DALLAS – A victory against the Texas Longhorns highlighted the Texas A&M volleyball team's final spring tournament, held Saturday at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center Arena.
The Aggies went 1-2 at the one-day Lone Star Classic College Showcase, with all three contests going to a third set in the best 2-out-of-3 format.
A&M opened with a 2-1 (22-25, 25-23, 15-11) setback to Oklahoma before rallying to defeat Texas, 2-1 (28-26, 25-27, 15-10). The Aggies then fell to Baylor, 2-1 (25-14, 20-25, 15-11), to conclude the tournament.
“The team played some phenomenal volleyball at times today,” A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli said. “The defense was spectacular and was led by Amy Nettles and Emily Hardesty. Offensively, Angela Lowak was on fire. She played with power and consistency and was a great leader for the team.”
The opening match against the Sooners was a back-and-forth affair, with Oklahoma being the first team to build more than a two-point lead at 18-15 in the first set. The Sooners would extend their lead and held a 21-17 cushion when middle blocker Shelby Sullivan posted a solo block to spark the Aggies. A&M was later within 22-20 when the Sooners hit out on consecutive plays to knot the set at 22-22. Sullivan then aced her serve to give the Aggies the lead. Oklahoma hit out again to end the next play, putting A&M at set point. Lowak, an outside hitter, followed with a kill to close out the 25-22 win.
The second set was tied at 19-19 when middle blocker Jazzmin Babers returned the lead to A&M with a kill. Oklahoma then hit into the net and Nettles, a libero/defensive specialist, served an ace to put the Aggies up, 22-19. A&M followed with three consecutive errors, allowing the Sooners to knot the score at 22-22. Oklahoma served out on the next play and was trailing 23-22 before back-to-back kills put the Sooners at set point, 24-23. Oklahoma posted a block on the next play to win the set and force a third set.
Oklahoma jumped out to an early advantage in the deciding set and went on to build what proved to be an insurmountable lead at 14-10. A Sullivan kill kept the Aggies alive before the Sooners closed out the match with a kill.
In the match against Texas, a 2014 NCAA semifinalist team, the Longhorns held a 22-19 lead in the opening frame before a kill by Babers and a solo block by Hardesty on the outside put the Aggies within 22-21. Texas would hit out on the next play but followed with a kill to hold a 23-22 advantage. Sullivan tied the score with a kill and then teamed with Hardesty for a block to put A&M at set point, 24-23. A&M hit out on the next play before Sullivan put the Aggies at set point for the second time with a kill on the slide attack. Leading, 25-24, A&M was whistled for a lift and then hit out to put the Longhorns at set point for the first time, 26-25. Sullivan answered with a kill to even the score, and setter Stephanie Aiple and Babers posted a block to put A&M at set point for the third and final time. Texas' back row attack attempt on the subsequent play landed in the net to close out the 28-26 win.
The second set was another tight contest that went beyond the 25-point cap. The Aggies scored two unanswered point to build a 20-18 lead, forcing Texas to call a timeout. The Longhorns responded, winning the next four points to pull ahead, 23-20. Consecutive kills by Sullivan and Lowak put A&M within 23-22 before Texas put down a kill to be serving for the set. Babers again cut the lead to one with a kill and Texas hit out on the ensuing play, tying the score at 24-24. The Longhorns had set point for the second time following a kill, but Lowak countered with a kill. With the score tied at 25-25, A&M was called for a ball handling error, and Texas followed with an ace to win 27-25.
In the decisive third set, A&M jumped out to a 5-0 lead behind Sullivan's strong serving. A&M, which built its largest margin at 8-1, would lead the entire frame, although Texas twice cut the lead to three points, the last coming at 11-8.
A kill by outside hitter Kiara McGee later put A&M at match point, 14-10, and Texas hit out on the next play to end the match.
A&M, experimenting with numerous lineups throughout the day, struggled to find its rhythm in the final match against Baylor, and the Bears would race to a 25-14 win in the opening set.
In the second set, A&M broke away from a 17-17 tie and took a 24-19 lead following a kill by Sullivan. Baylor staved off set point with a kill before Aggie setter Kaysie Shebeneck dumped the ball over for the set-winning kill.
Baylor jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the final set and A&M was unable to make up the difference. A&M managed to get within a point at 11-10, but Baylor scored the next three points to put the Bears at set point. Baylor served into the net to put A&M within 14-11 before the Bears put down a kill to close out the match and conclude the Aggies' spring season.
“All-in-all our spring training was successful,” Corbelli said. “Although we won some matches and lost some matches, the progress we made overall was in line with our goals, and we are excited for the 2015 fall season.”
Corbelli, who is entering her 23rd season at the helm of the Aggies, returns 11 letterwinners -- including all six starters and the libero -- from last year's team that went 21-9, advanced to the NCAA tournament for a fourth consecutive year and was No. 22 in the final national RPI rankings.
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