CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – In the second week of Southland Conference action, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi hits the road for a pair of tests against Northwestern State and Central Arkansas on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
The Islanders (7-6, 2-0) enter as one of four unbeatens in Southland action after sweeping Sam Houston State and Abilene Christian.
Meanwhile, Northwestern State (8-10, 3-0) sits atop the Southland Conference after a sweep of Central Arkansas on Tuesday night. The Demons used 10 aces and a .267 hitting percentage to roll past the Sugar Bears 25-19, 25-15, 25-22.
ISLANDERS START HOT
A&M-Corpus Christi used a program record .461 hitting percentage to sweep Sam Houston State in its Southland opener. The Islanders then followed that with a shutdown defensive performance against Abilene Christian, holding the Wildcats to an .080 hitting percentage in a second-straight sweep.
• Following the strong start in Southland play,
Madi Fitzsimmons and
Kate Klepetka were named offensive and defensive player of the week, respectively.
• Fitzsimmons had 22 kills in six sets and hit .474 on the week to lead the Islander attack.
• Klepetka racked up 36 digs to average 6.00 per set, including a 23 dig performance in the sweep of Abilene Christian.
The Islanders rank third in both hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage amongst Southland teams. In conference play, the Islanders lead the league by holding opponents to an .080 hitting percentage.
SCOUTING THE DEMONS
Much like the Islanders, Northwestern State played a challenging non-conference slate but now stands at 8-10 after three straight wins to open conference play.
Alexis Warren leads the Demons with 180 kills this season. However, Waren hits just .056 after committing 141 errors as well. Lauren Agan provides a solid second option in attack with 134 kills and hits .121 while Kourtney Seaton leads the Demons with a .230 hitting percentage while sitting third with 111 kills.
The Demons also boast one of the Southland's best libero's as Channing Burleson ranks second in the league with 5.17 digs per set.
SCOUTING THE SUGAR BEARS
Central Arkansas will enter Saturday's match at 8-8 overall and 2-2 in Southland action after suffering the sweep at the hands of Northwestern State.
The Sugar Bears are paced offensively by freshman Haley Tippett with 165 kills while sophomore Samanatha Anderson adds another 157 kills to the Central Arkansas attack.
Central Arkansas sits second in conference in hitting percentage, tied with the Islanders at a .191 clip on the year.
