LAKE CHARLES, La. – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi beach volleyball team followed a tough 4-1 loss to No. 20 Cal Poly with a dominant 5-0 sweep over Tarleton State on the final day of the Cowgirls Beach Bash to conclude opening weekend.
The Islanders (3-1) are off to its second best start in program history, matching the four-game record posted in 2019 and 2021. It was aided by A&M-Corpus Christi bouncing back after its first loss of the season to nationally ranked Cal Poly, cruising to a 5-0 victory over Tarleton State to close the first weekend of the season.
"The season opener was one of our strongest starts in recent years," said head coach
Gayle Stammer. "I thought we played with confidence on day one against two of our conference opponents. This helped us for our biggest challenge today against Cal Poly. Even though we lost 1-4 to them, it gave us clear goals to work on this week. We can't wait to get back in practice and prepare for next weekend at LSU!"
Though, the Islanders didn't go down easy as
Hannah Doyle/
Cassie Dodd won at court three against the No. 20 team with a three-set thriller. The duo completed a 4-0 weekend after then crushing Tarleton State 21-9, 21-16.
Along with the No. 3 pair, the Islanders won easily after every other court in the second match of the day.
Kristin Bobay/
Madison Morrow matched up at court two to open it with a pair of 21-12 sets. The pairing of
Kela Moreno/
Raven Jordan then earned a 21-15, 21-14 at court four before
Tori Johnson/
Elizabeth Cortez at court five clinched with a 21-10, 21-11 score.
Chloe Tome/
Stephanie Young closed the Islanders out with a 21-11, 21-10 decision at flight one to aid in the team's third shutout win of the weekend. Overall, A&M-Corpus Christi leaves opening weekend 16-4 in duals.
Next up, the Islanders will head to Baton Rouge next weekend to compete in the Tiger Beach Challenge at No. 6 LSU where they will play five matches in two days.
Match One – No. 20 Cal Poly 4, A&M-Corpus Christi 1
1. Connor, Ella/Martinez, Izzy (CPO) def. Tome, Chloe/Young, Stephanie (AMCC) 21-10, 21-10
2. Ferch, Piper/Inskeep, Erin (CPO) def. Bobay, Kristin/Morrow, Madison (AMCC) 21-18, 21-14
3. Doyle, Hannah/Dodd, Cassie (AMCC) def. Naess, Piper/Perry, Quinn (CPO) 21-13, 14-21, 15-11
4. Nichols, Madison/Reinard, Abbey (CPO) def. Moreno, Kela/Jordan, Raven (AMCC) 21-15, 21-12
5. Sparks, Lindsey/Walter, Logan (CPO) def. Johnson, Tori/Cortez, Elizabeth (AMCC) 21-16, 21-16
Match Two – A&M-Corpus Christi 5, Tarleton State 0
1. Tome, Chloe/Young, Stephanie (AMCC) def. Halcomb, Emma/Bryant, Allison (TSU) 21-11, 21-10
2. Bobay, Kristin/Morrow, Madison (AMCC) def. Schirpik, Grayson/McDonough, Breanna (TSU) 21-12, 21-12
3. Doyle, Hannah/Dodd, Cassie (AMCC) def. Maldonado Ortiz, Melina/Ching, Charlize (TSU) 21-9, 21-16
4. Moreno, Kela/Jordan, Raven (AMCC) def. Garrison, Sydney/Fitzmaurice, Rajini (TSU) 21-15, 21-14
5. Johnson, Tori/Cortez, Elizabeth (AMCC) def. Gonzaba, Isabel/Busch, Tatum (TSU) 21-10, 21-11
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