HOUSTON, Texas – Following a 2-1 opening weekend, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team will remain on the road as it travels to Texas Southern for a pair of matches between Friday and Saturday at Health and Physical Education Arena.
The opening matchup is set for 5:30 p.m. Friday, with the second match scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday. Both matches will be streamed live on YouTube.
"We are looking forward to continued growth and improvement this weekend," said head coach
Steve Greene. "Our team had a solid first weekend and we are looking to build on that. This week we continued to work on building confidence and focusing on mental aspects of the game. I am looking forward to seeing how that translates into competition Friday and Saturday."
The Islanders opened the 2023 season with a 2-1 record, defeating both Oral Roberts and Sam Houston 3-1. The win over the Bearkats capped the weekend, as the Islanders turned in their best overall performance on the weekend. Offensively, the team hit for a .331 mark from 65 kills led by junior
Tori Arrington who totaled 13 kills for an individual hitting percentage of .591. On the defensive end, the Islanders picked up a season-high 74 digs as junior
Kayla White tallied 24 of them.
Junior
Kyndal Payne and graduate
Belle Morgan were named to the Bearkat Invitational All-Tournament Team after both putting up high performances.
Payne registered double figure kills in all three matches including 18 in the season opener. She also posted double-doubles in wins over Oral Roberts (16 kills,15 digs) and Sam Houston (11 kills,12 digs) to help total 45 kills for a 3.75 kills/set average.
Morgan, the reigning and inaugural SLC Setter of the Week recipient, opened the season with a 24 assist, nine kill, three dig and three block stat line before starting in the win over Sam Houston where she dished out 40 assists in the effort. Overall, Morgan ran the offense to a weekend-total of 158 kills for 13.17 per set with a .239 hitting percentage as well as totaled 96 assists and led the team in aces (5) and blocks (4).
Junior Kendal Mahaney was also honored as the SLC Defensive Player of the Week, playing in every set to aid in A&M-Corpus Christi's two-win opening weekend. She suited up as libero in the win over Oral Roberts where she recorded 21 digs, three assists, and two service aces. Overall, she totaled a team-high 41 digs for a 3.42/set mark.
On average, the Islanders have out-attacked their opponents 158 to 146 kills while also out-defending them 195 digs to 172.
The Islanders hold an 18-3 lead in the all-time record with Texas Southern. It will be the first time the two teams meet in Houston since the 2005 season.
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