Texas A&M
9-1
Xavier
7-3
Volleyball Suffers First Loss of the Season
Sep 16, 2011 | Volleyball
A&M, which entered the match 9-0 and on the cusp of matching the 2007 squad for the most wins to start a season, outhit the feisty Musketeers, .235 to .230 for the match and had three players reach double figures in kills. But the Aggies couldn't stop Sarah Brown, who posted 26 kills while hitting at a .380 clip and was the only Xavier player to reach double digits in kills. The Aggies also were hamstrung with untimely errors, including four service errors in the deciding fifth set.
"Our unforced errors were many more than we've had in any match yet, and our opponent brought a level of intensity that we never could seem to match," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "That resulted in us not getting the win, but we've learned a hard lesson and we have to make those changes. Maybe we have to look at it like it was an opportunity, a time to learn a lesson, and I'd rather learn it now than later in the year. That is what preconference is for, so hopefully we will rebound for the second match of the day and come back with a much greater intensity level and a better focus."
The match got off to an ominous start as the Aggies dropped the opening set for the first time this season and found themselves fighting from behind. Xavier used a 6-0 run to build an 11-6 lead, but A&M countered with a 6-1 surge to regain the lead at 13-12. The lead would be short lived, however, as Brown got a kill and Xavier followed with a block for the final lead change of the frame. A service error tied the score at 14-all before the Musketeers scored three answered points. Xavier kept its three-point advantage until A&M rallied, getting consecutive kills from Kelsey Black, Elise Hendrickson and Tori Mellinger to knot the score at 19-19. A back-row kill by Brown started a three-point rally and gave the Musketeers a 22-19 lead. A service error ended the run, and the teams traded sideouts until Brown put down her 10th kill of the set to ice the 25-22 win for the Musketeers.
A&M, which was outhit .297 to .135 to start the match, regrouped and outhit the Musketeers, .484 to .205, to take the second set. The Aggies used an early 5-0 outburst to take the lead at 7-3. Xavier cut the margin to 10-8 before A&M setter Ally Sawatzky connected with middle blocker Lindsey Miller on three consecutive slide attacks. The Musketeers stayed within three points at 17-14 before Kastmo got a kill and Hendrickson followed with an ace. A Miller kill padded the Aggies' lead to 20-14. A&M would later get a kill off the block by Black, and Xavier's next attack sailed wide to put the Aggies at set point. The Musketeers fought off one set point before they served into the net to give A&M the win and even the match at 1-1.
A&M would use a 6-1 run to build a 10-8 advantage in the third set, but Xavier would later use a 9-2 rally to take a 19-14 lead. A&M, which was outhit .229 to .139 in the frame, was unable to get closer than four points before Xavier closed out the set with a kill.
A&M used a four-point rally to break away from an 8-8 tie in the fourth and force a Xavier timeout. The teams would then exchange points until Sawatzky posted back-to-back kills and Kastmo followed with three consecutive kills to give the Aggies a 19-11 cushion. The Musketeers continued to fight and chip away at the lead and later staved off two set points to get within 24-21. Xavier's comeback hopes were dashed, however, when the Musketeers' next serve went into the net.
A Kastmo ace gave the Aggies their first lead of the fifth set at 4-3, but the Musketeers tied the score three times before getting a block to retake the lead at 8-7. A solo block by Mellinger tied the score at 8-8, but the Musketeers blocked an A&M attack and then aced a serve to go up, 10-8, and force an A&M timeout. Black got a kill coming out of the timeout, but A&M was unable to score consecutive points as the teams traded sideouts. A dump kill by Sawatzky kept A&M within 12-11 before the Aggies committed back-to-back attack errors to put Xavier at match point. The Musketeers then closed out the victory, getting a kill through the block, to improve to 7-3.
Kastmo led the Aggies with a career-high 16 kills. Black pitched in 14 kills and Miller added 11. Libero Megan Pendergast took team-high honors in digs with a career-high 21. Mellinger had 13 digs and Black and Sawatzky added 11 and 10, respectively. Sawatzky joined Black with a double-double performance, recording 49 assists.
The Aggies return to the court later this afternoon, taking on Toledo at 4:30 (CT).
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