Corpus Christi – The Islanders volleyball team wrapped up an impressive weekend at the Maverick Classic hosted by UT-Arlington. A&M-Corpus Christi swept the morning match against Campbell College before winning in five sets against the hosts Saturday evening. Head coach Tony Graystone was impressed with how his team played in its first weekend of competition.
"Every match had someone new who impressed us," said Graystone after the evening match. "Maddie Doud played very well. Her block was a big key for us, and she showed us how she has improved her offense. Morgan Carlson has been waiting for this opportunity for three years and had a great performance in her first weekend as a starter for this program."
For their performances this weekend, Ivy Baresh, Morgan Carlson and Madeleine Doud were named to the Maverick Classic All-Tournament Team.
Campbell College
The Islanders swept the Lady Camels in the morning match 25-16, 30-28 and 25-20. Compared to the Friday lineup against Grambling State, Graystone used a veteran roster for most of the team's second match.
Brittany Gilpin and Shayla Maldonado picked up early aces to propel the Islanders to a quick 9-4 lead in game one. A kill by Kelsee Felux prompted a three-point run to extend the lead to 12-4. Carlson secured the final two points of the game after the Fighting Camels went on a four-point run.
A&M-Corpus Christi faced their first deficit of the season in the second game, before Felux leveled the set with a kill to make the score 10-10. The Camels fought back to take a 26-25 lead. Kills by Ivy Baresh, Doud and Carlson, offset by two Campbell points, delivered game two for the Islanders.
A combination of errors by Campbell and strong offensive attacks from Baresh and Gilpin helped the Islanders jump out to an early 6-2 lead. Felux provided a needed kill to halt a Fighting Camel four-point run at 16-11, before finishing the match with the with her 10th kill.
Carlson added eight kills, while Doud provided seven more after her impressive performance yesterday against Grambling State. Kristyn Nicholson finished the match with 31 assists.
UT-Arlington
The Islanders entered the final match of the Maverick Classic against the hosts, as both teams had completed sweeps of Campbell and Grambling State in the previous contests. The teams traded the first four sets, 25-18, 16-25, 25-17, 21-25, before A&M-Corpus Christi secured the victory in game five 15-10
"Those five-set matches are always a battle of wills," added Graystone. " We needed to play our style, which happened in sets one and three. In the final set, we adjusted the lineup to create different matchups to give us an advantage. I am really proud of how the team battled through the match en route to a great win for the program."
Both teams started game one trading errors and points, before Nicholson and Gilpin combined for a block, which forced UT-Arlington to call their first timeout of the tournament. The Islanders went on a four-point run to finish the game.
UTA started the second game quickly, going on an eight-point run to go ahead 12-4. Ivy Baresh managed two kills to pull within six, but the Mavericks extended their lead to 11 and out of reach.
The Islanders came out of the break before game three trading points with UTA. Baresh produced six kills as a part of a 10-2 run for A&M-Corpus Christi, as the team rolled in game three.
In game four, an A&M-Corpus Christi timeout sparked a run that brought the Islanders within two points at 12-10. The Mavericks finished with 6-3 run to close out the game.
The Islanders used a five-point run to charge out to a 10-5 lead in the final set. Felux and Doud combined for back-to-back kills to extend the lead to 12-6, on the way to winning the game and match.
Baresh and Gilpin each provided 14 kills to lead the Islanders offensively. Felux and Carlson added 11 kills.
What's Next?
The next match for the Islanders will be on Tuesday, as they face UTRGV for the first time of three scheduled meetings this season, before heading to Boise, Idaho, for the Boise State Invitational, hosted by the Boise State Broncos. A&M-Corpus Christi will face the Broncos on Friday at 6 P.M. CT (7 P.M. MT), Northwestern at 1 P.M. CT on Saturday, and Idaho State that afternoon at 3:30 PM CT.
Graystone's squad returns to the Coastal Bend on Friday, Sept. 11, for the first match of the Comfort Suites Islanders Classic. Purchase your single-game and season tickets today by going to GoIslanders.com/Tickets to watch all the action at the Dugan this 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.
