Friday, August 26
Denton, Texas
3:30 PM
Texas A&M
1-0
3
vs
0
Nevada
0-2
1
2
3
F
Texas A&M
25
25
30
3
Nevada
14
23
28
0
Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics
Texas A&M Sweeps Nevada in Season Opener
Aug 26, 2016 | Volleyball
DENTON, Texas – No. 16 Texas A&M notched a season-opening 25-14, 25-23 30-28 victory over Nevada today at the North Texas Challenge at the Mean Green Volleyball Center. It marked the Aggies' 15th consecutive win in a regular season match, a streak which began with a 3-2 victory at South Carolina on Oct. 11, 2015.
Junior outside hitter Kiara McGee led the Aggies with 14 kills while hitting .300, and senior All-American middle blocker Jazzmin Babers pitched in 10 kills. Sophomore Kaitlyn Blake, who is being counted on to fill in for three-year starting middle blocker Shelby Sullivan who completed her eligibility last season, also hit .571 with eight kills and posted a match-high five blocks.
Senior Emily Hardesty drew the start at the other outside hitter position and finished with a team-high 10 digs. Junior Ashlie Reasor started the first two sets at the opposite hitter position, with freshman Hollann Hans starting the third set in what marked her official Texas A&M debut. Hans, Texas A&M's only freshman to see playing time in the match, was impressive, posting four kills in six attempts without an error and also tallying a solo block.
Reigning SEC Player of the Year Stephanie Aiple had 33 assists while directing the Aggies to a .370 to .155 hitting percentage advantage. The junior needs only 14 more assists to give her 2,309 career assists and move her into the top 10 in the Texas A&M career records.
Junior Amy Nettles was the designated libero in all three sets and finished with seven digs. Seniors Victoria Arenas and Katelyn Labhart each appeared in a set as a defensive specialist, as did sophomore Amy Houser to round out the 11 A&M players who made appearances on opening day.
The Aggies, playing their first regular-season, non-home match in the Lone Star State since their 2011 swan song in the Big 12 Conference, got off to a fast start and led the entire first set while outhitting the Wolf Pack, .565 to .087 in the frame. Texas A&M held an 8-5 lead before using an 8-1 run to begin separating itself from the Wolf Pack. Nevada never got closer than six points, the last time coming at 19-13 before the Aggies used 6-1 run, including a block by Blake and Reasor that closed out the set.
Nevada used a 6-0 run early in the second set to build its first lead of the match, 8-6. The lead was short lived, as Babers and McGee had back-to-back kills and Nevada hit long to put Texas A&M ahead, 9-8.
McGee later had two kills during a 4-0 A&M run that gave the Aggies their largest lead at 22-17. Nevada, however, countered with a 5-0 spurt to tie the score, 22-22. A&M scored the next two points and was serving for the set at 24-22, but Nevada's Shayla Hoeft kept the Wolf Pack alive with a kill, putting Nevada within 24-23. McGee then answered with her eighth kill of the frame to end the set and give the Aggies a 2-0 lead.
The Wolf Pack made things interesting in the final set, taking the lead at 3-2 and not allowing the Aggies to take another lead until a kill by Hans put A&M ahead, 23-22. Nevada had an attack error to put the Aggies serving for the win, but the Wolf Pack would fight off four match points and eventually took a 28-27 lead following back-to-back kills. McGee tied the score for the 13th time in the set with a kill, and Blake followed with a kill to once again put the Aggies serving for the match, 29-27. Nevada was whistled for four hits on the final play to close out the contest.
Madison Morell led Nevada with 14 kills.
The Aggies conclude the North Texas Challenge with a pair of matches on Saturday. In a top-20 showdown, No. 16 Texas A&M faces No. 15 Ohio State at 1 p.m. at the Mean Green Volleyball Center. The Aggies return to the court at 6:30 p.m. to take on host North Texas.
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 season opener…
"It was great to finally have another team on the other side where we can do even more evaluation of areas for immediate improvement, and I would say probably blocking is that area. Blocking is such a difficult skill in terms of timing and position, and it's just making really fine adjustments, and so we love that part of it. If that's where the problem is or that's where we really want to improve, I know we will, so that feels really good. I thought the passing was really good. Our middles were pretty dominant. I'm just really proud of the team and the way they fought from behind, in set three especially, the whole time, and ended up winning it. That says a lot."
On putting freshman Hollann Hans in the lineup in the third set…
"I just really wanted to get Hollann on the court. I know that she's got a lot of talent and a lot of power at any position. I kind of threw her in there at the right front, even though she's really been playing left and middle more often. But I wanted to just see how she handled it and how she did, and she was awesome. For a first collegiate match, to do the things she did--she got a great block, she made some awesome choices on offense, and went after it on her serve. She didn't hesitate at all. I got to see exactly what I thought I would see."
On tomorrows matches…
"This is a really exciting opening tournament to get to now go and play two matches tomorrow against teams that are both super-fast offensively and very powerful. We saw both of them play today, and it's definitely going to be a great match at both in the early afternoon and in the evening."
On facing No. 15 Ohio State tomorrow…
"We know having a team with the kind of tradition and strength that Ohio State has had over the years, over the decades, that they have had a great program. We will be really challenged first thing when we get to the gym tomorrow. I think our blocking is going to be tested once again. They also have a really strong serving team, and so our passing has to click in right away in order for our offense to do what we did today."
