EDINBURG, Texas – A combined 41 kills from UT Rio Grande Valley's Alisha Watson and Ragni Steen Knudsen proved too much as Texas A&M-Corpus Christi fell in five sets to the Vaqueros 23-25, 25-14, 14-25, 26-24, 4-15 Tuesday night in Edinburg..
The loss snapped a six-match winning streak for the Islanders (11-7) who could not overcome a slow start in the decisive fifth set of Tuesday night's South Texas Showdown presented by NavyArmy Community Credit Union.
A career-high 17 kills from
Madi Fitzsimmons and a ninth double-double from
Brittany Gilpin carried the Islander rally to force the fifth set, but the Blue and Green saw UTRGV use a 10-1 run to seal the final frame. Gilpin finished the night with 11 kills and 17 digs, matching her career-high defensively.
For the Vaqueros (13-7), it was the Watson and Steen Knudsen show from the get-go. Watson, the senior right side, was spectacular all night long hitting .442 and committing just two errors. Despite 14 team blocks, the Islanders could not find an answer for Watson or Knudsen. The 21 kills for Watson and 20 for Knudsen were just shy of their respective career-highs.
After dropping the first to a late UTRGV rally, the Islanders found their groove in the second, hitting a match-best .395. A&M-Corpus Christi leveled the match at the break with a 25-14 trouncing of the Vaqueros in the second.
The Blue and Green could not reproduce that success again, as the Islanders hit .100, .189 and -.077 to close out the match. Meanwhile, UTRGV rebounded with their best two sets of the night, hitting .485 in the third and .300 in the fifth. Bojana Mitrovic joined the onslaught late, racking up 14 kills to give the Vaqueros three in double figures.
For the Islanders, it was again a balanced attack with six players tallying five or more kills. Along with Fitzsimmons and Gilpin's strong nights,
Madeleine Doud added eight kills while
Claire Karsten and
Morgan Carlson chipped in seven apiece.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Islanders return home for a pair of pivotal Southland matches this week. A&M-Corpus Christi hosts Houston Baptist Thursday at 6:30 p.m. before facing Lamar at 1 p.m. Saturday. The Islanders look to get back to their winning ways and keep their perfect Southland record intact.
