CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team will return to the championship match following a 25-23, 25-19, 25-19 sweep over No. 3 McNeese Saturday in the Dugan Wellness Center.
The Islanders (22-9, 16-2 SLC) defeated the Cowgirls (16-17, 13-5 SLC) for the third time this season and swept them for the second time. A&M-Corpus Christi will now take on top-seeded Southeastern (27-4, 17-1 SLC) in the championship match Sunday at 2 p.m.
A&M-Corpus Christi got on the board first in every set to help hold an edge each time as McNeese kept it within two in the first before the Islanders settled in and won both sets two and three 25-19. It was fueled by a .298 team hitting while keeping the Cowgirls to just a .164 clip.
SLC Player of the Year
Kyndal Payne flashed her title with a match-leading 14 kills in addition to 10 digs for the double-double. She also recorded two blocks as the Islanders outblocked the Cowgirls 9-5. She was joined by junior
Leah Stolfus and sophomore
Rylee Achtzehn in double figures with 12 and 10 kills, respectively.
Both hit over .300 as Achztehn led the team with a .364 individual clip and Stolfus hitting for a .345.
Graduate
Belle Morgan, SLC Setter of the Year, ran the offense to its .298 mark as well as converting on four kills herself. She neared a double-double after also picking up eight digs.
Junior
Kayla White co-led the match in digs with 18, sharing that with McNeese's Bailey Tillman who was named the SLC Libero of the Year. Sophomore
Kendall Mahaney covered the floor for nine digs and also dropped in three service aces.
Stolfus opened the semifinals with the kill as the Islanders won the first point on their home court. The teams exchanged points through a 12-12 tie until graduate
Morgan Smith created some separation with the kill at 14-12. Mahaney from the service line kept the Islanders ahead 18-16 but McNeese clawed back for a late 21-20 lead. Though, the Islanders fired three straight points to regain the edge before Achtzehn denied the Cowgirls and hammered home the set-winning kill for the 1-0 lead in the match.
Three Islanders registered kills in the second set as the Islanders jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead. Back-to-back kills by Morgan upped it to 5-1 before Payne completed a 5-0 spurt for the 14-8 lead. The assisted block from Stolfus and junior
Morgan Baese got the Islanders to a 20-14 advantage. The block came up big again as Achtzehn and graduate
Morgan Smith sent it right back for the 25-19 set win.
Baese and Payne got the offense going in the third for the 2-0 lead. The Islanders stayed in front 14-8 following sophomore
Zoria Heard's ace. The Cowgirls, risking elimination, found some momentum and tied it at 18, but A&M-Corpus Christi closed it out on a 7-1 run as Stolfus called game with the shot down the line.
The Islanders improve to 15-7 all-time in the Southland Conference Tournament and 10-4 under head coach
Steve Greene.
The title match will feature the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds on Sunday at 2 p.m. The victor will be crowned SLC Tournament Champions as well as earn the league's automatic bid to the NCAA National Championship Tournament.
It will be A&M-Corpus Christi's first ever championship match as the No. 2 seed and first against the No. 1 seed. The Islanders are 4-0 all-time in the SLC Tournament Finals.
The Islanders will be fighting for their fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in program history and third in the last four years. The Islanders won it all the last time they hosted the tournament, winning as the No. 4 seed after taking down No. 1 SFA and No. 2 Sam Houston to hoist the trophy.
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