NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Two powerhouses, both undefeated in Southland Conference play, entered into Shelton Gym Thursday night, each on its own astonishing run. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi had swept each of its past five matches while Stephen F. Austin had won its past 20 Southland regular season matches. Something had to give.
In the end, both streaks came to a halt, but the Islanders emerged victorious in one of the most enthralling matches of 2015. The Islanders (17-4, 5-0) needed all five sets to down SFA (12-9, 4-1), rallying from a 2-1 deficit to win 25-19, 23-25, 19-25, 26-24, 15-13.
With the Islanders trailing 11-12 in the final set, sophomore Madeleine Doud found the floor with two pivotal kills, drawing the blue and green level at first 12-12 and then 13-13. A match that had see-sawed for its entirety was fulfilling its apparent destiny, coming all the way down to the wire. With the score tied after the Doud kills, the Ladyjacks committed back-to-back errors to seal the Islanders victory and bring an end to the longest active Southland Conference winning streak.
"This was such an amazing match," said head coach Tony Graystone. "It was everything we expected it to be. This is obviously a very emotional win and I'm just so proud of our effort and composure, especially as the match got tight at the end."
Doud walked off the Shelton Gym floor having struck gold with a career-high 15 kills. The sophomore middle blocker was on top of her game all night, playing errorless volleyball and hitting .600 for the match. 13 kills would have been her career high, but Doud added to her sensational performance by capping it off with arguably two of her biggest kills as an Islander.
Fellow middle blocker Brittany Gilpin tagged right along for yet another impressive night on the attack. Gilpin knocked down a match-best 16 kills en route to setting her career-high as well. For the pair of sophomores, it was certainly a night to remember in Nacogdoches.
"I'm so proud of Maddie and Brittany," said Graystone. "They were so good tonight and were absolutely the difference in this match."
While Doud and Gilpin played the difference makers, it took a massive team effort to secure one of the biggest victories for the Islanders thus far in 2015. Senior Ivy Baresh was her usual, forceful self, crushing 16 kills to tie Gilpin for the match high. Morgan Carlson chipped in eight kills herself, making a big impact in the third and fourth sets to help the Islanders into the decisive fifth. Kelsee Felux knocked down another seven kills while Kirstee McGarva jumped off the bench for five kills in the victory.
Of course, all the kills would not have been possible without setter Kristyn Nicholson who produced a whopping 64 assists. The 64 helpers smashed Nicholson's career-best of 59 which came in last season's Houston Baptist match.
"The team recognized how important this match was and stood up to the challenge," Graystone said. "SFA played great and their crowd was unbelieveable, but we were able to play our best when we had to and come out with the win."
After cruising through the first set 25-16, the Islanders seemed poised to claim a 2-0 advantage in the second. Up 20-16, A&M-Corpus Christi appeared to be closing in on the second set, but SFA staged a furious rally, claiming eight of the final 11 points to even the match with the 25-23 set.
Coming out of the half, it was all Ladyjacks as SFA controlled the flow of play in the third set. It was the block ,which kicked into high gear in the third, that limited the Islanders to just a .118 hitting percentage in the set. The Ladyjacks seized a 2-1 lead in the match and for the first time in Southland play, the Islanders found themselves on the ropes.
THE COMEBACK
Down 2-1 after three sets, the Islanders forced a must-win set four. Slowly, but surely, the Islanders built up a small lead, growing to 16-12 midway through the set. But, the Ladyjacks were prime for a rally, coming back from a late 24-21 deficit to force extras.
That's when Gilpin stepped up. The sophomore would play hero in the late points of the fourth set, slamming one of her 16 kills to the floor to give the Islanders match point once again. At 25-24, an errant set by SFA sent the match to a fitting fifth set.
THE FINAL SET
After an error from SFA gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead, libero Kate Klepetka stepped to the line. The sophomore first produced a service ace, before notching her second kill of the season. No, it wasn't a traditional kill, but it worked as Klepetka's dig bounded back over the net and into the back corner to build a 5-2 advantage.
Of course, it would not be that easy. The Ladyjacks nabbed the next three points to level, but the Islanders remained calm and responded. At 8-7, the Islanders used back-to-back kills from Gilpin and McGarva to once more stake a three-point lead.
Oh, but again, SFA answered right back, storming into the lead at 12-11. That's when a timeout and a sophomore flipped the game. Doud notched her two game-changing kills and the rest is history, landing the Islanders at 5-0 in Southland play.
CAREER HIGH, AFTER CAREER HIGH, AFTER CAREER HIGH
It took a monumental effort for the Islanders to unseat the reigning Southland Conference regular season champions and the stats reflect just how much was needed. Three Islanders set career highs with Gilpin pounding a career best 16 kills, Doud racking up her personal record of 15 kills and Nicholson playing the table setter for the duo with a record 64 assists.
While three career-bests came on offense, the match was very defensive in nature. Klepetka, who has be amongst the nation's leaders all-season long, was once again up to her old tricks with 36 digs to lead the Islanders and set her own career mark.
While not a career-high, Baresh notch an impressive 25 digs, one shy of her all-time best, to notch her sixth double-double of the season.
STREAKS END, BUT ISLANDERS CARRY ON
The Islanders saw their five-match sweep streak come to an end on Thursday night, but that won't matter much to the blue and green. More importantly, A&M-Corpus Christi extends its winning streak to a season-long seven matches and ended a trio of impressive SFA runs.
The Ladyjacks had won each of their past three Southland matches in five sets and were undefeated at home. Both of those came to an end inside Shelton Gym, but more impressively, the Islanders ended SFA's 20-match Southland Conference winning streak with the thrilling come-from-behind victory of their own.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Islanders will look to recoup and build off of the exciting win with a road trip to Northwestern State on Saturday. A&M-Coprus Christi defeated the Demons 3-1 in Corpus Christi last 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.
