McGee Leads A&M to 3-2 Victory Against Minnesota

Saturday, August 29

Palo Alto, Calif.

6:30 PM

Texas A&M

1-1

Minnesota

0-1

Minnesota

Texas A&M

Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics

Aug 29, 2015 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

STANFORD, Calif. – Making the first start of her young career, Texas A&M sophomore outside hitter Kiara McGee led the Aggies to a 26-24, 21-25, 18-25, 25-21, 15-10 victory over Minnesota today at Maples Pavilion.

The Taft San Antonio product set personal bests with team highs in kills (13), aces (4) and points (17.5) and also posted the first double-double of her career with 14 digs, also a career high. A&M also got double-figure kills from middle blockers Jazzmin Babers and Shelby Sullivan, who had 12 and 11, respectively. Babers also led A&M with four blocks, and Sullivan, a senior, and sophomore setter Stephanie Aiple added three blocks apiece.

Sophomore libero Amy Nettles led the Aggies in digs with 15, and junior outside hitter Emily Hardesty scooped up 13 digs after coming off the bench early in the second set for senior starting outside hitter Angela Lowak, who left the match with a mild ankle sprain.

Aiple dished out 51 assists as A&M outhit the Golden Gophers, .220 to .217.

Others who saw action were freshman middle blocker/opposite hitter Kaitlyn Blake, who had four kills while hitting .375, sophomore opposite Ashlie Reasor and defensive specialists Victoria Arenas andGabby Litwin, a redshirt-sophomore transfer who was making her Aggie debut.

There were 12 ties and seven lead changes in the opening set before the Aggies went on a late 5-1 run for the 26-24 come-from-behind victory. A&M held a narrow 15-14 lead before Babers put down a kill and the Gophers followed with back-to-back attack errors to give A&M its largest lead of the set at 18-14

The Aggies were up 20-17 when their passing broke down and the Gophers erupted for five unanswered points -- including two aces -- to regain the lead, 22-20. The rally ended after Minnesota served wide, but the Gophers got a kill on the next play to go up 23-21. Lowak then got a kill to put A&M within 23-22, and Sullivan was credited with an ace when Minnesota was whistled for overlapping, tying the score at 23-23. Babers and Aiple posted a huge block against Daly Santana, who finished the set with six kills, but Santana came back with tip kill, tying the score for the final time. Babers got a kill, putting the Aggies at set point, and Lowak finished off the set with a kill through the block, marking her sixth kill of the set.

A&M, which outhit the Gophers, .353 to .263 in the first set, was outhit .205 to .188 in the second set as Minnesota evened the match. The Aggies scored the first three points of the frame but, with Lowak leaving the set with the Aggies up, 4-2, the Gophers fought back to tie the score at 6-6. A&M kept its lead and was up, 10-8, before Minnesota went on a 4-0 roll to take its first lead, 12-10. A&M tied the score at 12 and again at 16 before the Gophers went on a 3-0 run to build a 19-16 advantage. Minnesota then committed a service error and an attack error, allowing the Aggies close within 19-18. Reasor then swiped a kill off the Gopher block to tie the score, and Hardesty followed with an out-of-system kill to return the lead to A&M, 20-19.

Minnesota countered with back-to-back kills to go up, 21-20, before Babers tied the score for the seventh time of the set with a kill. The Aggies, however, were held scoreless for the remainder of the set as the Gophers reeled off four unanswered points to close out the frame, 25-21, and even the set.

There were 10 ties and four lead changes early in the third set before Minnesota, which outhit A&M, .316 to .093, pulled away to win the set, 25-18 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.

Neither team held more than a two-point lead until Minnesota pulled away, using a 5-0 rally to go up, 21-16. Reasor ended the run with a kill, but Minnesota responded with two kills to go ahead, 23-17. McGee then tooled the block, but it would be the final point for the Aggies as the Gophers got a kill and a block to close out the set.

A&M scored the first two points to open the fourth set and held a lead for the remainder of the stanza, outhitting the Gophers, .250 to .156. McGee served an ace to give the Aggies their largest lead, 14-8. Minnesota, however, reeled off five straight points to get within 14-13. The Gophers also got within a point at 16-15 but could get no closer. A&M held a 20-18 lead when the teams began to exchange kill for kill. Leading 23-21, Sullivan posted her sixth kill of the set to put the Aggies at set point, and Babers followed with a kill to secure the win and send the match to a fifth set.

A&M jumped out to a 4-0 lead to begin the final frame with Babers getting a solo block and a kill during the run. The Aggies built their largest lead at 6-1 on McGee's high-flying kill from the back row, but Minnesota countered with four consecutive kills to get within 6-5. Babers ended the rally with a kill on the slide attack, but the Gophers stayed within a point following a booming kill by Sarah Wilhite. Minnesota hit into the net on the next play, and Blake gave the Aggies a 9-6 lead with a strategic off-speed kill. Minnesota would get a kill on the ensuing play to pull within 9-7 but could get no closer.

