Texas A&M
5-0
Butler
0-5
Aggies Cruise Past Butler, 3-0
Sep 02, 2011 | Volleyball
A&M improves to 5-0 on the season, including 2-0 at the tournament. Butler drops to 0-5 overall.
The teams were tied at 11-11 in the opening set before A&M went on an 11-2 run to break away. The Aggies got eight kills from five different players and an ace apiece from Black and libero Megan Pendergast during the streak.
A&M held a 23-16 lead when Black blasted a kill off the Butler block and followed with a straight-down kill to close out the set. The senior from Amarillo posted five of her match-high 13 kills in the set, and junior setter Allie Sawatzky dished out 13 assists as A&M outhit the Bulldogs, .429 to .138.
Back-to-back kills by Elise Hendrickson gave A&M a 5-4 lead early in the second set, and the Aggies would not trail for the remainder of the match. Butler stayed within a point at 14-13 before a kill by Tori Mellinger began a 4-0 run for the Aggies. Butler countered with a kill and a block, but the Bulldogs then served into net and followed with an attack that went wide to give A&M a 20-15 lead.
Kastmo continued the scoring for the Aggies, posting one of her four kills in the set. Hendrickson then followed with an ace to put A&M ahead, 22-15. The teams traded sideouts before a dump kill by setter Allie Freiwald put A&M serving for the set. The Bulldogs fought off three set points before Freiwald won a joust at the net to clinch the set-winning point.
The Aggies also pulled away early in the third set, using an 8-1 surge to build a 13-5 advantage. The Bulldogs were unable to get closer than six points for the remainder of the set.
Kastmo posted her 12th kill of the match with an off-speed attack over the Butler block, putting A&M at 24-15 and serving for the match. Butler staved off two match points before Stephanie Minnerly put down the winning kill.
Sawatzky, who had five kills and no errors in six attacks, dished out 32 assists in the match and directed the Aggies to a .392 to .160 hitting advantage. Pendergast led all players with 13 digs and three aces.
Kelly Kyle was the only Butler player to reach double figures in kills, finishing with 10.
The Aggies conclude the tournament Saturday with a pair of matches, meeting Nevada at 10 a.m. and Washington State at 5:30 p.m. All times are Pacific.
Tournament Schedule (all times are Pacific):
Thursday,
September 1
Portland def. Butler, 3-1 (20-25, 25-15, 25-20,
25-18)
Texas A&M def. Portland, 3-1 (25-13, 25-17, 21-25, 25-18)
Friday,
September 2
Washington State def. Nevada, 3-0 (25-17, 25-21,
25-20)
Texas A&M def. Butler, 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-17)
5:30 p.m. Nevada
vs. Butler
7:30 p.m. Portland
vs. Washington State
Saturday,
September 3
10 a.m. Nevada
vs. Texas A&M
12 p.m. Washington
State vs. Butler
5:30 p.m. Texas A&M vs. Washington State
7:30 p.m. Portland
vs. Nevada
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