Texas A&M
10-11, 3-7Big 12
Colorado
6-11, 3-8Big 12
Volleyball Sweeps Colorado to Begin Second Half of Big 12
Oct 23, 2010 | Volleyball
Oct. 23, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Junior outside hitter Kelsey Black and sophomore middle blocker Lindsey Miller combined for 25 kills while hitting .477 to lead Texas A&M to a convincing 25-15, 25-18, 25-12 victory over Colorado in front of 1,329 today at Reed Arena.
"We are pleased with the way we started the second half of the Big 12," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "We reevaluated where we are in our season and where we want to go by the end of the season. This is the start we had hoped for, not only from a results standpoint but also the things we have to get better at to add to our game were there tonight, and that was nice. I think our distribution was maybe the most even that it's been all year."
The Aggies used an 11-1 run to take a commanding 14-3 lead in the first set. They went on to build their largest lead at 20-7 when Colorado mounted a comeback with six unanswered points. Black ended the run with her fifth kill of the set, and Elise Hendrickson followed with a kill to put A&M ahead, 22-13. A Colorado kill and an A&M attack error put the Buffs within 22-15 before the Aggies closed it out with three consecutive points, including an ace by Hendrickson for the set winner.
A&M outhit the Buffs, .282 to .050, in the frame and tallied five aces as Hendrickson and libero Tori Mellinger posted two apiece.
In the second set, Colorado would use a three-point run to build its biggest lead of the match at 11-8 before A&M scored eight unanswered points to take its first lead of the set, 16-11. The Aggies were up, 17-14, when Hendrickson put down her fourth kill of the set. Miller then had back-to-back kills before committing her first error of the match. She immediately came back with another kill to put A&M ahead, 21-15.
The teams traded points and the Aggies held a 22-17 lead when Black got a kill and Stephanie Minnerly and Hendrickson teamed for a block to put A&M at set point. A&M served long, but Colorado served into the net on the following play to end the frame and give the Aggies a 2-0 lead in the match.
Miller, who had four kills and zero errors in six attempts in the opening set, hit .556 with six kills in nine attempts to lead A&M to an 18-6 advantage in kills in the second set.
Colorado spotted the Aggies a 6-0 lead to begin the third set and never got closer than five points for the remainder of the match as A&M posted 14 kills and hit .237 while holding the Buffs to only five kills and a -.051 hitting percentage.
A&M held a 14-8 lead when Black had a kill and Minnerly followed with back-to-back kills. Hendrickson also got into the action with a kill to give A&M a 10-point margin. A Colorado kill ended the run, but Minnerly posted her third kill of the set and Alisia Kastmo also pitched in a kill to give the Aggies a 20-9 lead. A bad set returned serve to Colorado, but the Buffs served long. Kastmo and Miller put A&M ahead 23-10 with consecutive kills. The teams then sided out for the remainder of the match, with Black clinching the match with a kill.
Black took match-high honors in both kills and digs with 13 and 20, respectively. Miller added 12 kills and hit a career-high .611. Mellinger posted double figures in digs with 15, and Hendrickson tied her A&M career-high with 13 digs. Minnerly led the Aggies with four blocks.
A&M led Colorado in aces, 8-2, with Black posting three and Hendrickson and Mellinger recording two apiece.
"We started serving aggressively and we had a lot of success with that," Corbelli said. "When you can't get the pass up to your setter you start to get conservative in other areas of your game, and we saw that happen on their side. I thought the serving set the tone for us. The team took it from there; they realized it and got a solid block set up. We played great transition volleyball."
A&M improves to 10-11 overall and 4-7 in the Big 12 as they post their fifth consecutive win against the Buffaloes, who depart the Big 12 Conference with a 9-21 all-time league record against the Aggies. In addition, A&M, which defeated the Buffaloes, 3-2, earlier this season in Boulder, Colo., completes its seventh season series sweep against Colorado in the 15-year history of the conference.
Colorado, which was led by Anicia Santos' six kills, falls to 6-11 overall, including 3-8 in Big 12 matches.
A&M returns to action Wednesday to take on Texas Tech at the United Spirit Arena in Lubbock, Texas. First serve is slated for 6:30 p.m.
A&M then has a bye before returning home to Reed Arena on Nov. 3 for a rematch against Oklahoma. The match against the Sooners will start at 8 p.m. and will be televised nationally by ESPNU. All A&M student organizations, including sororities and fraternities, will be admitted free to the match. In addition, elementary students with a volleyball flier get in free and their parents will receive discounted tickets.
