Freshman setter Stephanie Alpie’s game-high 54 assists led the No. 22 Texas A&M volleyball team to a 3-1 win over A&M Corpus Christi at Reed Arena Monday.
Corpus Christi (7-11) opened the night with a 25-21 set win, but the Aggies rallied to win the next three sets, securing the match.
Head coach Laurie Corbelli trotted out a revised starting lineup Monday after Saturday’s loss, substituting senior outside hitter Syndey Wilhelm for junior outside hitter Angela Lowak. In the second set, A&M took an early lead, but the Islanders fought for a comeback. A&M was able to hold on, however with 30 digs in the second set alone, winning 25-21.
The third set was even closer, with four different lead changes between the Aggies and the Islanders. A&M was down 13-18, but a 9-1 run vaulted the Aggies to another 25-21 set victory.
The fourth and final set began with long volleys between the two teams. With the score tied at 8-8, A&M went on a four-point run to give the Aggies the lead. The Islanders would not recover and the Aggies held on to win 25-18.
A&M’s defense held Corpus Christi to a .198 hit percentage, while the Aggies posted a hit percentage of .295.
Junior middle blocker Shelby Sulivan led the Aggies with 19 kills and 20.5 points overall. Her .410 hit percentage was second on the team behind sophomore Darby Graff’s game-high .545 mark.
With her 54 assists Monday, Alpie now has 418 of her team’s 567 assists this season.
Freshman libero Amy Nettles had two serving aces, bringing her season total to eight — one behind team-leader Angela Lowak.
A&M (9-3) will host Auburn at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Reed Arena for its first conference game of the season.