Texas A&M
9-8, 3-4Big 12
Nebraska
16-1, 8-0Big 12
Volleyball Falls to No. 3 Nebraska
Oct 09, 2010 | Volleyball
Oct. 9, 2010
LINCOLN, Neb. - No. 3 Nebraska staved off any upset ideas by Texas A&M, overcoming five set points in the third frame to close out a 25-21, 25-12, 27-25 sweep against the Aggies in front of 4,116 tonight at Nebraska Coliseum.
Nebraska outhit A&M .241 to .085 in the match and outblocked the Aggies, 13 to 8.5 to improve to 16-1 and remain undefeated in the Big 12 at 8-0. In addition, the Huskers, playing their final Big 12 match against the Aggies at the Coliseum, improve to 18-0 all-time at home against A&M.
A&M falls to 9-8 overall and 3-4 in league play.
"Overall I was relatively pleased with two-thirds of this match in terms of our performance," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "We fought hard. We executed really well. We just have a really hard time closing things out when we have the momentum."
A&M scored the first three point of the opening set and were leading 6-3 when Nebraska went on a 6-1 run to take its first lead of the match. A service error and back-to-back kills by Stephanie Minnerly and Kelsey Black returned the lead to the Aggies, but in a back-and-forth affair, Nebraska scored the next two points to retake the lead, 11-10. A kill by Black along with a block by Black and Minnerly put A&M back in the lead at 12-11.
A&M went on to build its largest lead at 16-12 following a three-point spurt that included two kills by Black and a block by Minnerly and Chelsea Ringel. The Aggies continued to lead, 17-14, when the Huskers began to catch fire. Nebraska scored three unanswered points to tie the score at 17-all. The Huskers tied the score three more times before taking the lead at 21-20 as Jordan Wilberger and Morgan Broekhuis blocked a Black attack.
A kill by Minnerly tied the score for the final time, as Nebraska followed with four consecutive points to close out the set. Nebraska hit .194 but held A&M to a .025 hitting percentage and outblocked the Aggies, 7 to 3.5.
Nebraska quickly took control of the second set, hitting .591 in the frame. A&M was within 11-7 when the Huskers scored five consecutive points to go up, 16-7. Nebraska, which was led by Lindsey Licht's five kills and a .833 hitting efficiency during the set, continued to widen the gap. Ahead 20-11, Nebraska got two kills and A&M committed two errors to put the Huskers at set point. A service error gave A&M its final point, and Wilberger and Broekhuis teamed for a block to close out the set for Nebraska.
There were 14 ties and seven lead changes in the third set. The score was knotted for the 12th time at 18-18 when A&M went on a 6-2 run, four of the Aggies points resulting from Nebraska attack errors. Up 24-20, A&M was on the verge of winning its first set at Nebraska Coliseum since 2003, but the Huskers rallied. A tip kill by Wilberger began a four-point run for Nebraska, which tied the score at 24-24. The Huskers' next attack sailed long to put A&M at set point for the fifth time, but another kill by Wilberger tied the score at 25-25. An A&M attack into the net put the Huskers at match point, and A&M hit long on the next play to end the match.
Black led A&M with 12 kills but was held to a -.048 hitting percentage. She led all players with 14 digs. Minnerly tied her career high with six blocks.
"I've seen improvement in our blocking and defense, which are things we have been drilling so much," Corbelli said. "But it comes down to needing more offensive production at any given point. We are having a difficult time finding who can score for us at that moment, especially at the tense, pressure points.
"I'm not disappointed in their effort or with their fight. We are on the right track, and we continue to work hard every day. That is all we can do is keep positive and keep working hard. They have to see the fruits of their labor eventually. In the meantime, we have to stay positive and be their biggest fans as coaches."
A&M returns home Wednesday to play host to Missouri on Wed., Oct. 13 at Reed Arena. Match time is 6:30 p.m. It is Aggies CAN night, and anyone donating a canned food item at the door will be admitted free. It also is A&M's annual "Dig for the Cure" match for breast cancer awareness.
A&M Virtual Guide: http://guides.aggieathletics.com/volleyball/
