LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball team wrapped up its time in Las Vegas with a defeat on Sunday afternoon, falling to Iowa State 17-25, 17-25, 19-25 to conclude its run at the Lucky Aces Invitational.
 
The Islanders (2-8) were blitzed out of the gates by the Cyclones (6-5), falling down 10-3 early and eventually seeing the deficit reach 23-10 at its highest. Just a few points away from dropping the set, they managed to find a rhythm themselves, first scoring five points in a row on a pair of kills from Logan Dyer, one from Hadley Burger, a combo block from Burger and Kaitlyn Aleshire and an ace from Brooklyn Jaeger. They would then save two different set points on another kill from Burger and an error to make it 24-17, but they would not go any further, giving up the next point to drop the set after a spirited effort.
 
Building upon the end of the opening period, A&M-Corpus Christi came out in the second on fire, taking the first four points on two kills from Dyer, an ace from Aleshire and an error on the other side. Iowa State would stop this run at that point, but the Islanders continued to hold their Big 12 opponents at bay as the set progressed, remaining in front up to 11-9 thanks to a balanced attack that saw kills from Dyer and Burger, a block from Aleshire and Buchanan and an ace from Madison Morrow. At this point, however, the Cyclones turned the tide, ripping off four points in a row to take the lead and then continuing to extend it until they secured the set by the same 25-17 total as the one before.
 
The final set ended up being the most competitive, with the Islanders staying within two points of the Cyclones well past the media timeout by spreading the wealth with kills by six different players in Dyer, Buchanan, Aleshire, Ava Hight, Virginia Van Der Werff and Sydney Yohe. With the score eventually settling at 19-17, A&M-Corpus Christi needed a run to get them back in a position to take its first set, but a 5-1 stretch from Iowa State placed them behind the eight ball once again. Another Van Der Werff kill staved off one match point, but the team was unable to keep it going and was sent home with the loss as a result.
 
For the first time this season, it was Dyer that led the Islanders in kills in a match, with the sophomore tallying nine on 31 attacks. Buchanan came in right behind her with eight, and next up was Van Der Werff, who continued her return from injury with four while also leading the team in assists with 11.
 
The Islanders will now have a quick turnaround until their next matches, continuing their current road trip in Baton Rouge against Southern on Tuesday at 11 a.m. before then starting conference play the next day with a showdown against Nicholls.
 
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