CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Huskies travel to Corpus to clash against TAMUCC at Dugan Wellness Center on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Both programs are battling for conference positioning with six matches left in the conference season.
The Huskies (13-11, 8-4 SLC) sit three games back of the Islanders (16-8, 11-1 SLC) and are in fourth place in the Southland standings while TAMUCC is positioned in second place. The Huskies dropped the first conference matchup to the Islanders in a four-set thriller in Sharp Gym. HCU has lost the last four matchups in Corpus but beat the Islanders in a five-set nail biter back in 2018.
The Huskies are coming off a five-set road win against UIW on Saturday before sweeping Lamar in Sharp Gym on Tuesday. HCU is 5-4 on the road and 8-2 in Sharp Gym for the season. The Huskies rank 10
th nationally for NCAA Division-1 Volleyball averaging 17.16 digs per set and 3
rd nationally with 1,510 total digs on the season. The Huskies defense is lead by
Kaley Feris ranking 4
th in the conference averaging 4.17 digs per set and
Audrey Pearce ranking 2
nd in the SLC averaging 1.11 blocks per set. HCU's offense ranks 11
th nationally and leads the Southland in team attacks per set averaging 37.51, lead by
Cassidy Drapela ranking third in the conference averaging 9.87 attacks per set. Assisting the Husky offense,
Grace McLaughlin is averaging 9.65 assists per set ranking 3
rd in the SLC.
The Islanders lead the conference and rank 4
th nationally averaging 14.29 kills per set led by conference leader Kyndal Payne averaging 3.88 kills per set. The 2022 Southland Volleyball Player of the Year is ranked 21
st nationally with 330 total kills on the season. Bell Morgan dishes out an average of 10.39 assists per set ranking second in the conference while Kayla White ranks third in the Southland averaging 4.29 digs per set.
The Huskies return to Sharp Gym on Saturday at 11 a.m. for Dig Pink/Breast Cancer Awareness Match to battle New Orleans on Homecoming weekend. The Privateers (4-19, 2-10 SLC) have only claimed two sets against the Huskies in the past six matchups, all resulting in Husky wins. HCU is 15-2 against UNO since 2012 and with a 47-9 set differential. The Huskies have only fallen one set to the Privateers in the last three matchups at Sharp Gym.
The Privateers are led by Karen Cordero Barr averaging 3.00 kills per set while Defne Eciroglu dishes out an average of 5.54 assists per set. New Orlean's defense is led by Sydney Gott with 31 blocks on the season and the Privateers back line is led by Rita Zecchin averaging 3.78 digs per set.
Watch the live broadcast for the match against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on ESPN+ and come support your Huskies wearing your pink for Homecoming weekend on Saturday. Live stats will be available at HCUHuskies.com
