Texas A&M
6-0
Nevada
0-6
A&M Wins Sixth Straight; Remains Undefeated
Sep 03, 2011 | Volleyball
A&M improves to 6-0 on the season, including 3-0 at the tournament, and will face Washington State at 5:30 p.m. (Pacific) to determine the tournament champion. Nevada falls to 0-6.
A&M immediately took control of the opening set, scoring the first nine points. Nevada never threatened, as the Wolfpack was outhit, .429 to -.120 in the frame. Kelsey Black, Lindsey Miller and Alisia Kastmo had four kills apiece to lead the Aggies, with Kastmo putting down the clinching point.
The Aggies used an eight-point run to take a 9-3 lead in the second set. Nevada, which was outhit .333 to .200, got within 22-19 following a 3-0 spurt, but a service error ended the run. The teams traded sideouts before junior setter Markie Malone, making the first official appearance of her A&M career, set up Heather Reynolds for the kill that put the Aggies at set point. The Wolfpack staved off one point, tooling the block to get within 24-21, but their next attack landed wide to give A&M a 2-0 lead.
A&M used a four-point rally to pull ahead, 6-3, in the third set, giving the Aggies a lead they would hold for the remainder of the match. A&M later used another four-point run, getting kills from Stephanie Minnerly, Allie Sawatzky and Chelsea Ringel, along with an ace by Cinthya Roberto, who played libero the final two sets, to build their biggest lead at 16-11.
The Aggies later held a 22-17 advantage when Nevada got back-to-back kills to get within 22-19. Setter Allie Freiwald then got a kill on an overpass to return serve to the Aggies. Hannah Hood, the Aggies' lone freshman, then made the first appearance of her career as she subbed in to serve. The Wolfpack committed an attack error on the ensuing play to put the Aggies at match point, but Hood's next serve narrowly sailed long to put the Wolfpack within 24-20. Chelsea Ringel then capped the match with a kill.
Black, who played the first set and only half of the second set, led the Aggies with seven kills and no errors in nine attempts for a .778 hitting percentage. Kastmo (.455) and Hendrickson (.556) finished with six kills apiece. Reynolds pitched in a career-high five kills as well as a match-high and career-high 11 digs.
The Wolfpack, which was outhit .337 to .083 in the match, was led by Erin Garvey's 10 kills. Kelly Chang had 10 digs for Nevada, which drops to 0-6.
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)
Butler def. Nevada, 3-1 (25-21, 29-27, 27-25)
Washington State def. Portland, 3-2 (25-19, 20-25, 25-18, 17-25, 15-12)
Saturday,
September 3
Texas A&M def. Nevada, 3-0 (25-12, 25-21, 25-20)
12:00 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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