Photo courtesy Bradley Widding
CONWAY, Ark. – Top-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi opened its pursuit of the Southland Conference Tournament title in dominating fashion, sweeping past Southeastern Louisiana 25-14, 25-17, 25-22, in the opening match of the tournament.
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From the outset, it was apparent the Islanders (29-4) had come to play as the blue and green racked up 13 blocks to power a suffocating defensive effort. Sophomore middle blocker Brittany Gilpin led the block with a career-high 10 blocks, including three solo rejections.
"We started off really hot with the block and it only got better as the match went along," said head coach Tony Graystone. "I was really happy with our block. Southeastern started doing some things as the match went on to test our defense so it was very important for our block to have a good night."
The block set the early tone as the Islanders used five first-set rejections to build an 18-8 lead.
HISTORIC BLOCK
• The Islanders 13 blocks were the most in their Southland Tournament history.
• Gilpin's three solo blocks were a career high for the sophomore.
• Kristyn Nicholson and Kirstee McGarva had four blocks each with one solo and three assists.
"No question Brittany had a great day to lead the block," said Graystone. "She covered the net well and even when they tried to get turn ball around her she dropped a hand in and closed the angle. She just did a really nice job today."
CARLSON COMMANDS ATTACK
Junior right side Morgan Carlson continued her late season surge offensively, knocking down a team-leading 13 kills. She also proved the most consistent with four kills in both the first and second sets before closing the match with five in the final set. Carlson's 13 kills came on just 22 swings as she also led the Islanders with a .500 hitting percentage.
"We know that Carlson is kind of our key here," Graystone said. "She keeps our offense balanced and especially today, Southeastern really took our middles away, so we had to have another hitter and Morgan did a great job."
THE STATS THAT MATTER
• Ivy Baresh recorded yet another double-double with 10 kills and 10 assists.
•Nicholson also added another double-double with her 28 assists and 11 digs.
• Baresh and Nicholson now have 13 double-doubles apiece this season.
• The .039 hitting percentage for Southeastern marks the 18th consecutive opponent the Islanders have held below .200.
THE SEMIFINALS
The Islanders now await the winner of the No. 4 seed McNeese State after the Cowgirls defeated No. 5 seed New Orleans 3-1 Friday afternoon. First serve is set for 12 p.m. from the Farris Center.
