Texas A&M
3-4
Ohio
4-2
Volleyball Drops 3-1 Decision to Ohio
Sep 04, 2010 | Volleyball
Sept. 4, 2010
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Texas A&M suffered a 3-1 setback to Ohio, falling to the Bobcats, 29-27, 25-18, 15-25, 26-24, to close out the JQH Invitational today at the Hammons Student Center.
The Aggies (3-4), who had defeated North Carolina in five sets earlier in the day, were unable to make a comeback against the Bobcats, who return four starters plus the libero from last year's team that advanced to the 2009 NCAA second round before falling to No. 16 Michigan in five sets.
"Ohio is an incredibly talented team, and as far as they got in the NCAAs last year, we were really, really excited to see how we matched up with them," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "I thought their poise and their experience helped them make it through the tough times tonight, while we were not quite able to close it out.
"Fatigue maybe played into it a little bit; not so much physical fatigue but maybe mental fatigue with the back-to-back matches. As close as the two deuce sets were, we had every opportunity to win this 3-1, and I think poor decision making at critical times was the difference."
A&M trailed for most of the opening set and was down, 20-17, when the Aggies reeled off four points -- two on back-to-back kills by Stephanie Minnerly -- to take their first lead. An A&M service error and consecutive kills by Ohio put the Bobcats back on top 23-21, but a solo block by Elise Hendrickson kept A&M within 23-22. Ohio got a block and was serving for the set but served into the net. A&M's Alisia Kastmo then served a ball that hit the top of the net, narrowly rolled over and fell in for an ace. Miller followed with a kill to give A&M a 25-24 lead. The Bobcats fought off three set points and took the lead at 28-27 as an A&M attack sailed wide. A&M then hit into the net on the ensuing play to end the set.
A&M held an 8-7 lead in the second set when Ohio went on a 7-1 run. Just as A&M caught up at 16-16, the Bobcats got three kills and an ace during a four-point run that put Ohio up, 20-16. Kelsey Black ended the run with a kill, but a block error in between two attack errors by the Aggies put Ohio up, 23-17. Black got a kill before Ohio recorded back-to-back kills to end the set and take a 2-0 lead going into the intermission.
Ohio scored the first point of the third set, but Black had three consecutive kills to give A&M lead. The Bobcats tied the score twice, the last at 4-4, but they were unable to regain the lead. A&M was ahead, 14-12 when the Aggies got two blocks and a kill to go up 17-12. Ohio got a kill, but A&M rallied again, scoring four straight points to build a 21-13 lead. Ohio posted a kill, but Black came back with two of her 11 kills in the set, and Chelsea Ringel had an ace to put A&M ahead, 24-14. The Bobcats got a kill before Miller recorded a kill to end the set.
Ohio opened the fourth set with four consecutive points, but A&M came right back and took the lead after scoring five unanswered points. There were three more lead changes in the set, the last coming at 10-9 as the Bobcats posted a go-ahead kill during a four-point run.
Ohio equaled its biggest lead at 17-12 but A&M chipped away at the lead and eventually tied the score at 20-20 on a block by Kastmo and Miller. A Bobcat kill and an A&M error put Ohio up, 22-20. The teams traded points and Ohio was serving for the match at 24-22. A&M staved off two match points and tied the score at 24, but Ohio got a kill and an ace to clinch the win.
A&M led in kills, 57-49, but was held to a .135 hitting percentage for the match.
"We had 35 hitting errors, and it is really hard to win a match at this level, at any level, with 35 attack errors. We out-scored them. We out-blocked. We out-dug. We did everything but out-hit.
"We are making progress, which is the good news. The level that we are playing is relatively high compared to what it was last weekend, so that is exciting to me. The bad news is we haven't figured out yet how to get the win when we have it right there in our hands. Just finishing."
Black had a match-high 22 kills and recorded a double-double with 15 digs. Miller added 13 kills. Tori Mellinger led all players in digs with 20, and Kastmo and Miller had four blocks apiece.
Sue Jacobi had 17 kills to lead the Bobcats, who improve to 4-2.
A&M concludes its pre-conference schedule next weekend, as the Aggies compete in the University of Denver Pioneer Classic, Sept. 10-11 in Denver. A&M will face the Pioneers, Jacksonville State and Gonzaga.