A booming kill by McGee gave A&M a 12-8 cushion, and Minnesota followed with back-to-back miscues, putting the Aggies at match point. The Gophers, who were outhit .278 to .087 in the set, got a kill and a block to get within 14-10 before Hardesty clinched the victory with a kill off the block.

Wilhite led the Gophers with 17 kills, and Santana, the team's lone senior, and Paige Tapp added 16 and 13 kills, respectively, as Minnesota led A&M, 68-60, in kills. Molly Lohman had nine blocks to lead the Gophers to a 12-7 advantage in blocks.

With the win, A&M improves to 1-1. It was the season opener for Minnesota which was one spot behind A&M in the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll which listed the Aggies 30^th and Minnesota 31^st.

The Aggies make their home debut Saturday, Sept. 5 at the Texas A&M Invitational. A&M faces Wichita State at noon at Reed Arena and returns to the court at 4:30 p.m. to take on Abilene Christian. The Aggies close out the tournament Sunday, Sept. 6 with a 1 p.m. meeting against New Mexico State.

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 and Instagram by following @AggieVolleyball.

Texas A&M Head Coach Laurie Corbelli quotes:

On her overall thoughts of the match…
I think the team's fight was the difference. The relentless fight kept their confidence high. In yesterday's match (a 3-0 loss to Stanford), that was a little bit choppy. It made them tentative, and it just manifests in their volleyball, and so the team decided that the fight has to be at its highest level at every single rally. It helped them with their focus and their execution, and they also just made some really great adjustments from not only from the night before against Stanford, but also during the match. From blocking adjustments against an offense that is super fast, our defense was making some great adjustments and some awesome plays. I think they decided that they weren't going to lose today, and they followed through with it."

On the play of sophomore outside hitter Kiara McGee…
"Kiara made a huge statement today to not only her teammates but to the coaches that she's got what it takes to be a terminator on the left side. Her platform was beautiful, and I was maybe even more impressed with her back row (play) and her passing than even her hitting. Her blocking was there. Her coverage was there. Her defense; her serve - how many aces she got. I think she is just really helped herself a lot getting on the court more full time. The team just absolutely loves it. She brings a good fire to the court, and I am really excited about her future."

On the team's balanced attack...
"We got our middles the ball a lot more because our serve receive. I think of the word focus and the word execution. We studied our video from last night. We knew the things we really needed to change and be better at in our things that we train, and they made the changes and it resulted in a cleaner game and a lot more crisp offense. We were able to get Sullivan the ball more and Babers the ball like we like to do. I thought Minnesota's serving was fantastic, and I thought it put a lot of pressure on us during parts of the match. But overall, if we were in the state of mind of last night we would have never been able to come through with a victory like this. The state of mind was so aggressive with serve receive that we were able to push the ball up to the net and let our setters and hitters do the job. It was a total team effort, which is really rewarding as a coach, and a great fighting spirit."

On the play of the middle blockers today…
"The middles didn't really get in a rhythm at all last night, and they made a huge difference today. We made some adjustments to the timing. We said, 'You have to change this,' and she made the change and ends up being unstoppable. It's so nice to have players that can make those changes and that are willing to work with their setters and get that accomplished. I thought the middles were really dominant and a big part of today."

On the support from the bench…
"Katelyn Blake came in to block on the right and to get some attack going on the right and just did a great job. She brings a lot of fire as well. We had Victoria Arenas play a lot of the right back and just pick up tips and was passing beautifully. They were going at her very, very hard, and she hung in there and just kept her confidence and kept her composure. I thought that was really significant. After Angela [Lowak] went down and [Emily] Hardesty went in for the L1 position, which is the outside hitter right by the setter, and you get tons and tons of sets in those rotations, and she has usually been in the other outside hitters position. She handled it like a champ. We were so fortunate in that kind of adversity to have a player like Emily just step right on like nothing happened and nothing's new and let's go. She had 13 digs; she just took over the court. I am a super proud coach right now."

On the importance of beating an evenly matched Big 10 team…
"It was a very even match. It was really back and forth. I think both teams were trying to pick up on the style and strengths of each other. They just did some really, really great stuff. I love their system. It was really hard to play against. It put a lot of pressure on us. To get this win -- whoever it is -- we just needed a win today, and I think to be able to go against a really nice team in Minnesota and get this win will boost our confidence and sure gives us a lot better outlook for the week of training and getting ready for our home tournament. It gets our adrenaline going even more, and it helps boost some confidence. I did not want to leave here 0-2. We refused. When the team realized that was not going to be acceptable, I think they took it very seriously. It was really a great response from the team."

On playing at home next weekend…
"We are really ready to be at Reed Arena. To be on the road the first weekend, I think this is the first time in a long, long time. We usually host. So to start off the season on the road against the No. 2 team at their place, that's a tough start. We didn't use it as anything other than let's see what we are made of and let's make the changes we need to make. We are excited to get home, and I think being at home offers a different set of challenges. However, I think this win really boosts them a lot. I think it will continue into next week."