CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Northwestern State Demons comeback fell short to the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders falling 3-1 (25-20, 25-14, 23-25 and 25-16) Thursday night at Dugan Wellness Center in Corpus Christi.
The Demons (13-15, 5-8 SLC) were led by Amber Craig with 11 kills while Olivia Nzioki added 10 kills and five blocks. Senior Jade Longlad had 29 assists as she went over 1,300 for her career. Emmarie McFarland chipped in with 14 digs as she passed 800 career digs.
The Islanders (9-15, 7-6 SLC) got a game-high 16 kills by Tatum Mason while Kenna Buchanon and Ally Saleh both had 13 kills. Setter Virginia Van Der Werff had a game-high 44 assists. Lauren Sandvold paced the defense as she had 18 digs helping the Islanders hold NSU to a .141 hitting percentage (41-22-135). A&M-Corpus Christi finished with a .301 (57-15-136).
The Islanders evened the series with the Demons after NSU won the first matchup 3-1 back in Natchitoches on Oct. 10.
The Islanders opened the match in control, taking the first two sets comfortably and seemed on their way to a sweep. However, with the Demons trailing the third set 19-14, NSU rallied back to tie the match at 23-23. Then, Elizabeth Muguruza's kill followed by an ace by Anna Claire Hebert clinched the third set for the Demons.
In the fourth set, the match was tied 12-12 after an attack error by the Islanders. However, A&M-Corpus Christi scored seven straight points to put the game out of reach as they secured the win on a kill by Kenna Buchanon.
"They (A&M-Corpus Christi) really have a great environment," said Demon head coach Ben Kaszeta. "They have a great team, and they simply earned this one tonight."
Next up, the Demons will face the UT-Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros (14-10, 10-3 SLC) Saturday in Edinburg, Texas at 1 p.m. The Vaqueros were edged in five sets by East Texas A&M (9-17, 4-10 SLC).
