CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - After keeping it relatively close in the first two sets, Northwestern State fell to Texas A&M Corpus-Christi in straight sets.

The Demons kept it close in the first set, battling runs from AMCC and pushing back. Despite their effort and hard work, miscommunication prevented them from succeeding.

"We did a lot of good things and bad things," head coach Sean Kiracofe said. "There's nothing as beneficial as practicing against the very team you play next Thursday. Now we get to find out how well we remember, learn, change and adapt.

Both teams fought neck-and-neck, tying 16 times in the first and second sets. The Demons led in the early stages of the second set, taking a 4-1 lead. A kill and an attack error from the Islanders fought them back and led the charge to take the lead.

The first set came down to small runs, with the Islanders leading in that category. Runs of three for the Islanders had them pulling away from the Demons. The Islanders had four more kills than the Demons with one more attack error in the first set.

NSU fought hard to keep the match close, taking a lead over the Islanders 22-21 late in the first. A kill from the Islanders and a service ace had them retake the lead late. The Demons took a timeout to try to stem the tide, but the Islanders went on to win the first 25-22.

The Demons fought hard in the second set, tying the Islanders in blocks, attack errors, and one less attack attempt. NSU came out with an early lead and kept the score close. The Islanders pulled away in the end after going on runs of three to four to the Demons one. The game-changer was the kills, with the Demons falling three short of the Islanders.

NSU worked hard to get back into the match, fighting back from a 21-16 deficit, to chip it to a 22-20 set late in the second. A timeout from the Islanders changed the momentum, with the Islanders pulling out the win 25-21.
The third set domination from the Islanders put the Demons away, having three more kills and six more attack attempts. The Islanders jumped out to a 10-4 start, which propelled them to win, and an insurmountable comeback from the Demons vanished.

Northwestern State couldn't muster a comeback in the third set, with the Islander's lead increasing to 20-14. The Demons tried to climb back, cutting the lead down to five, but the Islanders ended the game on a kill that ended the comeback bid.

The Demons ended the game with 36 kills, 10 less than the Islanders while hitting a .206 percentage on attacks.