CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A pair of returns to the court sparked a return to form for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as the Islanders swept third-place Houston Baptist 25-21, 25-22, 25-17 Thursday night inside the Dugan Wellness Center.
Libero
Madison Woods returned to the floor after missing a pair of games due to injury and Madison Fitzsimmons saw her first action of the season for the Blue and Green after an All-Southland campaign in 2016.
Fitzsimmons shook off any rust early, knocking down eight kills on 13 swings to hit .385 on the match. Woods co-led the match with 12 digs defensively as the Islanders stifled the Huskies to just .088 hitting. The defensive performance marked the lowest hitting percentage for an opponent this season.
BALANCING ACT
The Islanders (10-13, 7-5) got their kills from different sources on Thursday as
Brittany Gilpin finished the match with just five kills. With HBU keying on the Islanders' star,
Madison Green and
Chloe Simon took advantage, combining for 22 kills.
Steady as always, Green hit .400 with 12 kills to lead all players in the match. Simon added 10 to the winning effort, marking her most terminations in nearly a month.
Along with those two, Fitzsimmons added eight in her return to give Corpus Christi a threat in the middle.
DOMINATING DEFENSE
On the defensive side, the Islanders produced their best performance of the season in holding the Huskies to .088 on the night. The defense improved each set, holding HBU to .057 and .000 in the final two sets.
Perhaps most impressively, Corpus Christi shut down the Southland's best hitter in 2017, holding Bailey Banks to a season-low three kills and season-low -.147 hitting after she entered averaging 4.56 kills per set in Southland play. The Islanders are the first Southland team to hold Banks below double-digit kills and the first team all season to hold the outside to a negative hitting percentage.
The Islanders had just three blocks, but racked up 53 digs in the three sets. Woods and Gilpin each had a dozen digs to lead the Islanders.
Kristyn Nicholson had 10 to give the setter a double-double with 29 assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
>> From 5-5 in the first set, the Islanders went on an 8-1 run to build a 13-6 lead keyed by a pair of kills from Green.
>> Tied at 22 in the second set, Corpus Christi claimed the final three points, capped by a thunderous block from Nicholson and
Madeleine Doud.
>> Down 9-6 in the third, the Islanders reeled off an 11-2 run punctuated by back to back aces from Woods.
BUILDING MOMENTUM
The Islanders will look to carry the strong performance over into a Tuesday night clash at Stephen F. Austin. The Ladyjacks claimed a white-knuckle, five-set affair earlier this season.
