CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – On Senior Day and in the final home match of the season for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, it was only fitting that the two Islanders honored prior to the match put on one last show for the home crowd to sweep Nicholls 25-16, 25-19, 25-23.
Senior
Morgan Carlson and junior
Kate Klepetka, who is a senior academically, combined to lead the Islanders to their ninth sweep of Southland Conference play. Carlson continued her hot play, racking up a match-high 13 kills and hitting .308. Meanwhile, Klepetka went to work defensively, digging up 24 Nicholls attacks in the three sets.
"This was a nice finish to our home season," said head coach
Steve Greene. "To put up another 3-0 win at home was great and it was really nice to get to honor
Morgan Carlson and
Kate Klepetka on Senior Day.
"They did a great job today," continued Greene. "Kate's defense and passing was solid throughout and it was just a perfect example of how she plays the game. She had a couple outstanding plays in set two to keep rallies going. Morgan started out getting a ton of balls early and then finished with five kills in the third. She ended up hitting over .300 again and that's the fifth straight match she's done that."
The Islanders (19-7, 14-0) controlled the opening two sets, holding the Colonels under .150 hitting in both games while smashing 39 kills between the two sets. In a match which featured multiple long rallies, the Islanders had 11 players record a dig. Three of those finished with double-digit kills as
Madison Woods and
Brittany Gilpin joined Klepetka with strong defensive days.
Gilpin's 10 digs were a part of her 12th double-double as the outside knocked down 11 kills on the day.
The Islanders never trailed in the first two sets, but found themselves down 21-19 in the third. The Blue and Green did not panic, claiming six of the next eight points to rally from the late deficit for the sweep.
Mallory Moran and
Madeleine Doud sparked the match-clinching run with two kills apiece.
BALANCED OUT
A&M-Corpus Christi not only displayed a balanced defensive effort, but also found a variety of attacking options as well. Nine different Islanders recorded a kill on the day with six tallying five or more.
• Behind Carlson and Gilpin,
Madi Fitzsimmons and Moran each had eight kills. Fitzsimmons hit .462 to improve her conference-leading hitting percentage.
• Doud,
Morgan Williams and
Kristyn Nicholson each recorded five kills apiece.
• Nicholson dished out 38 assists to average better than 12 per set.
ONE LAST TRIP
The Islanders will close the regular season with a trip to face Lamar and Houston Baptist next weekend. The Blue and Green is looking to finish off a second-consecutive perfect season in Southland play.