Junior outside hitter Kiara McGee led the Aggies with 14 kills while hitting .300, and senior All-American middle blocker Jazzmin Babers pitched in 10 kills. Sophomore Kaitlyn Blake, who is being counted on to fill in for three-year starting middle blocker Shelby Sullivan who completed her eligibility last season, also hit .571 with eight kills and posted a match-high five blocks.
Senior Emily Hardesty drew the start at the other outside hitter position and finished with a team-high 10 digs. Junior Ashlie Reasor started the first two sets at the opposite hitter position, with freshman Hollann Hans starting the third set in what marked her official Texas A&M debut. Hans, Texas A&M's only freshman to see playing time in the match, was impressive, posting four kills in six attempts without an error and also tallying a solo block.
Reigning SEC Player of the Year Stephanie Aiple had 33 assists while directing the Aggies to a .370 to .155 hitting percentage advantage. The junior needs only 14 more assists to give her 2,309 career assists and move her into the top 10 in the Texas A&M career records.
Junior Amy Nettles was the designated libero in all three sets and finished with seven digs. Seniors Victoria Arenas and Katelyn Labhart each appeared in a set as a defensive specialist, as did sophomore Amy Houser to round out the 11 A&M players who made appearances on opening day.
The Aggies, playing their first regular-season, non-home match in the Lone Star State since their 2011 swan song in the Big 12 Conference, got off to a fast start and led the entire first set while outhitting the Wolf Pack, .565 to .087 in the frame. Texas A&M held an 8-5 lead before using an 8-1 run to begin separating itself from the Wolf Pack. Nevada never got closer than six points, the last time coming at 19-13 before the Aggies used 6-1 run, including a block by Blake and Reasor that closed out the set.
Nevada used a 6-0 run early in the second set to build its first lead of the match, 8-6. The lead was short lived, as Babers and McGee had back-to-back kills and Nevada hit long to put Texas A&M ahead, 9-8.
McGee later had two kills during a 4-0 A&M run that gave the Aggies their largest lead at 22-17. Nevada, however, countered with a 5-0 spurt to tie the score, 22-22. A&M scored the next two points and was serving for the set at 24-22, but Nevada's Shayla Hoeft kept the Wolf Pack alive with a kill, putting Nevada within 24-23. McGee then answered with her eighth kill of the frame to end the set and give the Aggies a 2-0 lead.
The Wolf Pack made things interesting in the final set, taking the lead at 3-2 and not allowing the Aggies to take another lead until a kill by Hans put A&M ahead, 23-22. Nevada had an attack error to put the Aggies serving for the win, but the Wolf Pack would fight off four match points and eventually took a 28-27 lead following back-to-back kills. McGee tied the score for the 13th time in the set with a kill, and Blake followed with a kill to once again put the Aggies serving for the match, 29-27. Nevada was whistled for four hits on the final play to close out the contest.
Madison Morell led Nevada with 14 kills.
The Aggies conclude the North Texas Challenge with a pair of matches on Saturday. In a top-20 showdown, No. 16 Texas A&M faces No. 15 Ohio State at 1 p.m. at the Mean Green Volleyball Center. The Aggies return to the court at 6:30 p.m. to take on host North Texas.
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 season opener…
"It was great to finally have another team on the other side where we can do even more evaluation of areas for immediate improvement, and I would say probably blocking is that area. Blocking is such a difficult skill in terms of timing and position, and it's just making really fine adjustments, and so we love that part of it. If that's where the problem is or that's where we really want to improve, I know we will, so that feels really good. I thought the passing was really good. Our middles were pretty dominant. I'm just really proud of the team and the way they fought from behind, in set three especially, the whole time, and ended up winning it. That says a lot."
On putting freshman Hollann Hans in the lineup in the third set…
"I just really wanted to get Hollann on the court. I know that she's got a lot of talent and a lot of power at any position. I kind of threw her in there at the right front, even though she's really been playing left and middle more often. But I wanted to just see how she handled it and how she did, and she was awesome. For a first collegiate match, to do the things she did--she got a great block, she made some awesome choices on offense, and went after it on her serve. She didn't hesitate at all. I got to see exactly what I thought I would see."
On tomorrows matches…
"This is a really exciting opening tournament to get to now go and play two matches tomorrow against teams that are both super-fast offensively and very powerful. We saw both of them play today, and it's definitely going to be a great match at both in the early afternoon and in the evening."
On facing No. 15 Ohio State tomorrow…
"We know having a team with the kind of tradition and strength that Ohio State has had over the years, over the decades, that they have had a great program. We will be really challenged first thing when we get to the gym tomorrow. I think our blocking is going to be tested once again. They also have a really strong serving team, and so our passing has to click in right away in order for our offense to do what we did today."
Team Stats
TAMU
NV
Kills
46
40
Errors
9
24
Attempts
100
103
Hitting %
.370
.155
Points
59.0
45.0
Assists
38
39
Aces
4
4
Blocks
9.0
1.0
Game Leaders
Kills
14
Aces
2
Blocks
2
Kills
10
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
4
Aces
1
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
S
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballMB/OPP
/ Volleyball
OH/MB
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
DS
/ Volleyball
DS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
OPP
/ Volleyball
MB
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