University of the Incarnate Word Athletics

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - The University of the Incarnate Word volleyball team went on the road and handed Texas A&M Corpus Christi its first Southland Conference loss of the season Saturday, as the Cardinals earned a 25-17, 30-28, 25-22 sweep.

Saturday marked a major milestone for senior outside hitter Kitana Tu'ufuli, who surpassed 1,000 career kills in the second set. Tuufuli led all players with 13 kills in the match.

SET ONE: UIW took control early. A pair of attack errors and a Calissa Allison kill made it 3-0 early, then consecutive Tu'ufuli kills gave the Cardinals an 8-2 lead. The Islanders, who never led in the set, did make things interesting, cutting the deficit all the way down to 18-17, only for another Allison kill to kick-start a 6-0 closing rally to end the set.

SET TWO: In a wild set that featured 17 ties and seven lead changes, the Cardinals staved off two set points as two errors tied the score at 25. Tu'ufuli then made another kill to put UIW up 26-25, marking the first of four times the Cardinals held set point. TAMU-CC answered the first three before Incarnate Word finally put it away when Allison found Teddy-Raye Ewers for the decisive kill. 

SET THREE: The Cardinals took the momentum of set two and came out strong in the third, jumping out to a 4-1 lead and never trailing. As they did in set one, the Islanders closed the gap, putting together a 10-4 run and getting within 24-22 on an attack error. Luckily, UIW was able to close again, ending the sweep on an Allison kill off an Ashton Rogers assist.

NOTABLES:

• Allison led all players with 19 assists while Victoria Hall was right behind with 18.
• Allison also recorded a season-high 11 kills and was two digs shy of a triple-double.
• Sofia Grimm and Lilly Roach both had career-high in digs, Grimm finishing with nine, Roach recording three.
• The Cardinals had a .250 hitting percentage to the Islanders' .130, while also recording 43 assists to Corpus Christi's 32.

The Cardinals improve to 5-8 overall and 3-1 in the Southland. UIW, Southeastern and Texas A&M Corpus Christi are in a three-way tie for second place in the SLC, all one game behind 4-0 teams Stephen F. Austin and UTRGV.

Incarnate Word has a great chance to move up the standings on Thursday, when they travel to face Stephen F. Austin at 6 p.m.
 

FOLLOW ALONG

For the most up-to-date information on UIW Athletics, visit uiwcardinals.com, follow the Cardinals on X @UIWAthletics, and on Instagram @uiw_athletics.   

Follow the team on X @UIWVolleyball and on Instagram @uiw_volleyball.