CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team took on Sam Houston in its home opener Friday night and fell in straight sets at the Dugan Wellness Center as part of the Islanders Classic, presented by Schlotzskys.
The Islanders (0-5) faced the Bearkats (3-3) in front of an animated home crowd, but weren't able to pull ahead as Sam Houston took the match in close 25-22, 25-17 and 27-25 wins. It was Sam Houston's second game of the day after losing 3-0 to SMU in the morning.
Sophomore
Leah Stolfus led both sides of the net with 15 kills in the match and a .355 attack percentage. Sophomore
Kyndal Payne ended up leading the Islanders in digs for the night (18) after stepping up defensively to fill the libero roll following minor injuries.
Senior
Faith Panhans and freshman
Halle Gibson combined for a total of 29 assists. Panhans rung in nine kills on the night in addition, the second most on the team.
The Islanders' best hitting of the night came from set one at a .217 as the match opened with a kill by Stolfus. Despite this mark, Sam Houston also turned in its best hitting in set one with a .324 to help get a 1-0 lead in the match.
Both teams went on four-point runs to start the second set, followed by an exchanging of points to lead to a 8-8 tie. Kills by Stolufs and junior
Ella Litterell serviced the Islanders, but a 19-10 lead by the Bearkats couldn't be caught as Sam Houston took the second set 25-17.
Set three was neck-and-neck from start to finish as it featured 11 ties and four lead changes. A 19-17 lead for A&M-Corpus Christi came after back-to-back blocks by freshman
Tayah Little. The Bearkats pushed back and a kill by Little tied the game at 25-all, but Sam Houston edged out the two extra points for the 27-25 set and match win.
The tournament will wrap up Saturday and start with a 10:30 a.m. matchup between Sam Houston and Indiana. A&M-Corpus Christi is then set for a pair of matches, taking on SMU at 1 p.m. followed by a 6:30 p.m. competition against Indiana to close out the weekend. Both matches will be available to stream on ESPN+.
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