CONWAY, Ark. – All good things must come to an end. Thursday night inside a raucous Prince Center, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's 43-match Southland winning streak was snapped in a 5-set thriller as the Sugar Bears rallied from a 2-1 deficit and fought back from match point for the victory.
In an offensive slugfest,
Brittany Gilpin,
Madison Green and
Kristyn Nicholson all produced double-doubles for the Islanders (8-9, 5-1), but the spectacular effort fell just short. Gilpin knocked down a career-high 25 kills and added 13 digs. Green went for 14 kills and 10 digs while Nicholson dished out 53 assists and racked up 14 digs.
On the other side of the net, 26 kills from Samantha Anderson and 22 from Megan Nash carried the Sugar Bears (15-2, 5-1) while Abbie Harry chipped in another 16.
The Islanders strolled to a 25-18 first set behind a spectacular nine kills from
Brittany Gilpin.
Madison Green added another four as the Blue and Green hit .389 in the opening frame. Defensively, Corpus Christi limited UCA to just .189 hitting in the first set, but the Islanders were unable to match that defensive performance again.
The Bears rallied for a 25-19 second set, breaking a 17-17 deadlock with a 7-0 run. Anderson had seven kills in the frame to get UCA's attack rolling.
In the third, the Islanders regained their footing, earning a 25-20 win to set themselves in the driver seat after the break. Again it was Gilpin leading the way with six kills in the frame.
MISSED CHANCE
In the fourth set, the Islanders appeared headed for their 44th-consecutive victory in the Southland.
After falling behind 11-6 in the set, the Islanders reeled off five-straight points to draw level. Slowly, but surely, the Islanders would carve out lead, growing to three at 20-17. From their the two sides traded points, before the Islanders reached match point at 24-22.
Unfortunately for the Islanders, that 25th point proved elusive as UCA went on a 4-0 run to take the set 26-24.
FALL IN FIVE
Again in the fifth, the Blue and Green held a lead, earning a 7-5 advantage off one of Green's 14 tallies.
UCA had another answer, as the Bears ran off five-straight points to build a 10-7 lead. That proved to be enough as Anderson floored the final point, her 26th kill of the night to snap the streak.
START ANEW
While the streak is over, the Islanders still have all their goals well within reach as Corpus Christi heads to Northwestern State on Saturday. At 5-1 in league play, the Islanders sit in a tie for second heading into Saturday's match.
