CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Punching its ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi beach volleyball team came out on top 3-1 over Boise State in the Southland Conference Championship finale Monday night at the Dugan Stadium Courts.
The Islanders improved on their best record in program history, now at 24-9, and have not dropped a match to a Southland opponent since the 2021 season. It marks the third championship in two years after the Islanders won the tournament for the first time in 2022 and won the inaugural regular season title this season.
It will be just the second time ever A&M-Corpus Christi will go to the Big Dance after earning the league's automatic bid, making it the first time in program history to make an appearance in back-to-back years.
The Islanders got it started by going up 2-0 after the first round of matches. Freshman
Kristin Bobay, the SLC Freshman of the Year, and senior
Chloe Tome, the SLC Newcomer of the Year, paired on court two and got their first win of the tournament with a 21-12, 21-15 victory over Boise State.
Sophomore
Kela Moreno and redshirt senior
Shea Slusser took set one on court four before the Broncos answered back to force a third set. In extra points, Moreno and Slusser finally got the two points they needed to solidify the grueling 19-17 set three win to give the Islanders the 2-0 lead.
Courts one, three, and five all split their first two sets as all three headed to a third set simultaneously. Boise State finally got a point with the win at court three as it came down to the wire with both courts one and five evened at 10-10.
Freshman
Maria Duda Fernandes de Melo and sophomore
Hannah Doyle reached match point 14-11, but it was the duo of graduate
Kiley Lewis and senior
Giuliana Poletti Corrales who finished first to clinch the championship with the 15-13 decision in set three. It was familiar territory for Lewis, who also clinched last year's tournament win for the Islanders.
Following the conclusion of the match, Moreno and Slusser were named Pair of the Tournament. The duo, an All-Conference Second-Team pair, went a perfect 3-0 over the weekend at court four.
"I could not be proud of the team winning through such adversity this weekend! We had a weather delay that turned into many time changes and I can't thank Fulton Constructions, TAMUCC SSC, and our incredible administrators enough for us being able to play today. Boise State put up a good fight but we showed strength in numbers with strong fan support!" said head coach
Gayle Stammer, the reigning SLC Coach of the Year.
The crowning came after the match being delayed multiple times due to rain as it was originally scheduled for Sunday at the Water's Edge Park. Under Coach Stammer, the Islanders are 8-1 in SLC Tournament matches and now 5-0 all-time against Boise State.
The Islanders will now await their seeding and opponent for the NCAA Tournament, hosted in Gulf Shores, Alabama on May 5-7. The selection show will be on April 30.
A&M-Corpus Christi 3, Boise State 1
1. Poletti Corrales/Lewis (AMCC) def. Chartier/Land (BSU) 19-21, 24-22, 15-13
2. Tome/Bobay (AMCC) def. Anderson/Christensen (BSU) 21-12, 21-15
3. Guerra-Acuna/Patock (BSU) def.
Jade Bennett/
Tori Johnson (AMCC) 16-21, 21-18, 15-12
4. Slusser/Moreno (AMCC) def. Wolthuis/Mejia (BSU) 21-17, 15-21, 19-17
5. Fernandes de Melo/Doyle (AMCC) vs. Benson/Vetter (BSU) 19-21, 21-17, 14-12 uf
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