Friday, October 27
College Station
6:30 p.m.
Texas A&M
7-10, 4-6SEC
3
vs
2
Tennessee
10-9, 3-7SEC
1
2
3
4
5
F
Tennessee
17
25
21
25
14
2
Texas A&M
25
15
25
23
16
3
Photo by: Sam Craft/Texas A&M Athletics
Texas A&M Defeats Tennessee in 5-Set Thriller
Oct 27, 2017 | Volleyball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M began the second half of the Southeastern Conference schedule with a thrilling 25-17, 15-25, 25-21, 23-25, 16-14 victory over Tennessee tonight at Reed Arena.
Senior libero Amy Nettles had a match-high and career-high 34 digs, and junior defensive specialist Amy Houser and freshman setter Camille Conner also had career highs in digs with 19 and 16, respectfully, to lead the Aggies to an A&M SEC-record 105 team digs. Conner also dished out a career-high 46 assists to record her team-leading fourth double-double. Sophomore outside hitter Hollann Hans posted her third double-double of the season with a match high 16 kills and 12 digs, and senior outside hitter Kiara McGee also reached double-figure kills with 15.
Texas A&M, which got the win despite hitting .124 for the match, improves to 7-10, including 4-6 in SEC play, and ends a two-match losing skid. Tennessee, which hit .099 and suffered its eighth consecutive loss in the series against the Aggies, falls to 10-9 overall and 3-7 in conference matches.
The match went back and forth with the teams exchanging sets to force a fifth set. The Aggies built an 11-6 lead in the final frame before Tennessee went on a 6-1 run to tie the score for the first time since 12-12. After A&M called its second timeout, McGee got a kill off the block to put A&M up 13-12. Tennessee countered with a kill, but McGee got a solo block on the ensuing play to put the Aggies at set and match point, 14-13. Tessa Grubbs evened the score for the sixth time in the set as she put down her team-leading 12th kill of the match, but the Volunteers hit long on the next play to put the Aggies at set and match point for the second time. The match came to an end when Tennessee was whistled for illegally reaching over the net.
There were 10 ties in the opening set, the last coming at 13-13 before Conner gave the Aggies the lead for good with one of her eight kills on the night. A&M, which outhit the Vols .268 to .000 in the set, continued to pull away and held a 20-17 lead when freshman opposite hitter Samantha Sanders put down a kill that began a set-ending 5-0 run by the Aggies. Freshman middle blocker Morgan Davis put A&M at set point with a solo block, and Tennessee hit wide for the final point.
Tennessee used a 4-0 run in the second set to take an early 5-2 lead. A&M, which was outhit .200 to -.026 in the set, was unable to overcome the deficit and trailed, 19-15, before the Volunteers went on a 6-0 run to close out the set.
The third set was tied, 13-13, before Conner gave the Aggies the lead for good with a kill. The Vols stayed on the Aggies' heels and were within 21-20 when Hans and sophomore middle blocker Maddie Douglas had consecutive kills to put A&M up, 23-20. Tennessee had an attack error to put the Aggies at set point. An A&M service error put the Vols within 24-21 before Hans tooled the block for the set-ending kill.
There were 11 ties and eight lead changes in the fourth set, with most of the dramatics occurring down the final stretch. Tennessee held a 22-21 lead until A&M junior middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake had back-to-back kills to put A&M up 23-22. Those would be the final points for the Aggies as Grubbs got a kill and A&M hit into the net to put the Volunteers at set point. Grubbs then put down her seventh kill in the stanza to give Tennessee the win and force a decisive fifth set.
It was the A&M's second five-set of the season, and its first five-setter in conference play. It was the fifth five-set match for Tennessee, which fell to 2-3 when going five.
Texas A&M had a season-high 13 blocks, but Tennessee had 17, the most blocks by an A&M opponent this season. The Aggies led in aces, 2-0, marking the first time this season the team did not get aced.
A&M wraps up its five-match homestand against league leader and sixth-ranked Kentucky on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Reed Arena. The Wildcats, who swept the Aggies in Lexington on Oct. 11, came back from two sets down to defeat LSU in Baton Rouge on Friday to run its win streak to 13 matches and improve to 9-0 in SEC play.
It will be Aggie Parents Appreciation Day and Take a Kid to the Game on Sunday. Also Kids Court will be open in the volleyball practice gym from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Go to 12thMan.com/promotions for more details.
