GULF SHORES, Ala. – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi beach volleyball team capped its season with a competitive showing on the national stage, but ultimately fell to No. 4 USC 3-0 in the opening round of the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship on Friday.
The Islanders entered as the No. 13 seed, the highest seeding ever by a beach volleyball squad in Southland Conference history. It marked their fourth NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the conference title for the automatic berth.
After making their return to the postseason, the Islanders opened the dual with one of their strongest stretches of the season.
Madison Morrow and
Kristin Bobay claimed the first set, 21-14, on court one before the Trojans rallied to even the match, leaving the contest unfinished at the time of decision.
A&M-Corpus Christi continued to push across the lineup despite the final score.
Mia Stevens and
Saskia Hernandez were locked in a tight battle on Court 4, trailing just 19-15 in the second set after dropping the opener, while keeping pressure on the Trojans late into the match.
It capped the program's fifth straight 20-win season, finishing strong by coming out on top in 18 of their last 20 matches played this year. The program has won three of the Southland Conference's four awarded regular season titles and four of the five tournament titles. Under head coach
Gayle Stammer, the program has won seven of the 10 winnable trophies in the Southland Conference.
Bobay ends her career with 83 wins as an Islander, the most by a single player in program history. The previous record was 74 set by
Kela Moreno from 2022-25. Morrow also concludes her collegiate career as the program's winningest player at Flight 1 with 61 victories from the top court. The previous record was 52 set by Giuliana Poletti Corrales (2020-23) who played in the 2024 Olympic Games for Paraguay and was on last year's national runner-up LMU squad.
Included in the season wrap up,
Maria Duda Fernandes de Melo/
Millie Olsson were honored with AVCA Top Flight honors at Flight Two while
Mia Stevens/
Saskia Hernandez earned the nod at Flight Five, announced by the AVCA on opening day of the NCAA Tournament.
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