Sunday, September 24
College Station
12 p.m.
Texas A&M
3-6, 0-2SEC
1
vs
3
Missouri
8-7, 1-1SEC
1
2
3
4
F
Missouri
21
25
25
25
3
Texas A&M
25
22
12
22
1
Photo by: Sam Craft/Texas A&M Athletics
Texas A&M Falls to Missouri in SEC Home Opener
Sep 24, 2017 | Volleyball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M dropped its Southeastern Conference home opener, falling to Missouri, 21-25, 25-22, 25-12, 25-22, today at Reed Arena.
Missouri ends a five-match losing skid against the Aggies to improve to 8-7 overall and even its conference record at 1-1. A&M, which had 11 players see action in the match, moves to 3-6 overall and 0-2 in SEC play.
Aggie sophomore outside hitter Hollann Hans took match-high honors in kills with 20 as she reached the 20-kill mark for the third time in her career and the second time this season. Sophomore middle blocker Maddie Douglas, making the first start of her career, had a career-high six kills and also led A&M with a career-high five blocks. Senior libero Amy Nettles led all players with 15 digs to give her 1,228 digs for her career, putting her within five digs of breaking into the top 10 in the A&M career records. Freshman setter Camille Conner also reached double-figure digs with 13 and completed the second double-double of her career as she also dished out 25 assists.
Missouri had three players reach double-figure kills, including Melanie Crow and Leketor Member-Menah, who tied for the team lead with 11 kills apiece. Alyssa Munlyn had a match-high 10 blocks.
Hans was the catalyst during a 7-1 run in the opening set that put the Aggies up 9-4. Hans, who had six kills in the frame, later had a kill and an ace that gave A&M its largest lead, 12-6. The Tigers got within 19-16 before a service error, a block by Douglas and Conner and a kill by Hans restored the Aggies' six-point lead, 22-16. Back-to-back A&M miscues and a Missouri kill put the Tigers within 22-19, but the teams then traded points for the remainder of the set with A&M freshman middle blocker Makenna Patterson putting down an errant Missouri overpass for the set-winning kill.
There were nine ties and five lead changes in the second set. A&M equaled its largest lead of the stanza at 13-9 on a back row kill by Hans, but Missouri answered with a 5-1 rally to tie the score. A&M took a timeout and then scored three consecutive points to go up 17-14 and later held onto a 20-18 lead before the Tigers got three successive kills to take their first lead since 2-1.
Missouri's next attack sailed long and Conner followed with an ace to regain the lead for the Aggies, 22-21, but Missouri, which outhit A&M, .195 to .069 in the set, closed out the frame on a 4-0 run.
A&M held an early 6-5 lead in the third set before the Tigers caught fire, outscoring the Aggies, 14-2. A&M was unable to overcome the deficit, having been held to a negative hitting percentage (-.069) or the first time this season after committing 10 errors while managing only nine kills in the set. Missouri, meanwhile, hit .370 in the set.
A&M held an 18-12 lead in the fourth set, but Missouri, which outhit A&M, .257 to .105, gained the momentum, outscoring the Aggies, 7-1, to tie the score for the first time since 3-3. The teams exchanged points, with Douglas putting down a Missouri overpass for a kill that put A&M up, 21-20. The Tigers got a kill to tie the score for the fifth time and then reclaimed the lead with back-to-back kills. A Missouri service error put A&M within 23-22, but A&M was whistled for a blocking error on the ensuing play, putting the Tigers at match point, 24-22. Darianna Hollingsworth then closed out the match with her fifth ace.
Missouri outhit A&M, .259 to .096, for the match as the Aggies committed a season high 28 attack errors. The Tigers also tallied eight aces and 13.5 blocks, both season highs by an A&M opponent this year.
The Aggies on are the road for their next two matches, starting with a match at Georgia on Friday, Sept. 29. First serve against the Bulldogs is at 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET) at the Ramsey Center in Athens. The Aggies then play at No. 3 Florida on Oct. 3 before returning home to host Mississippi State on Oct. 8.
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
Opening Statement...