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 POSTMATCH QUOTES:
HEAD COACH LAURIE CORBELLI
On today's match…
"A really hard-fought match for the entire time. We were pretty evenly matched. I thought different times of the match, different people kind of carried us and Camille [Conner] did a beautiful job finding that. I think people are really focusing more on our outsides. I thought Sam Sanders did a beautiful job just with her composure and four blocks"
On what was going through her mind in the fifth set…
"I think a lot of teams really try to rush and hurry and win, and then mistakes start happening. So just really encourage patience and staying aggressive and setting up our next play. I thought they handled it very well. It was a moment we haven't been in a long time, and you know it was going to take a lot of patience to get it done. I was really proud of them."
Difference between this match and the last two…
"We have just been identifying that we have been up and down in a set. We start slow, we get going in the middle of the set then we get slow. We have just been kind of inconsistent in a 20-25-minute set. So, we have just been really trying to be consistent with our execution and slow things down. I think that looking at the scores, you can tell we did that and did not let much get away from us that last set."
On carrying the momentum into Sunday's match against No. 6 Kentucky…
"We just have to be really more consistent; not just with the team but as individuals. A lot just comes down to individual execution, and I think we are getting there. I see the improvements, and we certainly haven't caught any breaks. I thought our three DS's really kept us in this match. Those three kept us in this match and did a beautiful job."
TEXAS A&M FRESHMAN SETTER CAMILLE CONNER
On the win at home...
"It was great to finally get a win on our home court. We've been putting a lot of work in this week in the gym and tonight it showed. We had some goals at the beginning of the match and we set the tone."
Was it more rewarding getting the five-set win...
"It was more rewarding for sure. Especially with the couple of the losses we had last weekend it means a lot to our team and our confidence going forward and against Kentucky. We had a good week of practice, and it translated on to the court today."
On taking this win into Sunday...
"I think we have to find a way to play consistent volleyball on Sunday. So whatever we have to do to improve the consistency, I think that's going to help us a lot."
Senior libero Amy Nettles had a match-high and career-high 34 digs, and junior defensive specialist Amy Houser and freshman setter Camille Conner also had career highs in digs with 19 and 16, respectfully, to lead the Aggies to an A&M SEC-record 105 team digs. Conner also dished out a career-high 46 assists to record her team-leading fourth double-double. Sophomore outside hitter Hollann Hans posted her third double-double of the season with a match high 16 kills and 12 digs, and senior outside hitter Kiara McGee also reached double-figure kills with 15.
Texas A&M, which got the win despite hitting .124 for the match, improves to 7-10, including 4-6 in SEC play, and ends a two-match losing skid. Tennessee, which hit .099 and suffered its eighth consecutive loss in the series against the Aggies, falls to 10-9 overall and 3-7 in conference matches.
The match went back and forth with the teams exchanging sets to force a fifth set. The Aggies built an 11-6 lead in the final frame before Tennessee went on a 6-1 run to tie the score for the first time since 12-12. After A&M called its second timeout, McGee got a kill off the block to put A&M up 13-12. Tennessee countered with a kill, but McGee got a solo block on the ensuing play to put the Aggies at set and match point, 14-13. Tessa Grubbs evened the score for the sixth time in the set as she put down her team-leading 12th kill of the match, but the Volunteers hit long on the next play to put the Aggies at set and match point for the second time. The match came to an end when Tennessee was whistled for illegally reaching over the net.
There were 10 ties in the opening set, the last coming at 13-13 before Conner gave the Aggies the lead for good with one of her eight kills on the night. A&M, which outhit the Vols .268 to .000 in the set, continued to pull away and held a 20-17 lead when freshman opposite hitter Samantha Sanders put down a kill that began a set-ending 5-0 run by the Aggies. Freshman middle blocker Morgan Davis put A&M at set point with a solo block, and Tennessee hit wide for the final point.
Tennessee used a 4-0 run in the second set to take an early 5-2 lead. A&M, which was outhit .200 to -.026 in the set, was unable to overcome the deficit and trailed, 19-15, before the Volunteers went on a 6-0 run to close out the set.
The third set was tied, 13-13, before Conner gave the Aggies the lead for good with a kill. The Vols stayed on the Aggies' heels and were within 21-20 when Hans and sophomore middle blocker Maddie Douglas had consecutive kills to put A&M up, 23-20. Tennessee had an attack error to put the Aggies at set point. An A&M service error put the Vols within 24-21 before Hans tooled the block for the set-ending kill.
