Nov. 13, 2009
LINCOLN, Neb. - Texas A&M, playing its third consecutive match against a top-20 ranked opponent, gave No. 9 Nebraska all it could handle in the first set, but the Cornhuskers prevailed and went on to top the Aggies, 29-27, 25-17, 25-15, tonight at Nebraska Coliseum to earn a split in the season series.
The Aggies, who upset then-No. 6 Nebraska, 3-1, on Sept. 23 in College Station, fall to 14-10 overall and 7-9 in the Big 12 Conference. The Huskers improve to 19-6, 12-4 in Big 12 play.
It was a tightly contested first set as the teams had 19 ties and seven lead changes, and neither team gained more than a two-point lead throughout the stanza. A&M fought off three set points and Nebraska fought off one before the Huskers pulled out the 29-27 win.
Brooke Delano had given Nebraska a 24-23 lead with a kill off the block, but A&M's Mary Batis countered with a kill. Hannah Werth put the Huskers serving for the set for the second time after getting a kill down the line, but A&M answered again as Sarah Ammerman knotted the score with her seventh kill of the set, but a Lindsey Licht kill put Nebraska up, 28-27. A&M then hit long to close out the set.
"We were really excited and well prepared," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "We had some great blocking strategies - we've working with that -- and our defense and our sideout game were really strong. It was exciting to get our middles going again, and I thought we were going to be able to maintain that kind of consistency and that momentum."
The Huskers, who narrowly outhit A&M, .265 to .227 in the first set, eliminated any upset bid by the Aggies for the remainder of the match, hitting above .450 in each of the next two sets while holding the Aggies to a combined .217 to complete the sweep.
"Their serving started to give us a little bit of passing trouble and took us out of running our middle as much as we had been," Corbelli said. "(Nebraska) really, really found a hot hitter on the right side; Lindsey Licht was having a ton of success on the right side. Every time we start to get a point or two, they would come back with a great attack and then a run of points."
Nebraska used a four-point run to break away from a 3-3 tie early in the second set, and A&M was playing catch-up for the remainder of the frame. Nebraska used runs of four and three points to eventually build their biggest lead at 20-12. The Aggies made a short comeback attempt, getting three consecutive kills to get within 20-15. The Huskers then went on a 4-1 run - three of the Huskers' points courtesy of A&M errors - to be serving for the set. Jennifer Banse kept the Aggies alive with a kill before Werth put down the game winner.
A&M was within a point at 8-7 in the third set when the Huskers went on a 7-1 run. The Aggies never got closer than five points and trailed 16-11 before the Huskers erupted for five unanswered points, including two aces by Gina Mancuso and two kills by Delano during the stretch. Nebraska went on to equal its largest lead at 24-14. Miller, who had zero attack errors in the match, posted her seventh kill, but Werth came back with a tip kill to clinch the win for the Huskers.
Ammerman led the Aggies with 13 kills to move into seventh in the A&M career records with 1,427, and Jennifer Banse added 12 kills while hitting at a .409 clip. Kristen Schevikhoven posted 35 assists.
Cooper had 13 kills while hitting .765, and Licht also had 13 kills with a .619 efficiency to lead the Huskers to a .372 to .221 hitting percentage advantage. Delano finished with 12 kills and had a match-high five blocks as the Huskers outblocked A&M, 8-3.
"It was a great team over there, but I was excited," Corbelli said. "Our setting was much improved in this match. We had a lot of really bright spots that I really haven't seen happening on our court in a couple of weeks that I was really pleased with, so I was excited about that, and we are looking forward to a big run to end the conference."
A&M heads to Norman, Okla., on Wednesday to take on a hot Oklahoma Sooner team that is in fourth place in the Big 12 and on the brink of breaking into the Top 25. The Sooners are receiving votes and listed 27th in this week's poll. First serve against the Sooners, who topped the Aggies 3-0 earlier this season in College Station, is at 7 p.m. at McCasland Field House.