 25-14, Saturday afternoon inside the Dugan Wellness Center.
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Sam Houston put the pressure on early, jumping out to a 5-2 advantage in the first set, but Baresh had the answer the Islanders needed. The outside hitter racked up seven kills in the first set en route to 11 kills and 17 digs for her team-leading 10th double-double of the season.
After the 5-2 deficit, the Islanders answered nearly immediately, rallying to level the set at 7-7. The blue and green would quickly build a 14-10 lead after three-straight points, but the Bearkats (11-15, 5-7) wouldn't go away. Sam Houston would reach set point at 24-23, forcing the Islanders to call timeout.
An attack error leveled the match before Baresh flipped the table with her seventh kill to give the Islanders set point. Sophomore middle blocker Brittany Gilpin would finish the set with a cross-court drive to give the Islanders a big start to the match.
"It was big for us to take that first set," said head coach Tony Graystone. "Today was exactly what we thought it would be from them, but on our side it was good to see us stay calm. We executed plays, stayed within ourselves and not get caught worrying about the score. "
BLOCK TAKES CONTROL
After the tense first set, the Islanders had zero blocks to their name. That would change quickly as Gilpin and Morgan Carlson stuffed Sam Houston hitter Jordyn Vaughn twice in the early portion of the second set to establish a 6-4 advantage.
The Islanders never trailed again in the set and when the Bearkats had tied it at 21-21, it was the block which earned the next point to start the set-clinching run. This time, Carlson was joined by the Islanders other sophomore middle blocker Madeleine Doud.
• The Islanders finished the match with eight blocks, five of which came from Carlson and Gilpin.
• After being outblocked 5-0 in the first set, the Islanders flipped the script, finishing the match with eight blocks to Sam Houston's seven.
• The Islanders finished the weekend with 17 blocks, after rejecting nine Lamar efforts on Thursday.
"It felt good to get the block going," said Gilpin. "We've been working on it all week in practice and it's great to see it pay off in a game."
LEAVE NO DOUBT
After being pushed to the brink in the first two sets, the Islanders made sure Sam Houston could not hang around in the third. The blue and green stormed out of the break to a 9-2 lead, all but clinching the sweep.
• At 2-2, the Islanders went on a 7-0 run, sparked by a Doud kill. The Islanders would add two more blocks during the match-sealing spurt.
• Sam Houston State got as close as 15-11, but the Islanders snatched 10 of the final thirteen points to end the match.
• Fittingly, it was Baresh who found the floor for the final kill.
THE NUMBERS GAME
• Four Islanders finished with eight or more kills as Gilpin, Doud, and Carlson all joined Baresh for a balanced attack.
• Libero Kate Klepetka racked up 23 digs in the three sets. Her season digs per set average continues to rise above the 6.0 mark as she chases the top spot in NCAA digs.
• While Klepetka and Baresh stole the limelight with 23 and 17 digs, respectively, Madison Woods and Hailey King each had solid days at the back as well with nine and eight digs.
WHAT THEY SAID
SHORT TURNAROUND
The Islanders will spin back into action with an abbreviated weekend as Houston Baptist comes to the Island Tuesday night. A&M-Corpus Christi swept the Huskies in Houston earlier this season. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. on the final T-Shirt Tuesday of the volleyball season.
For more information on the Islanders volleyball team throughout the season, check them out on Twitter (@IslandersVB) and on their Facebook page (Islanders Volleyball), and download the official Islanders Front Row app for scores, updates, live stats and live video of all Islanders events.
