EDINBURG, Texas – Making history in South Texas, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team took a neutral court matchup and downed Texas Tech 3-1 Friday for the program's first win over a power opponent to open the weekend in the UTRGV Tournament.
It's not the first Power Four (previously Power Five) opponent that the Islanders (4-3) have faced, but it is the first time they came out on top against a current member of those conferences after solidifying a 3-1 victory over the Red Raiders (6-2) out of the Big 12.
A&M-Corpus Christi had posted wins over Houston and Rutgers in previous seasons prior to those schools joining P4/P5 leagues.
The match started as déjà vu to last year's meeting, with A&M-Corpus Christi taking the first set in extra points before Texas Tech evened the match in the second. However, this year didn't see the Red Raiders win sets three and four as those went to the Islanders for their final 30-28, 17-25, 25-20, 25-18 victory.
The Islanders recorded 64 kills compared to Texas Tech's 53 through the four sets. Senior
Kyndal Payne led the match with 18 kills, one shy of her season-high, with senior
Leah Stolfus right behind her at 16. Stolfus hit for a match-high .481 attack percentage (16-3-27).
Junior
Tori Arrington, who is coming off an excellent showing at the Islanders Classic last weekend, picked up where she left off with 12 kills against the Red Raiders. It is the third time this year that Arrington, Stolfus, and Payne all had 10+ kills each in the same match.
A&M-Corpus Christi also recorded their season-high 83 digs. It is the first time the Islanders recorded 80+ digs in a match since Oct. 19, 2023 at McNeese (83).
Senior
Kayla White led the defense with 23 digs of her own, her season best and second 20+ dig performance of the year. She has recorded 10+ digs in five of the seven matches this season so far.
She was joined in double figures on the defensive end by three other Islanders, with graduate
Alex Hoglund following at 17 digs, her career high. Hoglund also came away with the double-double after also running the offense with 46 assists and ending with four kills and two blocks.
Junior
Kendall Mahaney picked up 13 digs for her second double digit dig performance of the year while Payne recorded 11, also for the double-double. It is her fourth double-double of the year already.
The Islanders have now won four in a row after a 3-0 home tournament last weekend. It gets them to above .500 on the season after starting the year with three other P4 schools. It is their first-ever win over Texas Tech, who still leads the all-time series 5-1. It also marks Texas Tech's just second loss of the season, previously only having lost to Boston College.
The Islanders will close out the weekend at 11 a.m. tomorrow against San Francisco.
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