CONWAY, Ark. – No. 8-seeded Southeastern Louisiana fell in straight sets to No. 1-seeded Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 25-14, 25-17, 25-22, Friday to open the 2015 Southland Conference Volleyball Tournament at the Farris Center on the campus of Central Arkansas.
A&M-Corpus Christi (29-4) got off to a quick start, going up 10-4 forcing a Southeastern timeout. The Lady Lions (13-18) were unable to adjust as the Islanders held Southeastern to a .026 hitting percentage due to a solid front line with three block assists by sophomore middle blocker Brittany Gilpin.
"Corpus came after us really strong," head coach
Jim Smoot said. "I think we were not servicing well and not running our offense well. On the flip side of that, we weren't serving tough enough to get then out of their offense. They're really good and you have to serve really tough against them. Then we just kind of settled down."
Southeastern kept the next set close with a 5-1 run to hold the Islanders to a 13-10 lead in the middle of the set. Junior middle blocker/outside hitter
Landry Bullock led the Lady Lion attack with four kills and a .571 hitting percentage. The Islanders eventually broke away to take the set 25-17 as senior outside hitter Ivy Baresh, junior right side Morgan Carlson, and sophomore setter Kristyn Nicholson combined for nine kills.
Much like the previous set, the Lady Lions would not go down without a fight. After going back and forth for the start of the frame, the Islanders led by Carlson and Baresh pulled away 19-10. Southeastern then went on an 8-2 run to narrow the Islander lead to 21-18. Both teams continued to trade points until the Islanders finally took the set 25-22, earning a hard fought sweep.
"I don't think we ever really did a great job adjusting to their blocks," Smoot said. "We started setting Landry when we got going good and she had a great game, but we had a lot of players hit negative, which is disappointing."
Bullock, a junior from Spring, Texas, led all players with 18 kills.
Mikayla Shippy dished out 30 assists and
Monica Ramon contributed 20 digs, both match highs.
Macey Stock, a freshman from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, also reach double digits with 12 digs for the Lady Lions. Ramon, a freshman from San Antonio, Texas, and Stock each recorded one service ace.
Carlson (13 kills), Baresh (10 kills) and Nicholson (28 assists) paced the Islander offensive attack. Kate Klepetka led the squad with 19 digs. Nicholson (11 digs) and Baresh (10 digs) each recorded double-doubles.
Gilpin led the Islanders defense with a career high three solo blocks and seven block assists, holding the Lady Lions to a .039 overall hitting percentage.
Southeastern ends the season with 13 overall victories, its most wins since the 2004 season. Shippy, a senior from Pueblo West, Colorado, finishes her career fourth on the Lady Lions' all-time assists (2,594) list.
Veronica Turk, a senior from Pearland, Texas, ends her career as one of the Top-10 blockers in school history. She is ninth on the school's total blocks list with 257 in her career. Turk recorded 41 solo blocks (T-9th with former teammate Courtney Donald) and 216 blocks assists (eighth all-time).
Texas A&M-CC def. Southeastern La. 25-14, 25-17, 25-22
Southeastern La. (13-18) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Bullock, Landry 18-0-1; Turk, Veronica 5-0-0; Hartley, Parrie 4-0-1; Balser, Brooke 2-0-0; Bunn, Rachael 2-0-3; Odom, Madi 2-0-0; Friedman, Sarah 1-0-0; Shippy, Mikayla 1-0-1; Ramon, Monica 0-1-0; Stock, Macey 0-1-0;
Totals 35-2-3.0. (Assists) - Shippy, Mikayla 30.
(Dig leaders) – Ramon, Monica 20; Stock, Macey 12; Balser, Brooke 9
Texas A&M-CC (29-4) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Carlson, Morgan 13-0-2; Baresh, Ivy 10-2-0; Gilpin, Brittany 5-0-10; McGarva, Kirstee 3-0-4; Nicholson, Kristyn 3-0-4; Doud, Madeleine 1-0-1; Klepetka, Kate 0-1-0;
Totals 35-3-13.0. (Assists) - Nicholson, Kristyn 28.
(Dig leaders) - Klepetka, Kate 19; Nicholson, Kristyn 11; Baresh, Ivy 10; King, Hailey 9
Site: Conway, Ark. (Farris Center)
Date: Nov 20, 2015
Attend: 355
Time: 1:28
Referees: David Dufrene, Richard Blue
