HOUSTON, Texas - The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team hit the road for the final week of the regular season in Southland Conference play to take on Houston Christian. The two sides went back and forth, going the distance in an extended fifth set that the Islanders were able to pull out to capture the 3-2 victory (15-25,25-15,19-25,25-21,18-16). The Islanders finished off a season sweep of the Huskies after defeating them 3-0 at home earlier this season.

The win moves the Islanders' record to 10-16 overall and 8-7 in SLC play, while the Huskies drop to 6-21 on the year and 4-11 in league play. The Islanders were led by big performances from Kenna Buchanan and Hadley Burger, as the pair each had 20 kills in the match and hit .360 and .488, respectively. The performance against the Huskies set a new career-high in kills for both Islanders.

The Islanders got off to a slow start, as they had just eight kills in the first set on their way to a 25-15 defeat. However, they were able to flip the script in the second set and win by the same score to level the match. Corpus Christi hit .600 as a team in the set as Buchanan and Burger came to life for a combined 13 kills in 17 attacking chances. 

After two lopsided sets, the rest of the match settled in for both sides, as each played well in the third offensively. Both teams hit over .325, but Houston Christian was able to pull away in the middle of the set and hold off the Islanders to take the third 25-19.

Down in the match, Corpus Christi battled back in the fourth. They got up by a handful of points early and were able to keep the home side at an arm's length, before taking four straight points late to take firm control of the set and win it 25-21. Buchanan led the way with five kills, while it was more Ava Hight as the setter for TAMU-CC tonight than Virginia Van Der Werff, as they finished with 35 and 13 assists for the Islanders. 

With the match tied, it only made sense that the final set would go to extra points. Neither team led by more than two points in the fifth throughout, and the Islanders faced a match point late, but they were able to find the answers they needed with two big kills from reigning SLC Player of the Week Tatum Mason. She finished with six kills in the match alongside Sydney Yohe, who saw extended action tonight and set a new season-high. 

The Islanders finished hitting .282 for the match and held the home side to .223 as they picked up a big win late in the season in conference play. Their 8-7 mark keeps them at pace with McNeese State, in a tie for fifth place in the league. The Islanders close out their regular season on Saturday with a trip to Incarnate Word. The Cardinals sit in a tie atop the league at 13-2 and defeated the Islanders in Corpus Christi 3-0 earlier this season.

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