COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Five Texas A&M players had double-figure kills to lead the Aggies to a 21-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-21 victory over Ole Miss today at Reed Arena.
Texas A&M improves to 14-13 overall and 7-8 in the Southeastern Conference while snapping a two-match losing skid. Ole Miss suffers its fourth consecutive loss and drops to 13-16, including 3-12 in the SEC.
Junior outside hitter Hollann Hans broke the Texas A&M record for points in a season in the 25-point rally scoring error as she scored a match-high 26 points. The performance put her at 554.5 points for the season, breaking the previous of 539 points by Kelsey Black in 2010. Hans hit .356 while tallying 21 kills, and she also had four aces to give her 54 for the season, moving her within five aces of tying the all-time season record of 59 aces held by Chris Zogata since 1983.
Junior opposite hitter Sydnye Fields had the best match of her A&M career, hitting .474 while putting down 12 kills, and freshman middle blocker Mallory Talbert also had a career high as she connected on 10 kills.
Freshman middle blocker London Austin Roark also finished with double-figure kills with 10 while hitting at a .421 clip, and she also tied for match-high honors in blocks with six.
Sophomore setter Camille Conner directed the balanced offense that outhit Ole Miss, .345 to .306, and she kept the Rebels' defense guessing as she had 10 kills and 55 assists. Conner, the only player in the SEC to record a triple-double this season, had nine digs to come within one dig of completing her second triple-double of the season and the third of her career.
Aggie senior captain and libero Amy Houser led all players with 17 digs.
Ole Miss junior outside hitter Emily Stroup, the SEC leader in both kills and points per set, led the Rebels with 22 kills and 24.5 points, but she was the only Ole Miss player to reach double-figure kills.
As a team, A&M had 69 kills, the most kills in a four-set match this season. The Aggies' 67 assists and 84 points also were team highs for a four-set match this season, and their eight aces tied the season high in a four-set match.
The Rebels finished with 50 kills, 48 assists and one ace.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Laura "Bird" Kuhn
Opening Statement…
"We had a slow start, but I am proud of the finish. We pulled away at the sets we were winning and really went to our middles a lot. The balance of the offense was what we needed today. Camille [Conner] ran a great match and knew when to attack, when to run the middles and when to find our pins. There are little things we have to do better, but overall I am proud of the balance and the response."
On Sydnye Fields tonight…
"Brookah [Palmer] stepped up tonight but Sydnye Fields has been consistent. She kind of settled in about 2-3 weeks ago at practice, and just her being consistent in there has just given her some competitive confidence to get after it. She has been big for us over there and we need a solid presence on the right side to slow the pin attackers down in this conference. The bottom line is we just talk to them all the time about being consistent and owning their role when they are in there."
On getting win today…
"The outcomes are going to happen, but it is really the performance that we analyze. Obviously as coaches we talk about being consistent and taking care of the little things so even in those five-set matches when you look at them and break them down, it is really all on our side. So it is the performance overall. Even if we were winning in five [sets] and it wasn't pretty, yes, we would always rather take a win, but we have to learn. So with those losses they are learning, and I want them to feel in control and learn how to take over when they have the momentum. That is what was different tonight, and it should not be dependent on who your opponent is. That is a part of the growth that we need right now."
Junior Outside Hitter Hollann Hans
On the victory…
"It always feels good to win and especially in front of the 12th Man. They are so supportive, so getting that win for them is important. We focused on going point-by-point, so I think that really helped us stay focused. It was a team win, so that was great."
Freshman Middle Blocker Mallory Talbert
On her performance and the middles…
"We have been working on transition a lot in practice and it really translated into this game. Just being up quick and allowing Camille [Conner] to know we are there and feel us and either feed us the ball or pull the other middle. It meant a lot to us to work on our transition this game."
UP NEXT
Texas A&M has a midweek bye and returns to action Sunday, Nov. 18 as the Aggies take on Mississippi State in Starkville. First serve is at 1 p.m. at the Newell-Grissom Building, and the match will be streamed on SEC Network +.
