HOUSTON – HBU dropped the first set, but rallied back to take the next three and hand Texas A&M-Corpus Christi its first Southland Conference loss of the season, 3-1 (19-25, 26-24, 25-21, 25-20), in Sharp Gym Saturday afternoon. The second-place Huskies pulled to within a game behind the Islanders in the standings.
 
Junior right side Anna Gadway had 11 kills and eight digs, while senior middle blocker Ebonie Ballesteros had 11 kills and five blocks for the Huskies (16-7, 7-2 SLC). Freshman middle blocker Audrey Pearce had eight kills and seven blocks and senior outside hitter Mikayla Vivens had five kills and 16 digs. Junior setter Ellie Wipf dished out 32 assists, with four kills, six digs and eight blocks. Sophomore libero Kaley Feris came up with a match-high 28 digs and freshman outside hitter Alexia Jones had 13 digs, two kills and two aces.
 
Kyndal Payne led the Islanders (12-8, 8-1) with 18 kills and 16 digs, while Rachel Young had 11 kills and five digs. Julia Carter added nine kills and Montez Uigaese had six. Faith Panhans had 41 assists, 12 digs and two kills. Carissa Barnes had 27 digs and Angel Felhan chipped in with 13.
 
TAMU-CC hit .133 and HBU hit .123. The Islanders outdug the Huskies, 96-83, but HBU outblocked TAMU-CC, 15-8, incluiding 12-4 over the last three sets. Both teams had four aces, but the Islanders made 10 service errors to the Huskies' seven.
 
The Islanders came out of the gate to an 8-2 lead in the first, but the Huskies chipped away and got within one at 15-14. TAMU-CC answered with the next three and seven of the next eight to build back up to a 22-16 lead. The Islanders went on to take the set by that same six-point margin, 25-16.
 
There were 14 ties and seven lead changes in the second set. With the score tied, 16-16, HBU scored four-straight, including back-to-back kills by Pearce. TAMU-CC bounced back by scoring five of the next six to tie set at 21-21. The score remained tied at 23-23, when the Islanders got a kill from Payne to get to set point and force a Husky timeout. HBU came out of the break to score the last three points of the set on a kill by Gadway, an attack error by TAMU-CC, and a kill by Gadway to pull out the 26-24 decision.
 
HBU took command with a 12-4 lead in the third, but TAMU-CC rallied to score eight of the next 10 points and get back in the set, down 14-12. The Islanders would tied the set at 15-15, but never took the lead. The Huskies went on a four-point run on a pair of kills by Gadway, a kill by Ballesteros and an ace by Jones to go up, 20-16. The Islanders answered again with three in a row to close within one, but a kill by Ballesteros and a block by Pearce restored the lead to 23-20. A Pearce kill got the Huskies to set point, then she teamed up with Wipf for a block to take a 25-21 win.
 
TAMU-CC led 9-6 in the fourth, but a block by Ballesteros and Wipf ignited a five-point run by HBU. The Islanders went back up, 13-12, but the Huskies scored three-straight after a block by Ballesteros, then the TAMU-CC bench was issued a red card, resulting in a point to extend HBU's lead to 16-13. The Islanders sided out at 19-17, but would get no closer the rest of the way. The Huskies got a block by Pearce and Wipf, a kill by Wipf and an ace by junior defensive specialist Marlayna Stapleton to take a 22-17 lead. A service error by TAMU-CC got HBU to match point, then an Islander attacking error clinched the Huskies' 25-20 win.
 
The Huskies return to action for their final home matches of the season next week, hosting Northwestern State on Thursday at 6:30 p.m., followed by Southeastern on Senior Day Saturday at 1 p.m. in Sharp Gym.