CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team fell to UTRGV 25-21, 25-14 and 25-22 on Tuesday night at the Dugan Wellness Center.
The match was part of the South Texas Showdown, presented by NavyArmy Community Credit Union. The Vaqueros (7-1) won both matches over the Islanders (0-8) and the attendance point this season for seven total points towards the competition. As an institution, A&M-Corpus Christi leads the South Texas Showdown 5-1.
Sophomore
Kyndal Payne led the offense at nine kills with sophomore
Leah Stolfus and freshman
Brooke Copley following her up with eight and seven, respectively. Senior
Faith Panhans turned in two kills herself along with 24 assists and a block. The trio of Stolfus, junior
Ella Litterell and freshman
Tayah Little each got a pair of blocks on the night.
Featuring 12 tied scores and six lead changes, set one was never separated by more than four points the whole way. Tied 11-11, Litterell got two service aces in a row to pull the Islanders ahead for the sixth time. A kill by Panhans kept the Islanders up 14-12 before UTRGV won six of the next seven points to take a 17-15 lead that they never gave up to win the opening set 25-21.
UTRGV took control of the second set from start to finish, taking eight of the first 10 points. Three kills came from both Payne and Copley this set but A&M-Corpus Christi couldn't cut the deficit, dropping the second set 25-14.
Set three mimicked the first as the score was never separated by more than three points. Kills by Payne and Stolfus serviced the Islanders to a 6-4 early lead, but a four-point spurt helped the Vaqueros to a 8-6 lead they never gave up. A block and a kill by Stolfus brought the Islanders within one point twice, but UTRGV managed to finish out the set 25-22 for the match win.
A&M-Corpus Christi is now 27-23 all-time over UTRGV.
The Islanders will compete in the Rice Invitational Friday and Saturday in Houston. They will kick off the weekend with a 3 p.m. matchup Friday against Texas Tech before taking on host Rice and Brown on Saturday at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively.
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