CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – After garnering two home conference wins, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball program will play visitor in conference play for the first time this season, heading to Northwestern State first before continuing to Texas A&M-Commerce.
In Natchitoches, A&M-Corpus Christi (2-15, 2-1) will face Northwestern State (10-5, 3-1) Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. before heading to Commerce to take on Texas A&M-Commerce (4-12, 1-2) in a 1:00 p.m. matchup on Saturday. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.
The Islanders are coming off 3-0 sweeps over both Lamar and New Orleans while also dropping to Southeastern to start their conference-slate. Northwestern State also dropped to Southeastern for its lone conference loss, but the Demons are currently on a five-game winning streak. A&M-Commerce secured a win over Lamar for its sole Southland victory so far this season.
In conference, A&M-Corpus Christi leads the league in nearly every category, topping the ranks in hitting percentage (.226), assists per set (14.89), and kills per set (15.89).
Sophomore
Kyndal Payne averages 4.89 kills and 5.72 points per set in conference play, leading the Southland in both. Senior
Faith Panhans finds herself fourth in the league for hitting percentage, garnering a .318 while also moving up to second in assists where she is averaging 9.00 per set.
Sophomore
Leah Stolfus has been useful in the A&M-Corpus Christi offense, earning 153 kills for a team-high .289 hitting percentage. In conference, five Islanders total double-digit kills including junior
McKenna Reiswig and sophomore
Morgan Baese with 23 and 14, respectively.
The defense for the Islanders has also been critical, allowing the lowest opponent hitting percentage, kills and assists of a Southland opponent. Senior
Carissa Barnes not only leads the conference and team in digs per set (5.15), but she also ranks 21st in the national rankings.
Payne and freshman
Tayah Little have been putting up a defense at the net, averaging a block per set in conference play. Little leads the team in total blocks at 39 for a season average .71 blocks per set.
The Demons lead the Islanders in a tight 11-10 all-time record, with A&M-Corpus Christi having won the last seven of 10 matches. This will be the first time the Islanders have played A&M-Commerce.
"Northwestern State and Texas A&M-Commerce are both well-coached teams that are putting up solid numbers so far this season. We are looking forward to the challenge of our first road trip in the Southland this year and continuing to improve in all aspects of our game," said head coach
Steve Greene.
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