CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team returned to action this afternoon as they hosted Incarnate Word in Southland Conference play. Riding a three-game winning streak, the Islanders fell for the first time in league play, 3-0 (25-17, 30-28, 25-22) against the Cardinals.
In front of a packed Dugan Wellness Center on Family Weekend, the Islanders drop to 5-10 overall and 3-1 in SLC play after their defeat this afternoon. They got off to a slow start and were never able to recover after dropping the opening set.
Tatum Mason led the way for the home side with nine kills while
Ava Hight finished the match with 15 assists.
UIW was able to capture the early momentum in the match as they quickly went up 8-2 in the first set. The Islanders battled back to make it 11-9 behind
Hadley Burger, who had two kills on six attacks in the set. Right when TAMUCC got the set tight, the Cardinals pulled away as they closed the set by winning the final seven points on their way to a 25-17 set win.
The second set was the swing point of the match, as the Islanders got off to a faster start. They hit a set-best .160 as a team in the second set, led by
Kenna Buchanan and Mason, who each had four kills. Neither side led by more than three points throughout the second set. The home side was one point away from leveling the match up 24-22, but UIW battled back to extend the set. The Cardinals stayed one point ahead late before capturing the set 30-28.
The Islanders went deeper into their bench to start the third set, as
Lauren Sandvold,
Ally Saleh, and
Sydney Yohe got the start for the home team. Saleh led TAMUCC with four kills in the set, but the Islanders trailed wire-to-wire as they fell 25-22.
As a team, Corpus Christi hit just .130 for the match, their lowest in Southland play so far this season. Their previous low was .223 in a win over Nicholls, and it was the first time anyone failed to break double-digit kills in a match in conference play.
Brooklyn Jaeger finished with 24 digs for the Islanders while
Virginia Van Der Werff had ten assists with her five kills.
The defeat drops the Islanders out of the tie atop the SLC standings, but they remain tied for third and just one game back early in conference play. The Islanders are back in action on Oct. 8 when they travel to face East Texas A&M. The Lions are 8-9 overall and 2-2 in conference play.
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