HAMMOND, Louisiana – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team hits the road again for its next two conference matchups, facing Southeastern Thursday night at University Center before continuing to New Orleans to play Saturday at the Human Performance Center.
The Islanders (7-16, 7-2) will seek revenge against Southeastern (15-6, 5-4) as the Lady Lions are responsible for one of A&M-Corpus Christi's conference losses. The rematch is set for Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. The Islanders will then look to repeat its victory over New Orleans (11-10, 5-4) on Saturday at 1 p.m. after defeating the Privateers 3-0 at home earlier this season.
Both matches will be available to watch on ESPN+.
"We've been seeing steady improvements in our attacking as well as our defense over the last couple weeks," said head coach
Steve Greene. "Southeastern and New Orleans both have great attackers and will test our block and defense."
The Islanders find themselves tied for first in the conference standings after an unbeaten home stand, taking down UIW, HCU and Nicholls all in sweeps. Following the victorious week, Sophomore
Kyndal Payne was honored as the Southland Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after turning in over a .360 hitting percentage in each match.
Payne has been the match-leader in kills in every conference match this season. She leads the conference stats in kills (153), kills per set (4.94) and points (168). Payne ranks 31
st in NCAA Division I volleyball in total kills this season with 294.
Also in the national ranks is senior
Carissa Barnes who turns in 420 total digs to rank herself eighth. A 5.12 digs per set mark is also enough to rank Barnes 20
th in the nation in that category. She has been the match-leader in digs in every conference match and earlier this season broke the program's record for career digs with 1,991 and counting.
Senior
Faith Panhans recently hit the 2,500 career assists milestone, moving her into third overall in the program's record book. She sits third among the league in assists per set (9.17) and fourth in hitting percentage (.297). Sophomore
Leah Stolfus is two spots ahead of Panhans at second to make her the most efficient hitter for the Islanders with a .325 mark.
As a team, A&M-Corpus Christi is ranked in the top-10 nationally in both team assists (1,013) and team kills (1,098), leading the league in both. The Islanders were picked to repeat as regular season victors in the preseason poll.
Southeastern and New Orleans are tied for fourth in the conference standings as both teams turn in a 5-4 Southland record. Both teams are also on a two-match losing streak going into Thursday night play.
The Islanders lead Southeastern 17-3 in the all-time record and is 10-1 when played in Hammond. A&M-Corpus Christi is 11-1 all-time over the Privateers and is 6-1 when played in New Orleans.
"This will be a good test of how we handle the long road trip as we prepare for the second half of conference and work towards being at our best for the Southland Conference Tournament," Greene said.
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