CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Getting their home tournament off to a hot start, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team swept Tarleton State 25-15, 26-24, 25-18 Thursday night of the Islanders Classic, presented by Schlotzsky's.
The Islanders (2-4) got back to their winning ways, competing on familiar territory where they extended a regular season home winning streak to 19 straight since the 2023 season after a perfect 11-0 mark at the Dugan Wellness Center in 2024.
They did so in one of their better offensive performances of the season, combining as a team for a .224 hitting percentage off 38 kills. Sophomore
Virginia Van Der Werff ran the offense with 28 assists, while
Katelyn Krienke became tonight's go-to as she got hot for 12 kills and a .550 hitting clip.
The Islanders came out swinging right away, jumping out to a 6-1 lead in the opening set after freshman
Tatum Mason got down a kill for the early advantage. Krienke kept it rolling with a pair of attacks for the 10-4 lead and although Tarleton State whispered an attempt to respond, the Islanders applied the pressure and closed out the frame 25-15 off the service ace from senior
Alessia Gallo.
The second set saw the Texans in majority control and even led late at 19-13. However, A&M-Corpus Christi didn't relent their home court and, spearheaded by Van Der Werff finding Krienke, mounted the comeback for the 26-24 set win.
With a 2-0 match lead backing them up, the Islanders continued momentum into the third where back-to-back aces from Gallo created the early 4-1 cushion. Freshman
Logan Dyer hammered down an attack and followed it with a solo stuff to give the Islanders the 12-7 lead and the home squad kept rolling as Van Der Werff stamped the win with the ace.
The night saw 10 service aces, the first time the Islanders had 10+ service aces in a match since they had 11 against Prairie View back in 2023. Gallo set her new career high with four aces in the match, topping her previous best of three, while Van Der Werff matched her best at three.
The Islanders will continue their home weekend tomorrow, facing Prairie View A&M at 6:30 p.m.
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