"We are really young. We have so many new players trying to find their way and get a rhythm. We've had a tough preseason, which I believe now we are still trying to find out who we are. But we have people out with injuries so we can't work on getting rhythm without those key players. The adversity has been coming at us left and right over the last two weeks, and I just think we are really trying to find who we are on the court and what we're doing. It just leaves you with a team with a lot of questions in their heads. It's unacceptable volleyball, however I see some of the things that have happened and I know it's been tough. We just haven't gotten our rhythm or our identity."
On what happened after the first game...
"I don't understand why we can't get a team offense going. We haven't in the last couple of matches. Our passing is really struggling. Our passing allows for one attack, so we end up playing one on six and that's Hollann (Hans) on six most of the time. That's really not Aggie volleyball at all. It doesn't allow an offense and makes things difficult on our setter when they only have one hitter to set it to. It has to change and you can bet we will change."
On Maddie Douglas getting the start...
"I love her energy, her fight and what she brings. I've been looking for ways to get Maddie on the court. She has earned her way on the court over the last week or two especially. We toyed with her on the right side a little when our middles were going really strong. We wanted Maddie on the floor some, and we looked at her on the right and she didn't seem completely there because she is a middle. She has what it takes to be a great middle. For her to bring 11 points for us today, that is just phenomenal. I'm really proud of her but I'm not surprised. She is just really, really good. I'm glad we had her break through today."
SOPHOMORE OUTSIDE HITTER HOLLANN HANS
On the confidence level of the team…
"We still have a lot to work on and as Laurie (Corbelli) said we are very young. People like me need to step up more and be more of a leader. Just lead this team and bring some confidence."
On Missouri defending her specifically…
"I think that just goes with being out of system a lot and there is only one place to go. I definitely could have done a better job at making less errors and getting (the ball) in. But we will keep working."
SOPHOMORE MIDDLE BLOCKER MADDIE DOUGLAS
On what role she brings as a new starter…
"The No. 1 thing that I try to bring is energy, and confident energy. I think that is something that is super important. When we have our backs against the wall, it's important that we don't back down or be passive and that we attack. So I just try to bring that competitive kind of energy to the floor."
On how she felt about her play…
"Energy-wise I think that I brought everything that I had. Technically, I could have put some more balls down. And that is just me and my connection with the setter. But I did what I could do because of my team behind me. I am just working on being the best I can be for them."
Missouri ends a five-match losing skid against the Aggies to improve to 8-7 overall and even its conference record at 1-1. A&M, which had 11 players see action in the match, moves to 3-6 overall and 0-2 in SEC play.
Aggie sophomore outside hitter Hollann Hans took match-high honors in kills with 20 as she reached the 20-kill mark for the third time in her career and the second time this season. Sophomore middle blocker Maddie Douglas, making the first start of her career, had a career-high six kills and also led A&M with a career-high five blocks. Senior libero Amy Nettles led all players with 15 digs to give her 1,228 digs for her career, putting her within five digs of breaking into the top 10 in the A&M career records. Freshman setter Camille Conner also reached double-figure digs with 13 and completed the second double-double of her career as she also dished out 25 assists.
Missouri had three players reach double-figure kills, including Melanie Crow and Leketor Member-Menah, who tied for the team lead with 11 kills apiece. Alyssa Munlyn had a match-high 10 blocks.
Hans was the catalyst during a 7-1 run in the opening set that put the Aggies up 9-4. Hans, who had six kills in the frame, later had a kill and an ace that gave A&M its largest lead, 12-6. The Tigers got within 19-16 before a service error, a block by Douglas and Conner and a kill by Hans restored the Aggies' six-point lead, 22-16. Back-to-back A&M miscues and a Missouri kill put the Tigers within 22-19, but the teams then traded points for the remainder of the set with A&M freshman middle blocker Makenna Patterson putting down an errant Missouri overpass for the set-winning kill.
There were nine ties and five lead changes in the second set. A&M equaled its largest lead of the stanza at 13-9 on a back row kill by Hans, but Missouri answered with a 5-1 rally to tie the score. A&M took a timeout and then scored three consecutive points to go up 17-14 and later held onto a 20-18 lead before the Tigers got three successive kills to take their first lead since 2-1.
Missouri's next attack sailed long and Conner followed with an ace to regain the lead for the Aggies, 22-21, but Missouri, which outhit A&M, .195 to .069 in the set, closed out the frame on a 4-0 run.
