CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Getting it done both offensively and defensively, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball program cruised to a 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-17) sweep over Northwestern State on Thursday at the Dugan Wellness Center.
Â
With the victory, the Islanders clinched a double bye to the semifinals of the Southland Conference Tournament and at least the No. 2 seed. The win also improved A&M-Corpus Christi's record to 20-9 (15-2 SLC), giving them their first 20-win season since 2016.
Â
The Islanders hit for a .275 mark and limited the Lady Demons to a .097 clip to tally their 13th sweep of the season, 11th in conference play and sixth in their last seven matches. A&M-Corpus Christi also committed just one reception error, making it the fourth time in conference that an opponent had only one or less service ace.
Â
Junior
Kyndal Payne led the attack with 19 kills and a .333 hitting percentage to go along with 11 digs for a double-double. She entered play leading the league in kills per set with a .422 mark and averaged 6.33 kills per set in the match. It was her 13th double-double of the season and eighth in conference.
Â
Â
Heavily aiding the attack was sophomore
Rylee Achtzehn with 10 kills and a .389 hitting mark. It was her sixth double-digit kill performance of the year.
Â
Defensively, three Islanders reached double-figures in digs. in Addition to Payne's 11 digs, junior
Kayla White led the team with 15 and sophomore
Zoria Heard registered 11. Graduate
Morgan Smith also was a big contributor with a team-high four digs to go along with seven kills and a .500 hitting clip.
Â
A&M-Corpus Christi started slow and fell behind 5-0 in the first set when it responded with a 7-2 run to tie it 7-7 on a kill by Payne. Another attack by Payne put them ahead 9-8 and a kill by junior
Leah Stolfus increased it to 15-12. A kill by Smith gave A&M-Corpus Christi a 19-14 edge and the Islanders ended it 25-18 on a block assist by Achtzehn and Stolfus.
Â
The Islanders and the Lady Demons were neck-and-neck in the first part of the second set and tied 13-13 until A&M-Corpus Christi again made a late move. An ace by graduate
Belle Morgan started a 6-1 spurt as a block assists by Achtzehn and Smith made it 20-14. Kills by sophomore
Tori Arrington and Payne ended it 25-18 after the Islanders forced a -.022 hitting mark from the Lady Demons in the frame.
Â
Three consecutive kills by Payne had A&M-Corpus Christi leading 6-2 early in the third. Another big attack by Payne upped it to 16-11 and a block by Smith changed it to 18-12. The Islanders ended it 25-17 on a dump by sophomore
Rylie Romero.
A&M-Corpus Christi will close out the regular season at home Saturday when it hosts Texas A&M-Commerce at 1 p.m. on Senior Day.
Stay Social
For more information on Islanders Volleyball, follow the team on Twitter (
@IslandersVB), Instagram (
@islandersvb) and like their Facebook page (
Islanders Volleyball).
#ShakasUp
Â