NEW ORLEANS, La. – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team got back in the winning column after defeating New Orleans 3-1 (25-14, 25-15, 24-26, 25-16) Saturday behind the team's best offensive production in a four-set match in program history.
Despite the one-set flub, the Islanders (15-10, 10-4 SLC) hit for a .452 percentage for the program's best ever through a four-set match. It topped their .392 (68-10-148) mark set at UIW on February 25, 2021 (COVID). They shot well above .500 in the first two sets with 35 kills and just one error through their first 50 points won today.
It is just their second time hitting above .400 this season, first coming with a .430 against Lamar back in October.
The Islanders jumped out to the early 2-0 lead in the match after preventing New Orleans (2-24, 0-14 SLC) from getting past them for more than 15 points. However, the Privateers powered back to take the third in extras to force the fourth where A&M-Corpus Christi was finally able to close out for the win.
11 different Islanders registered a hit today, but it was the upperclassmen duo of
Kyndal Payne and
Tori Arrington that led the way with 14 and 13 kills, respectively, as both hit above .400 through their double figure effort.
Five Islanders who recorded at least a pair of kills went errorless, including seniors
Leah Stolfus and
Rylee Achtzehn who both hammered nine kills without an error. Graduate
Morgan Smith sent down eight off 13 attacks with no errors while senior
Morgan Baese did the same for five kills off seven attempts.
Three setters joined the effort in running the offense to its historic performance, with graduate
Alex Hoglund leading the way at 42 assists. Freshmen
Ella Pallagi and
Virginia Van Der Werff also got some reps with seven and six assists, respectively.
While the offense was the shining performance today, the defense kept New Orleans at bay for the most part as sophomore
Brooklyn Jaeger led the match with 16 digs, her eighth straight double figure dig performance.
Arrington also came away with her first career double-double after picking up 10 digs, her career high for her first double figure dig performance.
Stolfus defended at the net to lead the match with three blocks, helping her surpass 200 blocks in her career.
The Islanders will now head into the final stretch of the season, playing at home for their last two regular season matches against HCU and UIW.
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