CORPUS CHRISTI, Tex. – Caiti O'Connell led the Northwestern State volleyball team in kills and Kelly Jimenez had a career night defensively but their efforts fell short as they fell to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday evening at the Dugan Wellness Center.
 
The 23-25, 22-25, 25-22, 19-25 loss drops the Lady Demons to 12-7 overall and 4-3 in Southland Conference play. The Islanders improve to 12-6, 5-2.
 
A&M-CC's Brianna Brink hammered down a game-high 16 kills while committing only four errors.
 
“Their pin hitters out-played ours and you win or lose on the pin,” said NSU co-head coach Hugh Hernesman. “They also played great defense and had a really good crowd which may have given them energy.”
 
O'Connell landed 12 kills and three blocks for Northwestern State. Mackenzie Neely chipped in 11 kills and four blocks.
 
Glynna Johnson also performed well registering eight kills with only one error as well as five blocks and two service aces.
 
“Glynna was very efficient and she has been consistently efficient for the last month,” said Hernesman. “We just need to figure out a way to utilize her more and raise her kill numbers.”
 
Jimenez dug up a career-high 20 attacks while also tacking on one kill and one assist.
 
“Kelly goes unrecognized a lot but from a coach's standpoint we understand that she is kind of the glue to our team,” said Hernesman.
 
“She does this a lot and what she is able to do allows us to rely on an area of the court to be defended. She was outstanding and it was nice to see her play well in her hometown.”
 
Stacey DiFrancesco and Keelie Arneson also had double-figure dig performances collecting 16 and 15, respectively.
 
The first set was close throughout, featuring 10 ties and five lead changes. The Lady Demons opened up the set taking the first point but quickly fell behind after a 4-0 A&M-CC run put the score at 4-1.
 
NSU fought back, knotting up the game at 6-6 and regaining its' lead momentarily with the score at 7-6. Another 4-0 streak allowed the Islanders to relinquish their lead as the scoreboard read 11-10.
 
Northwestern State would tie the game up five more times but did not lead again, dropping the set 25-23.
 
The Lady Demons came out of the gates hot in the second set, running off to a 17-9 lead but Corpus Christi would not go quietly, going on a 11-3 run of their own and grabbing their first lead of the game at the 21-20 mark.
 
Northwestern State attempted to reclaim the set's momentum but could not and fell 25-22.
 
NSU never trailed and tied only once in the third set. Johnson killed a ball at the 5-3 mark, sparking a 4-0 run for the Lady Demons. Three additional 3-0 streaks gave NSU a commanding 20-9 advantage.
 
In an attempt the trim the deficit, A&M-CC went on a 6-0 run of its' own, bringing the score to 21-17. Northwestern State was able to maintain the lead and took the set 25-22.
 
A kill by DiFrancesco started off the fourth set and gave the Lady Demons their only lead of the game.  The Islanders put up a quick four points to go up 4-1.
 
NSU tried to stay competitive, tying it up at the 7-7 mark but could not control the momentum of the game.
 
Corpus Christi accomplished a series of 3-0 runs to improve its' lead to 19-14. Northwestern State dropped the set 25-19.
 
The Lady Demons continue their road trip as they match up against Sam Houston State on Saturday afternoon at two.
 
“Sam Houston is a very good team that plays really hard,” said Hernesman. “Our kids are disappointed tonight and we'll see how they respond on Saturday, I think they will respond well.”