CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Texas A&M–Corpus Christi volleyball team swept Northwestern State 25–19, 25–19, 25–18 on Saturday at Prather Coliseum to close out the regular season on a high note with the straight-set victory.
The Islanders (12-16, 8-8 SLC) hit .275 with 44 kills, controlled the defensive tempo with 47 digs and held the Lady Demons (1-29, 0-16 SLC) to .111 hitting while limiting them to fewer than 20 points in every set. It got the Islanders to finish at an even .500 on the year in conference play.
The Islanders established its rhythm early behind kills from
Kaitlyn Baumann and
Tatum Mason, opening the first set with a 9-4 lead before
Virginia Van Der Werff capped a run with the sneak kill that pushed the Islanders ahead 15-12. Northwestern State briefly tied it again at 16–16, but a service ace from
Kenna Buchanan and a run of Mason kills helped the Islanders pull away, closing the set at 25–19.
The Islanders kept control in the second set, starting with a service ace from
Brooklyn Jaeger and building a 4–1 lead on a Buchanan kill. Northwestern State managed to pull ahead at 8–7, but A&M-Corpus Christi responded with montage of kills from
Katelyn Krienke reversed the advantage and gave the Islanders a permanent lead at 14-11. Buchanan finished the frame with a kill to seal a second 25–19 win.
A&M–Corpus Christi maintained its advantage throughout the third, with Krienke delivering the opening point. Jaeger added another ace as the Islanders pushed ahead 11–7, and the defense fueled a series of kills from Baumann,
Ally Saleh, and Krienke that widened the margin to 19–13.
Ella Busey came off the bench to set up match point after the kill as the Islanders completed the sweep with a 25–18 finish.
Mason led the attack with 12 kills, while Buchanan and Krienke followed behind at eight kills apiece. Krienke and Baumann both hitting .500 on the day.
Van Der Werff paced the offense with 38 assists along with five digs and two aces. Jaeger anchored the back row with 13 digs and a pair of aces herself.
The Islanders will be the No. 6 seed for next week's Southland Conference Tournament and is slated against No. 3 Southeastern. They will face off in the first round on Friday, Nov. 21 at 10 a.m.
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