CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – While not always pretty, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi found a way to grind out a tight, three-set victory in the Southland Conference home opener over Abilene Christian.
The first two sets went extras in the 31-29, 28-26, 25-17 dogfight as the Islander attack struggled to find its way early in the match. Just two days after a record-setting offensive performance, the Blue and Green had to lean on its defense Thursday night.
"Abilene Christian came out and played great," said head coach
Steve Greene. "Their record doesn't really reflect the strength of their team. I think they're a really strong team, they just played a very tough preseason. They came out firing on all cylinders and we really had to buckle down on defense just to close out that first set. We had a couple of lucky plays in the first and second sets and some hustle plays. With the crowd being at home, I think that's what really carried us to victory in the first two sets."
Junior
Kate Klepetka was phenomenal on the back line, racking up 23 digs to average nearly eight digs per set. The libero was joined in double-figures by sophomore
Madison Woods who had a dozen digs herself.
"Our defense is key," said Greene. "It's been key throughout the season for us and we thrive on our ball control. We did a good job defensively, keeping balls in play and really working hard to push balls to the net so we could run our offense in transition. I'm really proud of Kate's performance. To get seven-plus digs per set against a strong team like Abilene Christian is nice."
The defense rose to the occasion in the first set to keep the Islanders (7-6, 2-0) within striking distance while the attack was held to just .104 hitting. The Islanders were able to fend off four set points in the first before
Brittany Gilpin jumped for a block and followed with a kill to give A&M-Corpus Christi a marathon 31-29 victory.
In the second, the defense keyed a 5-0 run as the Islanders rebounded from down 21-17 to take the set 28-26. Once again the Blue and Green fought off a set point before a
Morgan Carlson kill helped push the Islanders over the top.
Things finally clicked in the third set as the Islanders hit .290 while forcing Abilene to a .000 clip to clinch the match.
FITZ FIRES ATTACK
With Abilene Christian shutting down the outsides, sophomore middle blocker Madison Fitzsimmons carried the Islanders with 14 kills.
11 of those 14 terminations came in the first two sets when the Islanders hit just .115 as a club.
"Madison Fitzsimmons played great tonight," said Greene. "She put on a really good blocking performance along with her attacking performance. She led the team in kills and hit .385. Doing that from the middle really opens it up for everyone else Our outsides were kind of struggling a bit early but were able to get going in the third and a lot of that was due to her."
The 14 kills were one shy of Fitzsimmons' best performance in an Islander uniform, as she led all players in the match. In addition, she added six total blocks, including three of the solo variety.
"I could see their hands and I was just trying to go the other way," said Fitzsimmons. "Our passes were getting pushed up and Kristyn was putting in the right spot so I just swung away. The passes being on and the sets being on really help me do my job. I've got to give props to them because without them I couldn't do my job."
QUICK NOTES
•
Morgan Carlson added 10 kills for her fourth consecutive game in double-figures.
•
Kristyn Nicholson had seven kills and hit .385. She also added 28 assists and seven digs.
•
Brittany Gilpin's run of 11-consecutive games with 10-plus kills came to an end as she finished the night at nine.
• With 11 blocks as a team, the Islanders have now recorded double-digit blocks in five consecutive matches.
A REPRIEVE
After playing four matches in six days, the Islanders now enjoy a week off before heading to Northwestern State and Central Arkansas next Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
