CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi beach volleyball team made a statement on Friday, recording its first-ever win over a nationally ranked opponent. The Islanders took down #17 Arizona 4-1 on Friday on day one of the Arizona Invitational.
The Islanders (11-6) bounced back after dropping a tough 4-1 decision to Cal Poly (4-12) in the morning to defeat the hosts of #17 Arizona (8-3) 4-1 for the program's first win over a nationally ranked team since it started in 2016.
Each court split the day, though, courts four and five saw different pairings between the two matches. After not competing in the first match of the day, freshman Maria Dude Fernandes de Melo and junior Hannah Doyle defeated the Wildcats in straight sets at flight four.
Courts two and five both battled for a three-set win over Arizona. Freshman Kristin Bobay and senior Chloe Tome went down early in set one but fought back to take it 21-13 and 15-13 in sets two and three. Sophomore Kela Moreno and freshman Raven Jordan gritted out a 23-21 opening set win but had to use a third set to ultimately win.
Senior Giuliana Poletti Corrales and graduate Kiley Lewis was the clinching point on court one against the nationally ranked team. They edged out Arizona's ones 21-19 and 21-18 for the match win.
Junior Tori Johnson and sophomore Jade Bennett notched the sole point for the Islanders against Cal Poly, winning it 21-16 and 21-15 on court three.
Next, the Islanders will take on Arizona Christian and Southern Miss on Saturday to close out the three-day stint in Arizona. A&M-Corpus Christi will be going for the season sweep over Southern Miss after it beat the Golden Eagles 3-2 earlier this year.
Cal Poly 4, A&M-Corpus Christi 1
1. Ferch, Piper/Martinez, Izzy (CPO) def. Poletti Corrales, Giuliana/Lewis, Kiley (AMCC) 21-14, 21-15
2. Lombard, Jayelin/Naess, Piper (CPO) def. Tome, Chloe/Bobay, Kristin (AMCC) 21-16, 21-15
3. Johnson, Tori/Bennett, Jade (AMCC) def. Peranich, Delaney/Golik, Brooke (CPO) 21-16, 21-15
4. Soeller, Julia/Zuffelato, Emma (CPO) def. Moreno, Kela/Jordan, Raven (AMCC) 19-21, 21-19, 15-10
5. Graff, Kalee/Smith, Margo (CPO) def. Power, Ashlyn/Slusser, Shea (AMCC) 10-21, 21-19, 15-6
A&M-Corpus Christi 4, #17 Arizona 1
1. Poletti Corrales, Giuliana/Lewis, Kiley (AMCC) def. Parkhurst, Alex/Blacker, Sarah (UA) 21-19, 21-18
2. Tome, Chloe/Bobay, Kristin (AMCC) def. Russell, Abby/Shannon, Hope (UA) 9-21, 21-13, 15-13
3. Cook, Grace/Rennie, Alana (UA) def. Johnson, Tori/Bennett, Jade (AMCC) 21-16, 21-15
4. Doyle, Hannah/Fernandes De Melo, Maria Duda (AMCC) def. Fitzsimmons, Kylee/White, Caroline (UA) 24-22, 21-15
5. Moreno, Kela/Jordan, Raven (AMCC) def. Erro, Miranda/Kost, Annie (UA) 23-21, 11-21, 15-11
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