Box Score CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi dug out 68 Wildcat attacks and blocked three others in a 3-1 victory over Abilene Christian Saturday at Dugan Wellness Center. The win kept the Islanders (10-7) near the top of the Southland Conference standings at 5-1, while the Wildcats fell to 1-5 vs. the league and 5-9 overall.
Corpus Christi won sets one and two by scores of 25-23 and 25-18 before delivering a 25-10 thumping in set four, which followed a 25-20 defeat in game three.
ACU's greatest strength was once again its block as freshman
Lexi Mercier and several others combined for 15 stops, but the attack experienced difficulty finding the holes in the defense. The Wildcats collectively hit .115 and were at their absolute best in the third set, delivering 18 kills on 39 attempts (.385), but that momentum didn't carry over into game four, where the Islanders held them to a -.111 attack percentage.
Six ACU blocks in game one slightly helped offset .047 hitting as the Wildcats used a late 6-0 run to take a 22-20 lead, but the Islanders promptly came back to tie the score at 22-22 and then scored three of the final four points on kills from Ivy Baresh, Ashley Phelps and Shaquinn Parker. All three of those attacks were assisted by setter Logen Bourque, who finished the match with 55 of her team's 60.
Baresh recorded a double-double of 16 kills and 17 digs, while Phelps hit .200 with 12 kills and a solo block. The Islanders also received a tremendous performance from Brianna Brink, who led all players with 18 kills (.483).
Corpus quickly pushed their lead out to 2-0 thanks to an opening 12-3 run, but couldn't complete the sweep after the Wildcats came back several times throughout game three. Down 8-7 in the early stages, ACU recorded its first 4-0 run on consecutive kills from
Corrie Reeder followed by back-to-back blocks involving Reeder and Mercier.
The Wildcats held their lead for several more possessions until the Islanders used a 4-1 run to go back up by a point at 15-14. The game soon became a tug of war as several more lead changes and tie scores followed, but then Corpus captured a two-point lead (18-16) on back-to-back kills from Baresh and Phelps.
ACU responded to this deficit with its finest stretch of the match, scoring seven of the next eight points, which included kills from four different players in addition to three blocks from Reeder, Mercier and
Neely Borger. ACU closed the game with points from Reeder and senior
Madelyn Robinett.
Mercier was in top form all match, hitting .538 on seven kills and 12 blocks, but none of her teammates hit better than .200. Outside hitter Jennie Loerch again led the Wildcats with nine kills and was part of four blocks, while Reeder was part of seven stops and Borger was involved in three.
Sophomore libero
Madison Hoover had the most digs of any player today with 25 and
Sarah Siemens tossed up 26 assists.
The Wildcats return to action Thursday for a 7 p.m. home match vs. Lamar. The Cardinals started today at 4-14 overall and 2-4 vs. the Southland Conference.
