The strides made during the past two seasons by the University of the Incarnate Word volleyball team are tangible.

A year ago, the Cardinals established a school record for the most wins in a season since they made the jump to NCAA Division I in 2013. The talent, depth and versatility on the team’s roster have increased.

Despite the achievement and enhancement, it felt as if something was needed to validate the climb.

The moment came on Saturday.

Incarnate Word outlasted Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 25-23, 20-25, 17-25, 25-20, 15-9 in a Southland Conference match at the McDermott Center.

The Cardinals (14-7 overall, 7-4 in the SLC) recorded their first win vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. They had been 0-19.

“Taking a win from them is huge for us,” UIW junior middle blocker Kade Thomas said. “We’re the underdog in this situation.”

The Cardinals didn’t act like it. In winning their fifth straight match after a 0-3 start to league play, they didn’t buckle when things unraveled.

On the cusp of defeat after dropping the second and third sets, UIW rode a 5-0 spurt nearly midway through the fourth set, extending a 10-9 lead to 15-9. Allison had three kills during the run. Texas A&M-Corpus Christ twice got within two points, but back-to-back kills from Vanessa Eregie and Sofia Grimm gave the Cardinals the breathing room they needed to conclude the frame and force a fifth set.

Thomas had two kills and 2 1/2 blocks in the fourth set and provided an early boost.

“I feel like our team momentum is huge, so if I can just get a nice kill or nice block in the right moment, that will keep the momentum on our side and that will give us the strength to get going as a team and just to keep fighting and playing,” Thomas said. “I feel like we didn’t come this far just to come this far. Whenever we were coming out the fourth set we were like, ‘We want this really bad. We have to start strong because it’s only 15 points. If we start strong, we’ll finish even stronger.’ I feel like we really did that.”

In the final stanza, UIW jumped out to a 4-0 start and maintained that cushion throughout. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (14-9, 9-3), which had a 10-match winning streak snapped, cut its deficit to 12-9 but UIW responded by reeling off the final three points, including a kill by Finley Evans on match point.

Risa Sena totaled 12 kills. Evans and Kyla Malone each finished with 11 kills. Senior libero Audrey Patton had 31 digs and 11 assists, both career highs, and senior setter Anuhea Faitau chipped in 28 assists and a career-best 15 digs. Freshman Calissa Allison registered her eighth triple-double of the season with 19 kills, 21 assists, 12 digs, two aces and 1 1/2 blocks.

“I don’t keep track of anything that I do, I just play,” Allison said. “I don’t care about any other thing rather than us winning. It is really empowering because I know that I have a big support system around me.”

terrence@terrencesports.com
Twitter: @sa_terrence1