There were 11 ties and eight lead changes in the fourth set, with most of the dramatics occurring down the final stretch. Tennessee held a 22-21 lead until A&M junior middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake had back-to-back kills to put A&M up 23-22. Those would be the final points for the Aggies as Grubbs got a kill and A&M hit into the net to put the Volunteers at set point. Grubbs then put down her seventh kill in the stanza to give Tennessee the win and force a decisive fifth set.
It was the A&M's second five-set of the season, and its first five-setter in conference play. It was the fifth five-set match for Tennessee, which fell to 2-3 when going five.
Texas A&M had a season-high 13 blocks, but Tennessee had 17, the most blocks by an A&M opponent this season. The Aggies led in aces, 2-0, marking the first time this season the team did not get aced.
A&M wraps up its five-match homestand against league leader and sixth-ranked Kentucky on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at Reed Arena. The Wildcats, who swept the Aggies in Lexington on Oct. 11, came back from two sets down to defeat LSU in Baton Rouge on Friday to run its win streak to 13 matches and improve to 9-0 in SEC play.
It will be Aggie Parents Appreciation Day and Take a Kid to the Game on Sunday. Also Kids Court will be open in the volleyball practice gym from 12:30-1:30 p.m. Go to 12thMan.com/promotions for more details.
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 POSTMATCH QUOTES:
HEAD COACH LAURIE CORBELLI
On today's match…
"A really hard-fought match for the entire time. We were pretty evenly matched. I thought different times of the match, different people kind of carried us and Camille [Conner] did a beautiful job finding that. I think people are really focusing more on our outsides. I thought Sam Sanders did a beautiful job just with her composure and four blocks"
On what was going through her mind in the fifth set…
"I think a lot of teams really try to rush and hurry and win, and then mistakes start happening. So just really encourage patience and staying aggressive and setting up our next play. I thought they handled it very well. It was a moment we haven't been in a long time, and you know it was going to take a lot of patience to get it done. I was really proud of them."
Difference between this match and the last two…
"We have just been identifying that we have been up and down in a set. We start slow, we get going in the middle of the set then we get slow. We have just been kind of inconsistent in a 20-25-minute set. So, we have just been really trying to be consistent with our execution and slow things down. I think that looking at the scores, you can tell we did that and did not let much get away from us that last set."
On carrying the momentum into Sunday's match against No. 6 Kentucky…
"We just have to be really more consistent; not just with the team but as individuals. A lot just comes down to individual execution, and I think we are getting there. I see the improvements, and we certainly haven't caught any breaks. I thought our three DS's really kept us in this match. Those three kept us in this match and did a beautiful job."
TEXAS A&M FRESHMAN SETTER CAMILLE CONNER
On the win at home...
"It was great to finally get a win on our home court. We've been putting a lot of work in this week in the gym and tonight it showed. We had some goals at the beginning of the match and we set the tone."
Was it more rewarding getting the five-set win...
"It was more rewarding for sure. Especially with the couple of the losses we had last weekend it means a lot to our team and our confidence going forward and against Kentucky. We had a good week of practice, and it translated on to the court today."
On taking this win into Sunday...
"I think we have to find a way to play consistent volleyball on Sunday. So whatever we have to do to improve the consistency, I think that's going to help us a lot."
The Aggies defeat Tennessee! #12thMan pic.twitter.com/UMdsUnzGAS
— Texas A&M Volleyball (@AggieVolleyball) October 28, 2017
"During the highs & lows of the game, we stayed together as a team & really fought hard." - Hollann Hans after the win#12thMan pic.twitter.com/brkwXkMyiI
— Texas A&M Volleyball (@AggieVolleyball) October 28, 2017
Hear from @AmyElizabeth_5 after the win over Tennessee. Nettles finished with 34 digs on the night. #12thMan pic.twitter.com/UV4efZf3YL
— Texas A&M Volleyball (@AggieVolleyball) October 28, 2017
Team Stats
UT
TAMU
Kills
57
60
Errors
36
33
Attempts
212
218
Hitting %
.099
.124
Points
74.0
75.0
Assists
51
55
Aces
0
2
Blocks
17.0
13.0
Game Leaders
Kills
16
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
15
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB/OPP
/ Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
OH
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