CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Earning its third sweep in a row, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team took down Nicholls 25-15, 25-18 and 25-22 on Saturday at the Dugan Wellness Center.
The match concluded a three-game home stand as the Islanders (7-16, 7-2) remain at the top of the conference standings after winning all three in straight sets. A&M-Corpus Christi improved to 19-1 in the all-time record over Nicholls (4-17, 1-8) after outhitting the Colonels .325 to .190. The Islanders earned 56 kills as the attack was led by sophomore
Kyndal Payne who turned in 18 kills, making this the 14th match this season she's turned in double-figures.
Senior
Faith Panhans turned in nine kills, just one away from a double-double as she recorded 32 assists. Junior
Ella Litterell turned in nine kills with freshman
Tayah Little tallying seven. Little and Payne both earned two solo blocks throughout the match. Senior
Carissa Barnes was the match leader in digs with 20, making this the 10th match this season she's recorded 20+ digs. Barnes now averages 5.12 digs per set.
"I am so happy to see our team continue to improve match to match," said head coach
Steve Greene. "We had a great win on Thursday and played even better today. I couldn't be more proud of their efforts in practice and competition as we continue to get better. Kyndal played a really solid match, even when Nicholls slowed us down or put up a big block, we adapted and overcame the challenge."
Nicholls went up first in the opening set garnering two quick kills for a 2-1 lead before the Islanders took over at the 4-3 mark that held the rest of the way. Two service aces in a row by Barnes and a kill by junior
McKenna Reiswig aided in a 5-0 run to help the Islanders extend their lead to 13-5. A nine-point lead came at the 19-10 mark after a pair of kills by Payne which grew to a 10-point advantage at the end, giving the Islanders the 25-15 set one win.
Set two had the Colonels out in front 2-1 again, but likewise didn't last long as A&M-Corpus Christi pulled ahead 4-2 after a pair of kills and a block by Payne. A 13-7 lead came after kills by Payne, Litterell and graduate student
Aurora Carnes along with an ace by freshman
Zoria Heard for the 4-point spurt. A kill by Little brought the set to a 20-12 score and another kill by Little ended the set 25-18 to give the Islanders the 2-0 lead.
The third set featured Nicholls leading nearly the whole way as the Islanders got out to a slow start to go down 9-3. A&M-Corpus Christi got within two at the 14-12 mark, but the Colonels held on through a 20-15 lead. A burst of momentum came from the Islanders side, however, as three kills by Panhans and five kills by Payne fueled a 10-2 run to overcome Nicholls for the 25-22 comeback set and match victory, ending with a kill by Little.
"That was such an awesome comeback in set three," said Greene. "I loved watching Carissa and Faith make distinct changes to help our team close out the match."
The Islanders will hit the road again, this time heading to Southeastern (15-6, 5-4) for a rematch on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. A&M-Corpus Christi will then continue on to New Orleans (11-10, 5-4) to play in the second matchup this season on Saturday at 1 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+.
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