HAMMOND, La. – Early struggles plagued the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team as the Islanders couldn't find a rhythm against Southeastern, dropping 3-0 Thursday night at Pride Roofing University Center.
It was A&M-Corpus Christi's (18-9, 13-2 SLC) first loss since September, as the Lady Lions (23-4, 14-1 SLC) snapped their 12-match winning streak which was the 10
th longest active win streak in the NCAA. It was also the first road loss in SLC play for the Islanders this year, making them the last Southland team to lose on the road against a conference opponent.
Southeastern attacked early and took advantage of A&M-Corpus Christi errors for a 25-8 set one. The Islanders punched back in the second for early ties, but the Lady Lions pulled away again for the 25-19 edge. A pair of kills by junior
Leah Stolfus gave A&M-Corpus Christi its first lead of the match 3-1 in the third but it wouldn't hold as Southeastern copied a 25-19 set score for the win.
Prior to tonight, the Islanders had only dropped five sets in their last 41 played.
"Southeastern was firing on all cylinders tonight," said
Steve Greene. "They were playing extremely well, and we weren't able to respond to the challenge. Moving forward, we need to compete at a higher level defensively as well as without individual efforts in all aspects of the game. This match doesn't define us and hopefully we will use it as a catalyst to change."
Stolfus led the team with nine kills and three blocks to help give the Islanders bursts of momentum. It was her fourth time this season to record at least a trio of blocks and second in the last three games. Junior
Kyndal Payne and sophomore
Rylee Achtzehn each added five kills while five other Islanders registered at least one kill of their own.
"Leah played great tonight but, more importantly, she stepped up as a leader. Being a leader when things aren't going well is difficult, but she rose to the occasion and led with her words and actions," said Greene.
Graduate
Belle Morgan tallied 24 assists, three digs, and three kills. It was the first time in conference play this year she did not lead the match in assists; however, she continues to lead the league with a 10.54 assists/set mark overall and 12.20 in SLC play.
On the defensive end, junior
Kayla White picked up nine digs in the back while sophomore
Kendall Mahaney recorded four. At the net, Achtzehn helped with two blocks while sophomore
Tori Arrington got A&M-Corpus Christi's lone solo block.
The Islanders will play their final road SLC match of the season on Saturday when they face New Orleans at 1 p.m. A&M-Corpus Christi will then return home to wrap up the regular season with a pair of matches against Northwestern State and Texas A&M-Commerce before hosting the SLC Championships Nov. 16-19 in the Dugan Wellness Center.
The Islanders now sit in second place in the Southland with three matches left to go. They have already earned a first-round bye in the SLC Championships and can clinch a double-bye with either two more wins or with a win and a McNeese loss on Saturday.
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