SEATTLE – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi pushed the No. 8 Washington Huskies all night in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Islanders led in a pair of sets and were tied midway through the other, but the Huskies proved too much, sweeping the Blue and Green 25-18, 25-14, 25-14.
"Obviously, it's not the result that anyone ever wants," said head coach
Steve Greene. "When you lose in the playoffs, it's tough. It's really tough in a one-night situation to look at your whole season. I'm really proud of the confidence we came out with, the effort we played with and I thought we did some really good things tonight.
"I think the main take away is we had a tremendous season," continued Greene. "I thought we played well tonight. It wasn't our best, but we played well and I'm really proud of the way these girls performed."
In their second consecutive NCAA Tournament, the Islanders gave one of the top-ranked teams in the nation all it could handle. Senior
Morgan Carlson ended her indoor career with the Islanders by leading the team with seven kills against the Huskies. Setter
Kristyn Nicholson added another six to the offensive attack.
On the defensive side, libero
Kate Klepetka was her usual self and then some. The all-time digs leader on the Island, Klepetka led all players in the match with 14 digs. Those digs came against two of the best outside hitters in the country in Courtney Schwan and Tia Scambray. The Islanders held them to .190 and .059 hitting, respectively.
Still, Washington had enough firepower to top the Islanders as Crissy Jones and Kara Bajema each racked up 10 kills to lead the Huskies.
Again, the Islanders head home to Corpus Christi yearning to make that next leap. On Friday night in Seattle, one could feel how much closer this team was to an NCAA Tournament victory, even just a single year removed from their first-ever trip.
"Looking back on my freshman year, this never would have happened," said Carlson, who played her final indoor match as an Islander. "Everyone is bought in on this team. Everyone comes to practice ready to go and get better. The vibe is totally different and I'm proud to be a part of this team. I'm proud to be an Islander."
HUSKY RUNS
The difference in the match turned out to be Washington's runs. Behind stellar serving, the Huskies continuously found the key string of points to pull away from the Islanders.
In the first, the Islanders trailed 19-18 before the Huskies finished the set on a 7-0 run. The decisive points included two aces.
After the Islanders tied the second set at 11-11, Washington found a way to pull away from the Islanders for a 25-14 final.
BACK TO BACK
The loss wraps the 2016 campaign for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi after a 24-8 campaign and a second consecutive Southland Conference title. The Islanders went 16-0 in Southland play and went 3-0 at the tournament for a second year in-a-row, running their winning streak to 38 matches against Southland opponents.
The Islanders were the first team to repeat as both regular season and tournament champions in over a decade.
To make the domination even more impressive, the Islanders dropped just seven sets in conference play this season.
STAT SHEET
• Setter
Kristyn Nicholson kept the Huskies guessing, knocking down six kills in 10 attacks. She led the match with a .600 hitting percentage.
•
Madi Fitzsimmons and
Brittany Gilpin each floored five kills in the match.
•
Erin Mulcahey and
Madeleine Doud each had a pair kills.
•
Mallory Moran and
Claire Karsten also scored for the Islanders.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Islanders will now transition to their second beach season in program history. Five of the six starters from this season will return in 2017 for the Islanders.
