Box Score
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi volleyball had won five straight Southland Conference matches by way of a clean sweep. Sam Houston State pushed the Islanders to the brink on Saturday afternoon, but fell short, 3-2 (22-25, 25-21, 17-25, 27-25, 10-15) on the road.
The Bearkats (9-10, 3-3 SLC) had four players finish with double-digit kills including Taylor Cunningham and Amanda Gooch who each notched 12. Brooke White tallied 11 while Sarah Sherman finished with 10. Michelle Griffith notched an impressive 48 assists and 16 digs while Addison Miller tallied a team-leading 17 digs.
Sam Houston returns concludes its three-game road trip next Saturday with a trip to Abilene Christian. The Islanders, who stand at 11-6 overall and 6-0 in league play, heads to Edinburg to take on UTRGV as part of the South Texas Showdown.
Set 1
The Kats fell behind 11-5 early but clawed their way back, cutting the deficit 13-12 on a Gooch kill. After a White kill made it 14-13 in favor of the Islanders and a block by Gooch and Sherman again cut the deficit to one at 23-22, the Islanders closed out the match with the final two points. Sam Houston held A&M-Corpus Christi to a .128 hitting percentage in the opening frame but could not muster enough offensively to claim the first set.
Set 2
Sam Houston responded in the second set, hitting .250 as a team. The squads went back and forth early on as a Sherman kill gave the Kats an 11-10 advantage. After the Islanders took a 12-11 edge, Sam Houston rebounded with four straight points capped by a block from Sherman and Cunningham to take a 16-11 lead. The Islanders continued to fight back before Sherman finished off the 25-21 match with a kill of her own.
Set 3
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi refused to let up, posting a .342 hitting percentage but not before Sam Houston made an early statement. The Bearkats jumped out to a 5-1 lead on an Islanders attack error but Texas A&M-Corpus Christi quickly tied it at 5-5. The Bearkats forged ahead as a Cunningham kill kept the Islanders lead to one at 15-14 but four straight points for A&M-Corpus pushed the lead as part of an eventual 25-17 victory.
Set 4
In the fourth, the Bearkats defense clamped down, holding the Islanders to a .178 attack percentage while Sam Houston posted a .214 mark. Once again, Sam Houston jumped out to an early lead but this time, the Kats held on. A White kill made it 11-5 in favor of the Kats. The Islanders eventual tied it at 15-15 before two straight attack errors and a Breanna Homer serve ace extended Sam Houston's lead to 18-15. The Islanders came back, tying to match at 25-25 before an attack error and another Homer ace sent the set the Kats way at 27-25.
Set 5
In the winner-take-all frame, Sam Houston could not slow down A&M-Corpus Christi as the Islanders hit .286 and held the Bearkats to -.077. With the set tied at 8-8, the Islanders put home three straight in an eventual 15-10 set win.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Sarah Sherman matched a Sam Houston season high with eight blocks. As a team, the Bearkats recorded their second highest of the season, trailing only the 16 against McNeese.
