CONWAY, Ark. – The opening match of the 2016 Southland Conference Tournament was perhaps closer than expected, but Texas A&M-Corpus Christi persevered to dispatch a pesky McNeese squad 25-19, 25-13, 20-25, 25-17 Friday evening.
"I thought there were a little bit of nerves in the beginning for sure," said head coach
Steve Greene. "I also thought McNeese played really well and were a big part of it. More so than anything else, I'm proud of how the team handled it. Emotions can run high in these situations and it brings out the best and the worst in you. I think our team responded really well."
The top seed and undefeated Islanders rode Southland Conference Player of the Year
Brittany Gilpin to shake off a sluggish performance. Gilpin finished the match with a double-double piling up a match-high 17 kills and adding 11 digs. It was the junior's 14th double-double of the season.
Morgan Carlson added 13 kills on a .345 hitting percentage to finish as the only other Islander in double figures. The senior added a trio of block assists for a 14.5-point night.
In what devolved into a defensive slugfest, Libero of the Year Kate Klepekta piled up 30 digs. Across the net, her counterpart Bridget Justis equaled that total for McNeese. For Klepetka, it was the fourth time this season she has eclipsed the 30-dig plateau.
"I thought Morgan did a great job staying the course and making sure we did that as a team," said Greene. "She gave us a great deal of consistency offensively. I thought Kate and Maddie Woods' defense was on point and really helped carry us through the match."
BATTLING BACK
McNeese came out with a 6-2 run to start the match and put the Islanders on their heels. It would take most of the first set, but the Islanders slugged their way back for a 25-19 win. Carlson notched five kills in the opening set to lead the rally.
The Islanders also knocked down four blocks in the comeback.
Morgan Williams led the way with three block assists while
Kristyn Nicholson added a pair.
TROUBLE IN THE THIRD
After cruising to a 25-13 win in the second behind a .469 hitting percentage, the Islanders were stuck in neutral in the third.
The Islanders committed eight errors in the set, hitting just .082 as McNeese stirred a rally of its own. The Cowgirls only hit .195, but it was enough to top the Blue and Green 25-20 and force a fourth set.
WILLIAMS WALL
Earning the start in the middle,
Morgan Williams put up a monstrous block for the Islanders. The sophomore set a new career high with seven total blocks. Six of her rejections were block assists while one was of the solo variety.
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Madeleine Doud added six blocks to a 13-block day for the Islanders.
• Gilpin notched five rejections while Carlson added three.
SATURDAY SEMIS
With the win, the Islanders advance to Saturday's semifinals and await the winner of the Houston Baptist-Central Arkansas matchup. First serve is set for 2:30 p.m.
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