CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team will commence opening week of Southland Conference play when it hosts Lamar on Thursday and Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday in the Dugan Wellness Center.
Thursday's match against Lamar is set for 6:30 p.m. while Saturday's matchup with SLU will start at 12 p.m. Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+.
"Conference play is a big challenge for us and we are excited to get started," said head coach
Steve Greene. "Our students and fans are in for a great show when they see how talented our team is and how competitive the conference looks to be this year. Our goals are to continue to improve each match and look to build on our confidence and mature into top level performers."
The Islanders (5-7) finished last year's conference slate 13-5 for a second-place regular season finish. They were projected third in this year's conference preseason poll while juniors
Kyndal Payne and
Leah Stolfus were named to the preseason All-Conference First-Team.
Payne is the reigning SLC Player of the Year after turning in an impressive sophomore season, leading the league in points per set (5.39), kills per set (4.91), and double-doubles (11). She hit double-digit kills in every conference match last season including when she slammed 28 at Northwestern State to break the program record for kills in a match.
Through a challenging nonconference, several players have stood out among the conference standings.
"We had a very competitive nonconference slate this season and really improved in a lot of aspects as a team. Our team really works together to support each other and we have had many players step up with standout performances already this year," said Greene.
Payne has already turned in five double-doubles this year and is averaging 3.53 kills per set, which continues to lead the Southland. Stolfus was the most efficient hitter in the conference last year and is currently fifth this year at a .314. She leads all middle blockers in the SLC in kills with 108.
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Belle Morgan, two-time and reigning SLC Setter of the Week, has tallied 370 assists for a 8.60/set mark on the year which rank her in the league's top-three in both. She has run the team offense to a .230 hitting clip, the third best in the Southland.
On the defensive end, junior
Kayla White has stood out in the conference's top-five with 3.60 digs/set. She has aided in A&M-Corpus Christi ranking first in the SLC in opponent kills and opponent service aces. With 126 digs, she leads the Islanders while Payne seconds her at 109 with sophomore
Kendall Mahaney also turning in over 100 digs at 108.
Lamar (0-11) will be gunning for its first win of the season after going 0-11 in the nonconference. The Cardinals' offense has been spread out this year, with three players tallying over 60 kills. They are led by middle blocker Wiktoria Warpechowska with 65 kills as one of only two players to have played in every set for Lamar this season.
"Lamar's record doesn't reflect their talent," Greene said. "They have offensive weapons in the middle and on the outside that we will be looking to slow down. We will be focused on our ball control and playing our style of play so we can feel comfortable while also staying on the attack."
SLU (9-4) is coming off an SLC Tournament Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance and was picked second in the SLC Preseason Poll. The Lady Lions will open league play at UIW on Thursday prior to Saturday's matchup in Corpus Christi.
The Islanders hold an advantage in the all-time records over both squads, leading Lamar 18-13 and SLU 16-5. A&M-Corpus Christi is on a 16-match winning streak against the Cardinals, not dropping a meeting since 2011.
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