Gulf Shores, Ala. – Extending its historical season, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi beach volleyball team earned its first ever win in the NCAA Tournament after cruising through UT-Martin 3-0 in the opening dual Wednesday in Gulf Shores.
After making history by appearing in the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back years, the Islanders (25-9) continued the magic by topping UT-Martin in a quick three points for the program's first win at the Big Dance. None of the five pairs dropped a set in the victory.
The victory helped the Islanders build on their best record in program history, now at a 25-9 mark. A&M-Corpus Christi is the first and only team in the Southland to win at the NCAA Tournament.
Courts two and four got things started, with freshman
Kristin Bobay and senior
Chloe Tome winning 21-19, 21-11 for the program's first ever match win at the tournament. The fours of sophomore
Kela Moreno and redshirt-junior
Shea Slusser followed suit, grinding out a 26-24 set one win before closing out a more convincing 21-10 win in set two.
Moreno and Slusser have won every match they have played as a duo at court four, beginning in the SLC Tournament where they went 3-0 to win Pair of the Tournament. Moreno now has 26 individual wins on the year, which tops the program record for most single-season wins.
In the second round, every court for the Islanders took a 1-0 lead over the Seahawks. One set away, sophomore
Jade Bennett and junior
Tori Johnson at court three were the ones to finish first with a demanding 21-9, 21-10 match win to clinch to dual.
Bennet and Johnson's pair record is now 21-11 on the year, making them the second pair in program history to win 20+ matches in a year. Their career record as a pair is now 38 after their 17 wins last year, ranking them first in the program record book.
The Islanders will now turn their attention to Friday where they will face top-seeded UCLA. The dual is set for 9 a.m. CT and will be streamed live nationally on ESPNU.
No. 17 A&M-Corpus Christi 3, No. 16 UT-Martin 0
1. Lewis/Poletti Corrales (AMCC) vs. Wallick/Mott (UTM) 21-18, 13-12 uf
2. Bobay/Tome (AMCC) def. Lucas/O'Keefe (UTM) 21-19, 21-11
3. Bennett/Johnson (AMCC) def. Kaufman/Vaughn (UTM) 21-9, 21-10
4. Moreno/Slusser (AMCC) def. Vallee/Paulino (UTM) 26-24, 21-10
5. Doyle/Fernandes de Melo (AMCC) vs. Carrell/Rednour (UTM) 21-19, 14-11 uf
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