HOUSTON – Texas A&M closed out its spring competition schedule by going 2-0 today with 2-1 victories over both Baylor and Texas State at the annual F.A.S.T. Collegiate Invitational at the F.A.S.T. Complex in Houston.
The Aggies opened play at 8 a.m. against their former Big 12 Conference-foe Baylor and defeated the Bears, 26-24, 19-25, 15-6. There were 18 ties and eight lead changes in the closely contested opening set. The largest lead by either team was a 9-6 A&M advantage after Baylor committed an attack error. The Bears then outscored A&M, 5-1, to regain the lead, 11-10. A back row kill by outside hitter Hollann Hans and an ace by setter Camille Conner returned the lead to A&M, but the Bears countered with a 4-1 run to go up, 15-13. The Aggies answered with three consecutive points, including an ace by libero Amy Houser that put A&M ahead, 16-15. The Aggies were called for being in the net on the ensuing play, and Baylor followed with a kill to retake the lead once again, 17-16. A&M tied the score three times, with a kill by middle blocker Makena Patterson knotting the score, 19-19. Baylor's next attack sailed wide to put the Aggies on top, 20-19. The teams traded points until Hans caromed a kill off the Baylor block and opposite hitter Samantha Sanders and Patterson teamed for a block to put A&M at set point, 24-22. A Baylor kill and a block tied the score for the final time before the Bears hit into the net and then hit out to end the set.
There were 12 ties in the second set with the last one coming at 19-19. Baylor, however, would go on a 6-0 run to close out the frame and force a third set to 15 points.
A&M never trailed in the third set and used a 5-0 run, which included four Baylor miscues, to jump out to a 9-3 lead. The Aggies were ahead, 10-5, when Conner got a dump kill to begin a 4-0 A&M run—including two aces by Hans—that put the Aggies at match point. Baylor fought off one set point with a kill before Hans got a kill from the back row to clinch the victory.
With just a short break to allow Texas State to warm up, the Aggies returned to the court to take on the Bobcats. The opening set was tied at 3-3 before Patterson posted back-to-back kills to give the Aggies a lead they would not lose. A service ace by freshman defensive specialist Berkley Adams gave A&M its largest lead, 21-11, but the Bobcats would make a late surge. Texas State had gotten within 22-17 before Morgan Davis and Hans posted back-to-back kills to put A&M at set point, 24-17. The Bobcats answered with three consecutive points to pull within 24-20 before A&M freshman middle blocker Mallory Talbert got a kill down the block to close out the set.
The Bobcats used a 5-0 run to build a 14-11 lead in the second set. A&M managed to tie the score five times, the last occurring at 22-all. Texas State then got a kill and A&M followed with an error to put the Bobcats at set point. Hans kept A&M alive with a kill before Texas State closed out the frame with a kill down the line to force a third set.
Texas State held 3-2 edge in the third set before A&M used a 7-1 lead to take the lead for good. The Bobcats later got within 12-10 before outside hitter Maddie Douglas and Hans had back-to-back kills to put A&M at match point, 14-10. Two A&M hitting errors put the Bobcats within 14-12 before Hans put down the match-winning kill.
Although the F.A.S.T. tournament marked the end of the Aggies' spring competition schedule, Texas A&M will continue practicing through April 25. After taking a break for finals, the team will reconvene for two days of practice on May 9-10 before heading off on a 12-day foreign training tour to Europe on May 11.
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.
Postmatch Quotes:
Texas A&M Head Coach Laura "Bird" Kuhn
On today's performances…
"That was very fun. It was exciting to see the competitiveness at 8 a.m. and the execution. We have been really pushing ball control and defensive transition and just making it our identity. I feel like that's what they did today. They worked and they out-worked, and they played clean."
On the most growth seen from the start of the spring…
"The execution of just doing what we are asking. Even if it's not perfect like how we want it, like hitting line, as long as they are actually doing it and trying it and make an error, that's great. Swinging high, seeing them actually using the skills that we are training when they are competing, that is the biggest positive I see in this team right now. I think the execution gave them that confidence today. Doing the things we are asking and the execution of it paid off. It's like a psychology experiment. When it's winning, and it's successful for you, you are going to keep doing it and trust it. That was big."
On the confidence gained by closing out the spring by winning these two matches…
"I think the confidence is high right now because of everything, the transition of our system, our defense, all of those things, but to end any season you are in, spring or fall, whatever it is, on a positive note, executing the things you have been working on, that's a foundation that we are going to build on. Even in Europe. That's going to be a very unique and special experience that we will continue to train and do the things that we did here."
