Texas A&M
Israeli National Team
Volleyball Falls to Israel in Five Sets
Aug 30, 2011 | Volleyball
Despite the loss, it was a special match for A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli, who was going head-to-head against her former coach of the silver medal-winning 1984 USA Olympic Team, Arie Selinger, widely regarded of one of the greatest volleyball coaches of all time.
“It was kind of surreal; the whole day has been kind of surreal,” Corbelli said following the match. “When he came to the gym this morning, it was a blend of emotions that I haven't felt in a long time. There's a lot of history there, and those were very intense and important times. It was a friendly match, and I knew my players were going to be ready and willing. It was a lot of fun to see him yell at people and not me. Not that he yells and screams, but he's very stern in his words. And it wasn't at me. It was nice.”
A&M was solid at the start of the match, scoring the first three points and holding the lead for the remainder of the set. The Aggies would extend the margin to as many as four points several times throughout the set, and the Israelis, who were outhit .278 to .154, could get no closer than two points. A&M took a 23-19 following a kill by Alisia Kastmo, but back-to-back kills by the National Team, put Israel within 23-21. Elise Hendrickson put down one of her team-leading five kills in the stanza to put A&M at set point, and Israel's next attack sailed wide to end the set.
The Aggies also got out to a strong start in the second set, jumping to a 6-2 lead. A&M continued to widen the gap as setter Allie Sawatzky directed a balanced attack and led the Aggies to a .545 hitting percentage. A three-point run capped by a kill by Allie Freiwald gave the Aggies their biggest lead at 23-13. Israel came back with consecutive kills before Lindsey Miller put down a kill to position the Aggies at set point. A service error extended the set, but only for one play as Stephanie Minnerly put down a kill to close out the set for A&M.
A&M would once again get an early lead, jumping out to a 7-2 advantage in the third set behind the serving of Tori Mellinger, who tallied three consecutive aces during a 6-0 surge. Israel came back to tie the score for the fourth time in the set at 16-all, but an Israel service error and kills by Kelsey Black and Miller put A&M up, 19-16.
A&M had maintained its three-point edge at 20-17 but then stumbled, committing seven consecutive errors as Israel closed out the set on an 8-0 run and held the Aggies to a -.031 hitting percentage in the set.
Israel would once again use a late charge to close out the fourth set. Leading 18-17, Tatiana Artmenko put down one of her five kills in the set to spark a 4-0 run. A ball handling error temporarily disrupted Israel's run, but the National Team came back with back-to-back kills to be serving for the set. A&M's next attack sailed long to even the match at two sets apiece.
“You could sense they were definitely an older team who has been playing together for a while because after the first two sets, they adjusted and really adapted,” Hendrickson said. “You don't usually see that in college, but they changed and props to them. It was very mature, and they handled business.”
Israel used a 4-0 run to take a 7-5 lead in the fifth and deciding set. A&M got back within a point at 12-11, but a service error and an Israel block put the National Team at match point. Israel's next attack went long to keep A&M alive before Anna Velikiy put down her 18th kill of the match.
“I felt like we were in control those first two games, but I don't feel like we backed down,” Hendrickson added. “I don't think we lost energy. I feel like we maintained it really well. I feel like they made the adjustments, and we didn't bounce back.”
Black led A&M with 12 kills, and Hendrickson added 10. Megan Pendergast led all players with 18 digs, and Mellinger pitched in 12 digs along with five aces. Miller led the Aggies with six blocks, including two solos, and Sawatzky dished out 37 assists.
Artmenko led all players with 21 kills. Adva Zinober had a team high 13 digs for Israel, and Anna Farhi had a match-high six blocks to help her team to a 10.5 to 8.0 block advantage, as well as a .214 to .207 hitting advantage.
“We were really excited to get to host the Israeli team and play some very experience and savvy and powerful international players,” Corbelli said. “I think our team learned a lot of things that are very difficult to teach in a practice session, and we're hoping that we can build on the things we did really well and learn from the things they did well and use that in the remainder of our season.”
The Aggies now take their first road trip of the season as they compete in the five-team Portland/NIKE Invitational. A&M faces the host Pilots Thursday at 9 p.m. The Aggies take on Butler Friday at 2 p.m. and conclude the tournament Saturday with a pair of matches, meeting Nevada at 12 p.m. and Washington State at 7:30 p.m. All times are Central.
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