Texas A&M
18-8, 10-5SEC
Arkansas
14-14, 8-7SEC
Babers Leads Volleyball to 4-Set Win at Arkansas
Nov 19, 2014 | Volleyball
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Texas A&M defeated Arkansas 25-17, 25-19, 19-25, 25-20 tonight at Barnhill Arena, avenging a loss to the Razorbacks earlier this season and earning a split in the season series.
Sophomore middle blocker Jazzmin Babers, who leads the SEC in hitting percentage, paced the Aggies with 13 kills in 17 attempts without an error for a .765 hitting efficiency. Babers also pitched in a match-high eight blocks as A&M outblocked the Razorbacks, 11 to 5.5.
Junior middle blocker Shelby Sullivan and freshman opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor also had double figures in kills for the Aggies with 11 and 10, respectively. Freshman libero Amy Nettles and junior outside hitter Angela Lowak led in digs with 13 and 10, respectively, and freshman setter Stephanie Aiple dished out 41 assists as A&M outhit Arkansas .331 to .189 for the match.
It is the third consecutive win for the Aggies, tying their longest winning streak in SEC play this season. A&M, which has three matches remaining in the regular season, improves to 18-8 overall, including 10-5 in SEC play, equaling its number of conference wins in 2013.
Arkansas, which was attempting to move into a tie for fifth place with the Aggies in the SEC standings and also was aiming to set a season high four-match win streak, drops to 14-14 overall and 8-7 in SEC matches.
A&M used a 5-0 run, including two kills and two blocks from Babers, to go up 14-6 in the first set. The Aggies went on to build their largest lead at 17-8 as Sullivan and Reasor teamed for a block, but Arkansas began to rally. The Razorbacks got within 20-17 but quickly trailed off, committing four attack errors as A&M closed out the set on a 5-0 run.
The Aggies, who outhit Arkansas .333 to .029 in the opening set, hit .364 in the second set to take a 2-0 lead. A&M began to pull away, taking a 13-6 lead following back-to-back kills by Reasor and Babers. The Razorbacks scored four unanswered points to get within 13-10 before a Babers kill began a 7-1 run to put the Aggies up, 20-11. Arkansas rallied again, scoring four straight points to get within 20-15. The Razorbacks had cut the lead to 21-17 when Sullivan tipped the ball over for a kill and Arkansas' Meredith Hays, the conference leader in kills per set, committed an error to put the Maroon and White up, 23-17. The teams exchanged kills for the remainder of the frame, with Lowak getting a kill down the line to close out the 25-19 win and give the Aggies a 2-0 lead.
Arkansas, which was outhit .364 to .212 in the second set, outhit A&M, .355 to .250 in the third set to avoid the sweep. A&M was within 11-10 when the Razorbacks went on a 6-1 run, building their biggest lead of the match at 17-11. A&M twice got within two points, the last coming at 20-18. The Aggies then committed four consecutive errors to put Arkansas at set point. Emily Hardesty kept A&M alive with a kill before Arkansas' Chanell Clark-Bibbs put down a kill to end the set.
Arkansas jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the fourth set, but A&M later used a 4-0 run to take an 11-10 lead. Arkansas managed to tie the score three times, the last at 14-14 before a Babers kill spearheaded a 6-0 A&M run. The Aggies held a 23-17 lead when Arkansas scored three to get within 23-20, and A&M coach Laurie Corbelli called a timeout. Sullivan then posted back-to-back kills coming out of the timeout to close out the victory.
Hays led the Razorbacks with 19 kills.
Texas A&M closes out its regular-season home schedule on Sunday as the Aggies play host to 2013 SEC champion Missouri. First serve is at 3 p.m. at Reed Arena, and the match will be broadcast on the SEC Network. It also will be “Senior Day”, and A&M's lone senior, Sydney Wilhelm, will be honored following the match against the Tigers.
The Aggies will be looking to sweep the season series, having defeated Missouri, 3-1 (17-25, 25-13, 25-13, 25-16), on Nov. 2 at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo.
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook and on Twitter by following @AggieVolleyball.
