CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – With only four matches remaining in the conference slate, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team will matchup against the top-two teams in the standings, hosting McNeese on Thursday in the Dugan Wellness Center before traveling to HCU on Saturday.
The Islanders (10-18, 10-4) will need to win-out the rest of the season for a chance to get at least a share of the regular season title. They will rematch the current first-place McNeese (15-13, 11-3) team Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. for the home finale. A&M-Corpus Christi will travel to HCU (18-9, 10-4) for a Saturday competition at 1 p.m. The Islanders and the Huskies are tied for second in the standings.
Both matches will be available to watch on ESPN+.
"Our team has been steadily improving as we ramp up for a strong conference finish," said head coach
Steve Greene. "McNeese is a strong defensive team and they do a really good job keeping rallies going. HCU is very consistent, and they don't make many mistakes in any facet of the game. This weekend will be a big test against two of the top teams in the conference."
Currently on a three-match winning streak, A&M-Corpus Christi is coming off three sweeps in a row over Texas A&M-Commerce, Northwestern State, and most recently UIW where the team turned in its season-best .474 hitting percentage.
The attack has been led by sophomore
Kyndal Payne and
Leah Stolfus as both find themselves in the conference's top-10 in kills, hitting percentage and points. Stolfus tops the league in overall hitting percentage with a .337 and eighth in kills at 275. Payne is hitting for a .325 in conference play to rank herself fifth in the Southland but first in kills (238), kills per set (4.96), points (260.5) and points per set (5.43).
Senior
Faith Panhans has aided the A&M-Corpus Christi offense tremendously during conference play, sitting second behind Stolfus in hitting percentage (.338) and third in assists (482) and assists per set (10.04. She helps the Islanders sit first in the conference and 15
th in the nation in team total assists.
Senior
Carissa Barnes has been stout defensively for the Islanders, picking up 506 digs this season and 259 in conference. She had been the digs-leader in every conference match this season, ranking herself 10
th nationally in total digs. Barnes also records the team-high and conference-high 42 service aces.
McNeese is currently on a seven-match winning streak and is led by Kendall Glueck who registers 163 kills for 192 points in conference. Defensively, Bailey Tillman averages 5.31 digs per set compared to Barnes' 5.40 against Southland opponents. The Cowgirls lead the conference in total digs but A&M-Corpus Christi allows the fewest opponent digs in conference play this season.
HCU is led by Sara Arroyo and Anna Gadway as both rank in the Southland top-10 for kills and points. The Huskies recently dropped a 3-2 decision to McNeese and will face UIW on Thursday before matching up with the Islanders on Saturday.
A&M-Corpus Christi leads the all-time records over both opponents, leading 16-6 over McNeese and 15-6 against HCU. The Islanders are 7-1 at home against conference opponents this season with each win being in the form of a sweep.
"We are excited for our final home match in the Dugan Wellness Center against McNeese on Thursday. The DeepEnd and local fans definitely make for a nice home court advantage," said Greene.
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