CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Opening the second half of Southland Conference play, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi travels to Louisiana to face New Orleans and Southeastern Louisiana on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
The Islanders (13-7, 8-0) currently sit atop the Southland with a two-game lead over second-place Stephen F. Austin in the Blue and Green's quest for a second-straight regular season title.
ISLANDER INSIGHT
• The Islanders have won 26 consecutive Southland Conference regular season matches dating back to 2014. That streak ties for the second longest in conference history.
• A&M-Corpus Christi dominates the league statistically, leading the way in hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage, assists and kills in league matches. The Islanders also rank second in blocks.
• Outside
Brittany Gilpin leads the Blue and Green in Southland play with 94 kills, averaging 3.48 per set. The junior is also hitting .300 at the pin.
• Junior
Madeleine Doud ranks second in the league, hitting .379 in conference matches. Fellow middle
Madi Fitzsimmons is sixth on the chart at .343.
•Libero
Kate Klepetka is tops in the Southland with a 5.52 digs per set average during conference matches.
THE SCOUT: NEW ORLEANS
The Privateers enter Thursday night at 4-17 on the year and 1-7 in conference play. New Orleans fell in five sets to Nicholls Tuesday night as the Privateers fell to the bottom of the league standings.
Freshman Jordan Yauch led the Privateer effort with 21 kills, a career-high, and added 13 digs for the double-double. Yauch leads New Orleans with 199 kills on the season, averaging 3.16 per set. Blessing Dunn is just behind with 182 total kills on the season. The Privateers hit just .154 as a team, ranking ninth in league.
• Samantha Uline anchors the New Orleans defense averaging just shy of four digs per set.
• The Islanders are 3-1 all-time against New Orleans with the only loss coming in the first year of the Islander program in 2000.
THE SCOUT: SOUTHEASTERN LOUISIANA
The Lions enter the weekend swing at 4-4 and would currently be the five seed at the Southland Conference Tournament if the season ended today. Southeastern earned a 3-1 victory over in-state rival McNeese Tuesday night.
After losing 15-of-16, the Lions have hit their stride in the past two weeks winning three of their past four matches. That includes a 3-2 win over then second-place Northwestern State. Tuesday night against McNeese, the Lions used five or more kills from six players to roll past the Cowgirls.
• Southeastern has struggled on the attack, hitting just .132 on the year to rank at the bottom of the conference.
• In conference matches, the Lions have been a force defensively holding opponents to just .156 hitting. That mark ranks second in the Southland behind the Islanders.
• Chloee Holden leads the Lions with 164 kills averaging 2.30 per set. Elyssa Purcell and Landry Bullock also average better than two kills per set.
• Libero Monica Ramon anchors the back row with 3.91 digs per set.
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