CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – In a battled back-and-forth, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi came up on the short end of a five-set decision (25-18, 18-25, 22-25, 25-22, 9-15) to UIW Saturday to split their final home weekend of the 2025 season.
Prior to the match, the day started with a special senior recognition as the Islanders honored seniors
Katelyn Krienke,
Kaitlyn Baumann, and
Alessia Gallo.
A&M–Corpus Christi outhit UIW with a total of 70 kills, but the Cardinals' heated up when it mattered in the decisive fifth to edge out the match.
The Islanders used a hot start to take the first set 25–19, hitting .340 behind
Kenna Buchanan's five kills off the bat. The Islanders built an early 13–4 advantage behind the attacking of Buchanan and Baumann and never trailed the rest of the frame.
UIW answered, controlling the second and third sets winning 25–18 and 25–22 to pull ahead 2–1.
The Islanders fought back in the fourth, leaning on Rawls-Fletcher and Krienke to force a deciding frame with a 25–22 victory. Momentum swung back to the Cardinals in the final frame, however, as UIW built an early cushion and held off the Islanders for a 15–9 clincher.
Buchanan finished with a team-high 18 kills and 12 digs, while Baumann added 15 kills. Rawls-Fletcher chipped in 14 kills, Krienke added 10 with five blocks, and Jaeger anchored the defense with 36 digs. Van Der Werff led the way with 61 assists and four kills herself.
The Islanders will now close out the regular season on the road, heading to Northwestern State and East Texas A&M before heading back up to Commerce for the SLC Tournament on Nov. 21-23.
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