MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team fell in its first match of the 2026 season on Friday evening, showing improvement as the night went on but ultimately falling in the opener of the K-State Invitational to hosts Kansas State in straight sets, 14-25, 15-25, 24-26.
With both teams showing some rust out of the gates in their first time out on the court, the Islanders (0-1) fell behind early in the opening set, earning two of the first three points of the day on attack errors but then surrendering five in a row after that. The first kill of the season from
Tatum Mason stopped this run, but the Wildcats (1-0) kept the pressure on, putting together a six-point run not long after to further extend the advantage and riding it to the end of the opening stanza.
Set two started out in a similar fashion, with A&M-Corpus Christi hanging in at first after kills from Mason and
Logan Dyer but eventually falling in a hole after an 8-2 run from K-State. Unlike earlier, the Islanders did manage to put together a run of their own not long after this, earning six of eight points thanks to four separate attack errors from the hosts and kills from newcomer
Kaitlyn Aleshire and returner
Hadley Burger to cut the score down to 17-12. This hot stretch did not last, though, as the Wildcats immediately answered with five straight to build their cushion up to an insurmountable point once again.
Despite the tough end to the second set, the Islanders still found some momentum from their earlier spark and transferred it to the third, catching fire after a back-and-forth start and eventually going up 19-12 for their largest advantage of the day. Their attack during this stretch ended up being very balanced, with Burger leading the way with three kills and four others getting on the board with one apiece. In addition, Aleshire and
Ally Saleh mixed in service aces, which were the team's only ones of the night.
Unfortunately for A&M-Corpus Christi, the Wildcats started to find their groove after this, eventually retaking the lead at 24-23 and forcing a match point. A kill from Mason extended things a little further, but a pair of kills on the other side right after brought things to a conclusion and sent the visitors to their first loss of 2026.
The Islanders were led in kills by the duo of Saleh and Burger, who both pitched in six while posting hitting percentages of .385 and .286 respectively. Right behind them was
Virginia Van Der Werff, with the First Team All-SLC setter notching five kills in seven total attacks while leading all players in assists with 18 in her return to her home state. On defense, reigning SLC Libero of the Year
Brooklyn Jaeger tied for the match lead in digs with 12 while also tallying three assists of her own.
A&M-Corpus Christi will now try to bounce back in its second match of the K-State Invitational on Saturday, returning to the Morgan Family Arena for a clash against Campbell at 12 p.m.
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