Texas A&M
Kansas State
Aggies Suffer Setback to No. 17 Kansas State
Sep 24, 2008 | Volleyball
Sept. 24, 2008
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M suffered it first home loss of the season, falling to No. 17 Kansas State, 25-23, 25-18, 25-20, in front of 1,446 tonight at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The Aggies, who entered the match 5-0 in home matches, jumped out to a 13-8 lead in the opening set, but the Wildcats went on a 7-1 run to take their first lead since 5-4. The teams began to trade points until, with K-State up 20-18, Sarah Ammerman got a kill for the Aggies and Darla Donaldson and Jennifer Banse followed with a block to tie the score. K-State's next attack sailed long, and the Aggies regained the lead at 21-22. Rita Liliom, who carried the Wildcats all night long, answered with two of her seven first-set kills to put K-State back on top, but a back-row kill by A&M's Mary Batis and an ace by Ammerman put the Aggies back in the lead. It would be their last lead of the set as Liliom ripped two more kills and Soriana Pacheco posted her second ace of the set to clinch the 25-23 win for the Wildcats.
"They serve tough," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "They serve aggressively, and when we got down on ourselves and it was evident, they just kept coming hard at us with their serving. We fought and fought and fought for the first 20-something points, and then we didn't win it. I think the team just got down on themselves."
The Wildcats broke away from a 7-7 tie in the second set on kill by Liliom and four consecutive attack errors by A&M, two of the errors resulting from K-State blocks. The Aggies, who were held to a .000 hitting percentage in the frame, got back within two points at 13-11 and 14-12 but could get no closer. A kill by Natalya Korobkova gave K-State its biggest lead and put the Wildcats at set point at 24-17. A service error on the ensuing play kept the Aggies alive, but then A&M served into the net to end the set.
"After Game 1, it appeared that we kind of let it get us down," Corbelli said. "It started with our serving. We didn't put pressure on them so they could pass right to their target which then does isolate your block and makes it difficult to get two up on the outsides.
"To their credit, they are one of the best serving and blocking teams. Both of those skills are very, very good. First two ways you score, you score with the serve, and the second way is you block. I thought they really did a nice job with that."
K-State (12-2, 2-1 Big 12) led the entire third set, using a 6-1 run to build its biggest lead at 14-7. A&M rallied and got within 17-15, but Liliom sparked a three-point spurt with a kill and an ace. The Aggies never got closer than four points for the remainder of the match. Trailing 24-20, A&M had an attack error to end the match.
Liliom, a 6-0 senior outside hitter, led all players with 16 kills. Senior middle blocker Megan Farr took match-high honors with eight blocks as K-State posted 13.5, the most blocks by an A&M opponent. The Wildcats outhit A&M, .239 to .100.
"A lot of teams in the Big 12 are going to lose to K-State at home," Corbelli said. "They are a really, really tough team. No. 17 is too low. There are five seniors out there. They are hitting one of the highest hitting percentages in the nation. They are a really strong, strong group."
Batis led A&M with 10 kills, and Ammerman posted a team-high 13 digs.
"We have to take what we can from this," Corbelli said. "My concern is that we are taking what we can from these losses and that we are not just repeating the same types of goof-ups. We have to really put the energy into turning those things around. That's probably one of my biggest disappointments tonight."
A&M now hits the road to take on Colorado Saturday in Boulder. First serve is at 6:30 p.m. (MDT) at the Coors Events Center.
