Texas A&M
14-4, 3-2
.png&width=60&height=60&type=webp)
Kansas
12-5, 0-4
Aggies Come Back to Defeat Kansas, 3-2
Oct 08, 2011 | Volleyball
Lindsey Miller had a career-high 19 kills while hitting at a .375 clip to lead A&M, and Kelsey Black pitched in 15 kills as the Aggies improve to 14-4 overall, 3-2 in Big 12 play.
Kansas, which won both matches against the Aggies last year in five sets, falls to 12-5 overall and 0-4 in Big 12 matches despite outhitting A&M, .209 to .155, and leading in kills (63-62), aces (5-4), digs (85-74) and blocks (12-6).
"The surprising news is that we came away with the win even though we got outhit, out-blocked, out-set," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "I have been on the other end of that many times where we have been in the position of scoring more points, etc., but the last two points of the match did not go our way, and so hopefully we learned a lot of lessons."
The Aggies got out to a rocky start and were hitting a paltry -.039 after the first two sets, while the Jayhawks were hitting .200. History also was not on the Aggies' side as A&M was 0-3 this season after losing the first set and had not gotten a win after losing the first two sets since Sept. 1, 2002, when A&M overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat LSU, 30-32, 24-30, 30-16, 30-24, 15-10 at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
"We really had the slowest start we have ever had," Corbelli said. "We did start a new lineup, and that might have been cause for the disorganization. It wasn't that different, just a couple of rotations looked different. The players didn't handle the newness or the adversity of being on the road very well."
After the dismal first two sets, the Aggies came back a different team after the break, outhitting the Jayhawks in each of the final three sets and posting a combined .288 hitting percentage over the final three frames.
"I just told them that I believed in them and I loved them and I knew they could get the job done and that I was going to give everything in my power to be the best coach I could be for the next three sets and figure out what they needed me to do and do that," Corbelli said she told the team during the break. "That was really it. They made the decision that they were going to come back with a win."
A&M took a 10-4 lead to begin the third set, but Kansas later went on a 7-1 run to take its first lead at 19-18. A Jayhawk attack error and a kill by Elise Hendrickson returned the lead to the Aggies. The teams traded points, and A&M was up 24-23, but Kansas killed an errant overpass by the Aggies to fight off set point and tie the score at 24. The Jayhawks then blocked an A&M attack on the next play to retake the lead and were serving for the match. Black kept A&M alive with a kill down the line, and another KU attack error put the Aggies at set point for the second time. Miller, who had only four kills in the first two frames, put down her sixth kill of the third set to give A&M the win.
A&M scored three unanswered points to break away from a 4-4 tie in the fourth set and kept the lead for the rest of the stanza. The Aggies built their biggest lead at 16-12, but Kansas got back within 20-19, forcing Corbelli to call a timeout.
Black got a kill coming out of the timeout, and setter Allie Sawatzky sent a ball to a wide-open corner of the Jayhawks' court for one of her nine kills on the night to put A&M up, 22-19. The teams then exchanged points for the remainder of the frame, with Alisia Kastmo putting down the set-winning kill.
Kansas held a 9-6 lead in the deciding fifth set when A&M called a timeout. Black once again came out of the timeout with a kill down the line, and Kansas was whistled for a ball handling error on the ensuing play. Kastmo then knotted the score at 9-9 with a kill. Kansas called a timeout and would get a kill on the next play, but then they hit long to tie the score for the eighth time in the set. Miller then had back-to-back kills to give the Aggies a 12-10 lead, but A&M served into the net to return the Jayhawks within a point, 12-11. The teams then exchanged kills for the remainder of the set with Black getting the match winner with a kill out of the back row.
"We were excited to sneak out of here with a win, which we haven't been able to do in a while, but our first two sets were horrendous," Corbelli said. "We finally started to go after them and play the way we know how to play. I am very grateful and proud of that.
"I thought Chelsea Ringel was amazing tonight. She has not been laying that much and has been in and out of the lineup, and for her to be ready for a match like tonight is the perfect definition of a reserve player; fresh legs, fresh attitude, spirited, has all the talent and the skills needed, and she did her job as beautifully as she could, and for the team. It was incredible, and I am very proud of her.
"And Lindsey, she is so athletic and has been working really hard. She was ready to go."
Sawatzky tied her season high with 49 assists, and Tori Mellinger, who played libero the final two sets, led A&M with 16 digs.
Allison Mayfield led the Jayhawks with 19 kills, and Caroline Jarmoc had 16 kills and a match-high six blocks.
A&M returns to Reed Arena Wednesday, Oct. 12. The Aggies, 6-0 in home matches, will play host to the 22nd-ranked Oklahoma Sooners. First serve is at 6:30 p.m.
Follow @AggieVolleyball on Twitter.
