CONWAY, Ark. – For the fourth consecutive match to open the Southland Conference slate, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi rolled its way to a sweep of Central Arkansas 25-23, 25-13, 25-19, Saturday afternoon.
"Any win on the road is a good one, a sweep is even better," said head coach
Steve Greene. "It doesn't reflect the strength of our opponents, I think our opponents have been playing us very well, but we've been fighting back. Every time someone gets a run on us, we just come back, make some changes in our game and the numbers are reflecting that right now."
The Islanders entered the showdown with Central Arkansas boasting the best defense in the Southland and it showed Saturday in the Prince Center. The Islanders overpowered the Bears' attack, holding UCA to just .099 hitting.
With a strong block at the net and the back row buzzing around, the Blue and Green frustrated what was the Southland's third-best offensive team entering the day. A team-effort at the net ended with six different Islanders accumulating multiple blocks.
Brittany Gilpin,
Mallory Moran and
Kristyn Nicholson each had a solo block while Madison Fitzsimmons earned three block assists.
Determined to keep the ball away from libero
Kate Klepetka, the Bears (8-9, 2-3) sprayed the ball to the edges of the court, but the Islanders were there to cover. Nicholson racked up 15 digs to earn a double-double on the day, while Gilpin added nine digs and
Madison Woods eight.
DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
The defensive effort landed the Islanders another stifling performance to open the Southland season, holding their third opponent in conference play below .100 hitting. Only Northwestern State has hit above .100, but just barely at .101.
"I thought our serving was real strong," said Greene. "That kind of put them on their heels a little bit. We were block scheming really well, making good decisions and played a strong mental game with our blockers. That set up our defense so we knew where the ball was going and we were able to position ourselves well."
NINE WAYS TO SCORE
Offensively, the Islanders (9-6, 4-0) posted another strong outing, hitting .298 as a team against the Bears. No single Islander posted double-digit kills, but nine different players chipped in with a kill.
Morgan Carlson led the way with nine kills for the Blue and Green. Gilpin added another eight and
Madeleine Doud was a force in the middle, knocking down seven kills while hitting .750.
• Moran added five kills to the balanced effort, also adding two points on the block.
• Fitzsimmons chipped in with four kills.
• Nihcolson and
Claire Karsten each had two kills, while
Morgan Williams and
Kate Klepetka added a kill apiece.
"Immediately Mallory and Doud came in with a kill and that opened me up with a split," said Carlson. "I told Krisyn to set me low and inside and it widened that split. When everyone is hitting, it opens everything up because the blockers can get confused and it helps us pull the trigger."
DIG PINK SHOWDOWN
The Islanders now return to the Dugan Wellness Center for Dig Pink on Thursday, Oct. 6, at 6:30 p.m. The match will be a battle for first in the Southland Conference as undefeated Stephen F. Austin comes to the Island.
