CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - After a special senior night recognition for graduate student
Aurora Carnes, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team took down Texas A&M-Commerce 25-12, 25-17 and 25-19 Thursday night in the Dugan Wellness Center.
The Islanders (8-18, 8-4) completed the season sweep over the Lions (9-17, 5-4) after the straight-set victory, improving to 2-0 in the all-time record between the programs. A&M-Corpus Christi turned in its second-best hitting percentage of the season with a .344 mark, including hitting for a .583 in set two. Sophomores
Kyndal Payne and
Leah Stolfus led the attack, with Payne earning 12 kills for a .409 mark and Stolfus recording 10 kills for a .500 mark. Stolfus improved her season hitting percentage to a .325, the second best in the conference.
Defensively, A&M-Corpus Christi kept the Lions at a .046 hitting percentage. Senior
Carissa Barnes led the match in digs with 15, continuing her streak of being the dig-leader in every conference match this season. Stolfus led the match with four blocks while Carnes tallied three.
"Our team was really focused to start the match and I'm really impressed with how they met our expectations in all facets of the game," said head coach
Steve Greene. "I am really proud of how the team all rallied and played as a group tonight.
The match opened with the Islanders jumping ahead after a kill by junior
Ella Litterell and a service ace by Barnes. The lead only grew for A&M-Corpus Christi as the score was never reversed or even tied in set one. A pair of kills by Carnes and back-to-back service aces by senior
Faith Panhans aided in a 10-point advantage for the Islanders for a 19-9 score. The largest lead of the match came at the end of set one when the Islanders closed out the 25-12 win.
Set two started in favor of the Lions who took a quick 3-0 lead. The Islanders responded with a 12-3 scoring run courtesy of kills by Payne, Carnes and Panhans to take over with a lead that was never relinquished. A&M-Corpus Christi secured the 25-17 win in the second set to go up 2-0 after the team recorded 15 kills with just one error for a .583 hitting percentage.
The third set had A&M-Commerce up 5-0 as the Lions maintained a lead through an 8-3 score. The Islanders finally gained some momentum with a 6-point spurt, fueled by a pair of kills by Payne and an ace by Litterell. A&M-Commerce tied the score four separate times and even retook a 16-15 lead before another 6-0 run by the Islanders reversed the lead once again. The Lions fought off match point twice, but a kill by freshman
Tayah Little gave A&M-Corpus Christi the 25-19 set and match win.
"Set two was probably the best we've played all season. It's really nice to see us continue to work hard and improve, especially at this point in the season," Greene said.
Following the win, A&M-Corpus Christi remains in second place in the conference standings. The Islanders will welcome Northwestern State Saturday at 1 p.m. to finish out the week at home, and the match will be available to watch on ESPN+.
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