EDINBURG, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball program built a two-set lead and then finished off UTRGV 3-1 (25-22, 25-19, 17-25, 25-23) on Sunday at UTRGV Fieldhouse in the South Texas Showdown, presented by NavyArmy Community Credit Union.
The showdown is a 12-sport competition between the two institutions. As a department, the Islanders lead the all-time series 4-1 and have won in back-to-back years. This year, the Islanders lead 6.0-3.0 (each win counts as three points).
The Islanders (3-5) were cruising along through two sets when the Vaqueros (5-4) attempted to mount a comeback. A&M-Corpus dropped the third set and trailed 16-11 in the fourth when it stormed back with a 7-2 run to tie it 18-18 and finished it off strong 25-23.
"I'm so proud of how our team handled the pressure of a very talented and experienced UTRGV squad. They had a great environment and tough crowd, and we were able to persevere and handle tough situations with confidence and poise," said head coach
Steve Greene.
Senior
Rachel Young registered a season-high 14 kills. After the match, she was honored on the UTRGV All-Tournament Team. It came after nine kills and a .563 hitting percentage Saturday in a win over Texas Southern.
Also with double-digits in kills were senior
Kylie Filipiak and freshman
Kyndal Payne with 10 apiece. It was the fourth double-figure performance for Payne this year and second for Filipiak. Freshman
Ece Emrullah put-away a season-high six kills.
Junior
Faith Panhans heavily aided the attack with 38 assists. She's been in double-figures in assists in seven of eight matches this year.
Anchoring the back line was junior libero
Carissa Barnes. She stood out with 24 digs for a 6.0 digs per set average.
"
Carissa Barnes was outstanding on defense and serve receive. She really stepped up her game to play at a high level this weekend," Greene said.
A relatively even first set was tied 19-19 when the Vaqueros won the next two points to go up 21-19. The Islanders still trailed 22-20 when they won the last five points of the set. It included two kills by Payne and a pair of aces by Panhans.
The Islanders carried momentum into the second set and jumped ahead 20-15 on the serve of senior
Angel Felan. A block assist by Young and Panhans led to set point, and A&M-Corpus Christi went up 2-0 on another attack by Payne.
The third set was tied 9-9 when the Vaqueros went on a 6-1 spurt go up 15-10. The Islanders could never regain control of the frame and ultimately fell 25-17.
A&M-Corpus Christi found itself down 16-11 in the fourth when it started to make its move. It began with a kill by senior
Montez Uigaese, and a UTRGV error tied it 18-18. Uigaese had the hot-hand in the end and smashed kills on two of the last three points to end the match.
The Islanders improved to 27-20 all-time against the Vaqueros and have won three in a row in the series.
A&M-Corpus Christi will play its home opener Thursday at 6:30 p.m. when it hosts Texas State in the Dugan Wellness Center. It's part of the Islanders Classic where they'll also be in action Friday at 6 p.m. against UTEP and Saturday at 3:30 p.m. versus Tarleton State.
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