BEAUMONT, Texas – In the final week of the regular season, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi junior
Brittany Gilpin seems sharp as ever after crushing a career-high 20 kills to the floor in a 25-16, 20-25, 25-12, 25-23 victory over Lamar on Thursday night.
"Lamar is a really strong offensive team and they played a very complete match defensively as well," said head coach
Steve Greene. "I couldn't be more proud of how we handled adversity and difficult situations in this match. The way the team responded between sets two and three and came out with a renewed vigor really shows their competitive drive."
In a matchup pitting two of the best offensive players in the conference against one another in Gilpin and Lamar's Chelsea Grant, it was Gilpin who emerged the victor on the outside. Any time the Islanders needed a point, Gilpin was soaring through the air to send another strike crashing to the ground.
Gilpin's 20 kills came on just 43 sets as the Islander hit a masterful .419 in the match. It's the second time she has amassed 20 kills this season, the first coming in a five-set match against UTRGV. Thursday, it took only four sets for Gilpin to reach her all-time high.
"Brittany plays such a consistent game night in and night out," said Greene. "She is able to play all aspects of the game at a very high level. I'm so impressed with her abiltity to step up her game when called upon by her teammates and coaches. Tonight was a prime example of how talented she is."
It wasn't just on the offensive side that Gilpin put up big numbers. For the 13th time this season, the outside went for a double-double as she added 11 digs on the evening. Three other Islanders (20-7, 15-0) joined Gilpin in double-digits, led by
Kate Klepetka who racked up 16 digs.
Madison Woods and
Morgan Carlson added 11 apiece as the Cardinals (6-21, 6-9) tried to keep the ball away from the Islander libero as much as possible.
SETTING THE TABLE
Setter
Kristyn Nicholson continues to power the most dynamic attack in the Southland Conference. The Islanders hit .311 Thursday night with the junior spreading the ball from pin to pin. It was the sixth time in the past seven matches the Blue and Green has hit better than .300 as a team, the lone blemish was a .284 performance.
Nicholson dished out 42 assists in the victory and showed she possesses every facet of the game. She added six kills, hitting .500 on the night and also picked up nine digs.
MORAN MAGIC
Sophomore
Mallory Moran made a major resurgence with 11 kills in the win. She piled up the dozen terminations on just 28 attempts, committing a single error to hit a career-best .393.
The efficient night broke Moran's previous best of .375 set earlier this season against Northwestern State.
CHIPPING IN
• Morgan Carlson knocked down nine kills to fall just shy of a double-double. She also had four block assists on the night.
•
Madeleine Doud accounted for five kills and a pair of blocks.
•
Morgan Williams and
Madi Fitzsimmons added three kills each to the offensive effort.
FINAL FIGHT
The Islanders will conclude the regular season at Houston Baptist Saturday morning. A win would cap off a second straight undefeated Southland Conference season for the Blue and Green. Following Saturday's match, the Islanders will head to Central Arkansas as the top seed at this year's Southland Conference Tournament.