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the team on Facebook and on Twitter and Instagram by following @AggieVolleyball.
Texas A&M improves to 14-13 overall and 7-8 in the Southeastern Conference while snapping a two-match losing skid. Ole Miss suffers its fourth consecutive loss and drops to 13-16, including 3-12 in the SEC.
Junior outside hitter Hollann Hans broke the Texas A&M record for points in a season in the 25-point rally scoring error as she scored a match-high 26 points. The performance put her at 554.5 points for the season, breaking the previous of 539 points by Kelsey Black in 2010. Hans hit .356 while tallying 21 kills, and she also had four aces to give her 54 for the season, moving her within five aces of tying the all-time season record of 59 aces held by Chris Zogata since 1983.
Junior opposite hitter Sydnye Fields had the best match of her A&M career, hitting .474 while putting down 12 kills, and freshman middle blocker Mallory Talbert also had a career high as she connected on 10 kills.
Freshman middle blocker London Austin Roark also finished with double-figure kills with 10 while hitting at a .421 clip, and she also tied for match-high honors in blocks with six.
Sophomore setter Camille Conner directed the balanced offense that outhit Ole Miss, .345 to .306, and she kept the Rebels' defense guessing as she had 10 kills and 55 assists. Conner, the only player in the SEC to record a triple-double this season, had nine digs to come within one dig of completing her second triple-double of the season and the third of her career.
Aggie senior captain and libero Amy Houser led all players with 17 digs.
Ole Miss junior outside hitter Emily Stroup, the SEC leader in both kills and points per set, led the Rebels with 22 kills and 24.5 points, but she was the only Ole Miss player to reach double-figure kills.
As a team, A&M had 69 kills, the most kills in a four-set match this season. The Aggies' 67 assists and 84 points also were team highs for a four-set match this season, and their eight aces tied the season high in a four-set match.
The Rebels finished with 50 kills, 48 assists and one ace.
TEXAS A&M QUOTES
Head Coach Laura "Bird" Kuhn
Opening Statement…
"We had a slow start, but I am proud of the finish. We pulled away at the sets we were winning and really went to our middles a lot. The balance of the offense was what we needed today. Camille [Conner] ran a great match and knew when to attack, when to run the middles and when to find our pins. There are little things we have to do better, but overall I am proud of the balance and the response."
On Sydnye Fields tonight…
"Brookah [Palmer] stepped up tonight but Sydnye Fields has been consistent. She kind of settled in about 2-3 weeks ago at practice, and just her being consistent in there has just given her some competitive confidence to get after it. She has been big for us over there and we need a solid presence on the right side to slow the pin attackers down in this conference. The bottom line is we just talk to them all the time about being consistent and owning their role when they are in there."
On getting win today…
"The outcomes are going to happen, but it is really the performance that we analyze. Obviously as coaches we talk about being consistent and taking care of the little things so even in those five-set matches when you look at them and break them down, it is really all on our side. So it is the performance overall. Even if we were winning in five [sets] and it wasn't pretty, yes, we would always rather take a win, but we have to learn. So with those losses they are learning, and I want them to feel in control and learn how to take over when they have the momentum. That is what was different tonight, and it should not be dependent on who your opponent is. That is a part of the growth that we need right now."
Junior Outside Hitter Hollann Hans
On the victory…
"It always feels good to win and especially in front of the 12th Man. They are so supportive, so getting that win for them is important. We focused on going point-by-point, so I think that really helped us stay focused. It was a team win, so that was great."
Freshman Middle Blocker Mallory Talbert
On her performance and the middles…
"We have been working on transition a lot in practice and it really translated into this game. Just being up quick and allowing Camille [Conner] to know we are there and feel us and either feed us the ball or pull the other middle. It meant a lot to us to work on our transition this game."
UP NEXT
Texas A&M has a midweek bye and returns to action Sunday, Nov. 18 as the Aggies take on Mississippi State in Starkville. First serve is at 1 p.m. at the Newell-Grissom Building, and the match will be streamed on SEC Network +.
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the team on Facebook and on Twitter and Instagram by following @AggieVolleyball.