The Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi beach volleyball program made school history by becoming the Southland Conference champions this weekend in Houston.

The Islanders battled for the championship by defeating No. 4 Southeastern, No. 3 New Orleans, and No. 2 HBU. Sophomore Brooke Pertuit addressed how the team has worked hard since the beginning of the semester to get them to where they are now.

“This tournament finish was amazing because our whole team came together and we felt like a family,” Pertuit said. “Southland champs was obviously our top goal, and I think everyone did their part.”

Within the first round against Southeastern, TAMU-CC won 4-0 on each court to later advance to the semifinals against New Orleans. Round two allowed the Islanders to win 3-0 as two of the matches went unfinished. 

Sophomore Tori Johnson and freshman Jade Bennett defeated New Orleans by scoring 21-17, 21-13 on court two to start the victory lineup on Saturday. Graduate Kiley Lewis and senior Migle Mazurkeviciute went 21-14, 21-18 to improve the score for their team. Finally, junior Shea Slusser and freshman Kela Moreno finished the round by defeating their opponents on court four 21-16, 21-9. 

  “My vision has always been to become strong enough… this year was obviously our goal to win it and we did,” Head Coach Gayle Stammers said. “The icing on the cake is that we get to also go to the NCAA Beach Volleyball Championships.”

In the final round, the Islanders defeated HBU 3-2 to secure their Southland Conference Champs trophy. With being No. 12 ranked in the nation, junior Giuliana Poletti Corrales and Pertuit won 21-16, 21-12 on court one to wrap up the SLC tournament. They were named the SLC Pair of the Tournament at the end of the match. 

The NCAA National Tournament hosts 16 teams, and the Islanders have the opportunity to receive their automatic bid to compete against higher ranking teams. 

“We obviously hope to do as good as we possibly can,” Pertuit said. “Honestly, I think we can go pretty far.” 

The Islanders will be playing No. 2 TCU in the 2022 NCAA Beach Volleyball Tournament on May 4 at 1 p.m. The tournament will take place in Gulf Shores, Alabama.