CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team completed the Islanders Classic, presented by Schlotzskys, after dropping to both SMU and Indiana 3-0 on Saturday at the Dugan Wellness Center.
Sophomore
Leah Stolfus and senior
Faith Panhans were selected to the All-Tournament Team. Stolfus averaged 3.78 kills per set off 34 kills for a .386 attack percentage in the tournament. Panhans tallied 69 total assists and garnered 19 kills herself over the weekend.
"Leah played brilliantly all weekend," said head coach
Steve Greene. "She led our team in kills all three matches and that's so rare for a middle to get able to do. I'm proud of her and how much she continues to improve.
"Faith had compliments from all the other coaching staffs about her ability to take over matches. Her match against SMU was really a showcase of how much she can control a match."
Game 1 – SMU 3, A&M-Corpus Christi 0
The Islanders (0-7) contested SMU (5-1) in each set, only being beat out by eight total points to the Mustangs who won 25-19, 25-21 and 25-22. SMU went undefeated in the tournament, defeating every opponent in straight sets.
Set one featured A&M-Corpus Christi jumping out to a 5-3 lead after four different Islanders registered a kill, including team-leader Stolfus (12). SMU responded with a four-point run to regain a lead that was tied but never overturned as the Mustangs took the first set 25-19.
A&M-Corpus Christi turned in its best hitting percentage in set two (.364) after kills by Stolfus, Panhans and freshman
Tayah Little contributed to the set's 17 total. The set featured a match-high seven ties and four lead changes, but the Mustangs were able to secure the 25-21 win to go up 2-0.
Back-to-back service aces by senior
Carissa Barnes forced a SMU timeout as the Islanders opened the third set with a 6-1 lead. The threat was quickly diffused by the Mustangs, however, as they went on a 7-0 run out of the timeout to go up 8-6 before a kill by Panhans severed it. The Mustangs went up so much as 17-11 and despite a pair of aces by freshman
Zoria Heard to pull the Islanders within two at the 21-19 mark, kills by SMU's Natalie Purdue secured the Mustang 25-22 set and match win.
The Islanders led the game with 39 digs, 40 assists and six service aces. They tallied 41 total kills compared to SMU's 43 and registered two blocks, both of which came from Stolfus. Barnes was the match-leader in digs (17) and service aces (3).
Game 2 – Indiana 3, A&M-Corpus Christi 0
Indiana (4-2) defeated A&M-Corpus Christi 25-18, 25-19 and 25-14 in the tournament finale and first ever meeting between the two programs. The power-five Hoosiers went 2-1 over the weekend, only dropping a match to SMU.
The Hoosiers took a 7-0 lead at the start of set one before a kill by Panhans put the Islanders on the board. Indiana errors and a kill by sophomore
Kyndal Payne brought the score to 14-9 but the Islanders couldn't cut the deficit within five as Indiana went on to take the first set 25-18.
Set two had the Hoosiers take an early lead again which was never tied or reversed as their match-high .348 attack percentage paved the way to a 2-0 lead in the match.
A&M-Corpus Christi's first lead of the match came in the third set at 2-1 off a kill by Panhans and a solo block from Stolfus. A kill by Stolfus kept the Islanders up 3-2 before Indiana went on a 4-0 run to go up 6-3. Another kill by Stolfus at the 7-6 mark brought the Islanders within one, but a seven point spurt from the Hoosiers paved the way for a 25-14 Indiana set and match win.
"We have glimmers of what this team will be as the season progresses," Greene said. "We have some very talented and passionate players and when things start to click, we will be very difficult to stop. I'm very optimistic about the changes we will make and how good we can be in the next few weeks."
The Islanders will remain at home Tuesday when they welcome UTRGV for a rematch in the second face-off in the South Texas Showdown. The match is set for 6:30 p.m. CT and will be streamed on ESPN+.
All-Tournament Team
Celia Cullen – SMU
Marieke van der Mark – SMU
Mady Saris – Indiana
Savannah Kjolhede – Indiana
Hannah Baker – Sam Houston
Catherine Krieger – Sam Houston
Leah Stolfus – A&M-Corpus Christi
Faith Panhans – A&M-Corpus Christi
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