CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word volleyball team opened up the Emerald Beach Islanders Tournament, with a 4-set loss to the host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Thursday, 25-18, 25-15, 18-25, 25-12 at the Dugan Wellness Center.

The Cardinals (3-8) battled in the first set with the lead changing hands three times as well as six ties.  The Islanders (5-7) hit an impressive .317 in the set and that proved to be too much for the Cardinals, who only hit .080.  Corpus Christi turned a 19-18 lead into a first set win by scoring the final six points.

In the second set, the Islanders led comfortably throughout, but the Cardinals responded in the third set.  The team had it all clicking for the third set, where they had an attack efficiency of .483, totaling 16 kills on 29 total attacks while committing only two errors.  The set was close until Brittani Dear (LaVernia/LaVernia HS) served up a pair of aces that propelled the team to a victory in the set.

The fourth set was not as good.  The Islanders closed out the match by tallying 17 kills and a .359 attack while the Cardinals managed just seven kills and a .000 attack.

The Cardinals finished the match with 46 kills, 65 digs and 5.0 blocks for the match.  Angelique Vidaurri (San Antonio/Southwest HS) led the team with 14 kills and a .375 attack.  Shaina Garza (San Antonio/Warren HS) posted a double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs.  Kaitlyn Brooks (Sugar Land/Fort Bend Austin HS) dished out 22 assists and had nine digs while Taylor McClelland (Cypress/Cypress Ranch HS) added 15 assists and nine digs.  Dear led the team with 18 digs.

The Islanders pounded out 61 kills with a .307 attack and added 69 digs and 6.0 blocks.  Brianna Brink led the attack with 13 kills and 11 digs while Kristyn Nicholson dished out 44 assists.  Ivy Baresh led the defense with 17 digs while Brittany Gilpin had five blocks.

The Cardinals continue play on Friday when they face Boise State at 1:00 p.m., and then at 5:00 p.m. they close out the weekend tournament against the Omaha.  
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