The Aggies opened play at 8 a.m. against their former Big 12 Conference-foe Baylor and defeated the Bears, 26-24, 19-25, 15-6. There were 18 ties and eight lead changes in the closely contested opening set. The largest lead by either team was a 9-6 A&M advantage after Baylor committed an attack error. The Bears then outscored A&M, 5-1, to regain the lead, 11-10. A back row kill by outside hitter Hollann Hans and an ace by setter Camille Conner returned the lead to A&M, but the Bears countered with a 4-1 run to go up, 15-13. The Aggies answered with three consecutive points, including an ace by libero Amy Houser that put A&M ahead, 16-15. The Aggies were called for being in the net on the ensuing play, and Baylor followed with a kill to retake the lead once again, 17-16. A&M tied the score three times, with a kill by middle blocker Makena Patterson knotting the score, 19-19. Baylor's next attack sailed wide to put the Aggies on top, 20-19. The teams traded points until Hans caromed a kill off the Baylor block and opposite hitter Samantha Sanders and Patterson teamed for a block to put A&M at set point, 24-22. A Baylor kill and a block tied the score for the final time before the Bears hit into the net and then hit out to end the set.
There were 12 ties in the second set with the last one coming at 19-19. Baylor, however, would go on a 6-0 run to close out the frame and force a third set to 15 points.
A&M never trailed in the third set and used a 5-0 run, which included four Baylor miscues, to jump out to a 9-3 lead. The Aggies were ahead, 10-5, when Conner got a dump kill to begin a 4-0 A&M run—including two aces by Hans—that put the Aggies at match point. Baylor fought off one set point with a kill before Hans got a kill from the back row to clinch the victory.
With just a short break to allow Texas State to warm up, the Aggies returned to the court to take on the Bobcats. The opening set was tied at 3-3 before Patterson posted back-to-back kills to give the Aggies a lead they would not lose. A service ace by freshman defensive specialist Berkley Adams gave A&M its largest lead, 21-11, but the Bobcats would make a late surge. Texas State had gotten within 22-17 before Morgan Davis and Hans posted back-to-back kills to put A&M at set point, 24-17. The Bobcats answered with three consecutive points to pull within 24-20 before A&M freshman middle blocker Mallory Talbert got a kill down the block to close out the set.
The Bobcats used a 5-0 run to build a 14-11 lead in the second set. A&M managed to tie the score five times, the last occurring at 22-all. Texas State then got a kill and A&M followed with an error to put the Bobcats at set point. Hans kept A&M alive with a kill before Texas State closed out the frame with a kill down the line to force a third set.
Texas State held 3-2 edge in the third set before A&M used a 7-1 lead to take the lead for good. The Bobcats later got within 12-10 before outside hitter Maddie Douglas and Hans had back-to-back kills to put A&M at match point, 14-10. Two A&M hitting errors put the Bobcats within 14-12 before Hans put down the match-winning kill.
Although the F.A.S.T. tournament marked the end of the Aggies' spring competition schedule, Texas A&M will continue practicing through April 25. After taking a break for finals, the team will reconvene for two days of practice on May 9-10 before heading off on a 12-day foreign training tour to Europe on May 11.
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.
Postmatch Quotes:
Texas A&M Head Coach Laura "Bird" Kuhn
On today's performances…
"That was very fun. It was exciting to see the competitiveness at 8 a.m. and the execution. We have been really pushing ball control and defensive transition and just making it our identity. I feel like that's what they did today. They worked and they out-worked, and they played clean."
On the most growth seen from the start of the spring…
"The execution of just doing what we are asking. Even if it's not perfect like how we want it, like hitting line, as long as they are actually doing it and trying it and make an error, that's great. Swinging high, seeing them actually using the skills that we are training when they are competing, that is the biggest positive I see in this team right now. I think the execution gave them that confidence today. Doing the things we are asking and the execution of it paid off. It's like a psychology experiment. When it's winning, and it's successful for you, you are going to keep doing it and trust it. That was big."
On the confidence gained by closing out the spring by winning these two matches…
"I think the confidence is high right now because of everything, the transition of our system, our defense, all of those things, but to end any season you are in, spring or fall, whatever it is, on a positive note, executing the things you have been working on, that's a foundation that we are going to build on. Even in Europe. That's going to be a very unique and special experience that we will continue to train and do the things that we did here."