A&M held an early 6-5 lead in the third set before the Tigers caught fire, outscoring the Aggies, 14-2. A&M was unable to overcome the deficit, having been held to a negative hitting percentage (-.069) or the first time this season after committing 10 errors while managing only nine kills in the set. Missouri, meanwhile, hit .370 in the set.
A&M held an 18-12 lead in the fourth set, but Missouri, which outhit A&M, .257 to .105, gained the momentum, outscoring the Aggies, 7-1, to tie the score for the first time since 3-3. The teams exchanged points, with Douglas putting down a Missouri overpass for a kill that put A&M up, 21-20. The Tigers got a kill to tie the score for the fifth time and then reclaimed the lead with back-to-back kills. A Missouri service error put A&M within 23-22, but A&M was whistled for a blocking error on the ensuing play, putting the Tigers at match point, 24-22. Darianna Hollingsworth then closed out the match with her fifth ace.
Missouri outhit A&M, .259 to .096, for the match as the Aggies committed a season high 28 attack errors. The Tigers also tallied eight aces and 13.5 blocks, both season highs by an A&M opponent this year.
The Aggies on are the road for their next two matches, starting with a match at Georgia on Friday, Sept. 29. First serve against the Bulldogs is at 6 p.m. CT (7 p.m. ET) at the Ramsey Center in Athens. The Aggies then play at No. 3 Florida on Oct. 3 before returning home to host Mississippi State on Oct. 8.
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
Opening Statement...
"We are really young. We have so many new players trying to find their way and get a rhythm. We've had a tough preseason, which I believe now we are still trying to find out who we are. But we have people out with injuries so we can't work on getting rhythm without those key players. The adversity has been coming at us left and right over the last two weeks, and I just think we are really trying to find who we are on the court and what we're doing. It just leaves you with a team with a lot of questions in their heads. It's unacceptable volleyball, however I see some of the things that have happened and I know it's been tough. We just haven't gotten our rhythm or our identity."
On what happened after the first game...
"I don't understand why we can't get a team offense going. We haven't in the last couple of matches. Our passing is really struggling. Our passing allows for one attack, so we end up playing one on six and that's Hollann (Hans) on six most of the time. That's really not Aggie volleyball at all. It doesn't allow an offense and makes things difficult on our setter when they only have one hitter to set it to. It has to change and you can bet we will change."
On Maddie Douglas getting the start...
"I love her energy, her fight and what she brings. I've been looking for ways to get Maddie on the court. She has earned her way on the court over the last week or two especially. We toyed with her on the right side a little when our middles were going really strong. We wanted Maddie on the floor some, and we looked at her on the right and she didn't seem completely there because she is a middle. She has what it takes to be a great middle. For her to bring 11 points for us today, that is just phenomenal. I'm really proud of her but I'm not surprised. She is just really, really good. I'm glad we had her break through today."
SOPHOMORE OUTSIDE HITTER HOLLANN HANS
On the confidence level of the team…
"We still have a lot to work on and as Laurie (Corbelli) said we are very young. People like me need to step up more and be more of a leader. Just lead this team and bring some confidence."
On Missouri defending her specifically…
"I think that just goes with being out of system a lot and there is only one place to go. I definitely could have done a better job at making less errors and getting (the ball) in. But we will keep working."
SOPHOMORE MIDDLE BLOCKER MADDIE DOUGLAS
On what role she brings as a new starter…
"The No. 1 thing that I try to bring is energy, and confident energy. I think that is something that is super important. When we have our backs against the wall, it's important that we don't back down or be passive and that we attack. So I just try to bring that competitive kind of energy to the floor."
On how she felt about her play…
"Energy-wise I think that I brought everything that I had. Technically, I could have put some more balls down. And that is just me and my connection with the setter. But I did what I could do because of my team behind me. I am just working on being the best I can be for them."
Team Stats
MIZ
TAMU
Kills
53
41
Errors
17
28
Attempts
139
136
Hitting %
.259
.096
Points
74.5
53.0
Assists
46
33
Aces
8
6
Blocks
13.5
6.0
Game Leaders
Kills
20
Aces
1
Blocks
0
Kills
6
Aces
2
Blocks
5
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
0
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
2
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