RECAP: Texas A&M Scrimmaged TCU in Preparation for Season Opener

Saturday, August 19

Fort Worth, Texas

2 p.m.

Texas A&M

0-0

TCU

0-0

Texas A&M

TCU

Aug 19, 2017 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

FORT WORTH – The Texas A&M volleyball team scrimmaged TCU today at the University Recreation Center, where the Horned Frogs won the first four sets, 25-15, 25-21, 25-19, 25-22, before the Aggies won the fifth and final set, 15-10.
"Obviously when you just look at the score, it's not what we were hoping for, but this is the time where we have been in the gym two weeks, we are really incorporating some brand new talent, and it's going to be choppy," A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli said. "That is the best way to describe today. There were moments of brilliance, and there were moments that did not resemble Aggie volleyball."

The Aggies started the first set with seniors Kiara McGee and Ashlie Reasor positioned at the left and right outside hitter positions; sophomores Hollann Hans on the left side and Maddie Douglas at middle blocker; and freshmen Camille Conner setting and Makena Patterson at middle blocker. In addition, senior Amy Nettles was the designated libero, and senior defensive specialist Gabby Litwin was a sub in the back row.

TCU led the entire first set, outhitting the Aggies, .387 to .139. McGee had six kills in the set while hitting .385 in the frame, but the Aggies committed three service errors and got outblocked, 4.5 to one.

Set 2 was tied at 14 before TCU put down four consecutive kills to go up, 18-14. The Aggies twice got within a point, the last coming at 20-19 following back-to-back kills by Patterson and Conner. TCU, which outhit A&M, .237 to .229 in the set, countered with a three-point run which included two kills and an ace to equal its largest lead at 23-19. The teams then traded kills for the remainder of the set.

The third set was tied 11-11 before the Frogs began to pull away. TCU, which outhit A&M, .147 to .000, later used a 9-1 run to build its largest lead at 23-14. Junior middle blocker Kaitlyn Bake got a kill to end the run and start a 4-0 surge that put the Aggies within 23-18, but A&M was unable to overcome the deficit before TCU closed out the set with a kill.

Although TCU won the first three sets, the teams had agreed to play five sets. The Aggies held a 15-13 edge in the fourth before TCU scored three points to take its first lead since 3-2. The Frogs went on to build their largest lead at 22-17, but the Aggies rallied and got within 22-21. A&M, which was outhit, .163 to .041, in the set, was unable to regain the lead for the remainder of the set.

TCU jumped out to a 7-4 lead in the final stanza, but back-to-back-kills by Hans and a TCU attack error knotted the score at 7-7. A&M returned the lead to TCU after committing one of its 15 service errors in the match, but freshman middle blocker Morgan Davis got a kill on the next play to begin a 5-0 run to give the Aggies a 12-8 lead. The rally ended with a service error, but TCU followed suit to return serve to A&M. Hans served an ace to put the Aggies at set point, 14-9. A service error put the Frogs within 14-10, but they hit long on the next play to end the set and the match.

McGee led the Aggies with 16 kills for the match, and Hans also reached double figures with 12. Five A&M players posted double-digit digs with Litwin and Nettles leading the way with 15 and 14, respectively. Hans added 13 digs to complete a double-double, and junior defensive specialist Amy Houser scooped up 10 digs. Connor also contributed 10 digs and dished out 35 assists to also finish with a double-double.

All four true freshman on the Aggies' roster appeared in the match, with Conner and Patterson seeing action in all five sets. Outside hitter Samantha Sanders and Davis each appeared in two sets.

TCU, which was led by Abigail Buckingham's 12 kills, outhit A&M, .191 to .116, for the match, posting 61 kills to the Aggies' 49. The Frogs also led in digs (78-73), blocks (10-6) and aces (5-4).

"Our blocking is a key area that we have to fix," Corbelli said when recapping the match. "Every year we do get better at it as the season goes on, so I am not concerned about it. It just is very clear we need a lot of work. I thought our passing could have been a lot better today. When it was good, our offense was clicking and things looked really good. I love that our serving is more aggressive than it's ever been. We are just missing a little bit long right now, but we kind of expected that to happen. I don't really have a whole lot of other concerns."

This is the first year the NCAA has allowed volleyball teams to play an exhibition match prior to the season opener, and Corbelli was glad to take advantage of the newly adopted legislation.

"It's just been a great thing that we get to (play a scrimmage) now," Corbelli added. "I am so glad that now we have already experienced the first game jitters, and we have the chance to go back and really study for the real match in six days. This is just going to make a huge difference for us, for everybody, and hopefully help our game get stronger. I don't know why we haven't been allowed to do this in the past, but it's really, really awesome. I am just glad today's match didn't count.

"The match felt so real. That's what we needed. The team sensed the excitement, it was real in a lot of ways. It just helps us see that we have got our work cut out for us. We know what we need to get better at and we will. It's all fixable. It's not necessarily more reps, it's more quality. It's the right drills, and that's on us coaches. We have got to find the right drills right now that we need immediately to get better. And that's what we are going to do. We are going to figure it out."

The Aggies open the regular season Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Reed Arena as they play host to Sam Houston State on the first day of the two-day Texas A&M Invitational. Other teams A&M will face during the tournament are Texas State on Saturday, August 26 at 1 p.m. followed by a match against Virginia Commonwealth at 6:30 p.m.

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.