Friday, March 5
Bryan-College Station
6:00 PM
Texas A&M
7-4,7-4SEC
3
vs
1
Alabama
6-11,6-11SEC
1
2
3
4
F
Alabama
28
24
29
17
1
Texas A&M
30
26
27
25
3
Photo by: Olivia Treadwell/Texas A&M Athletics
Hecht’s Record-Breaking Night Leads Volleyball to Win Over Alabama
Mar 05, 2021 | Volleyball
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M volleyball posted a 3-1 win over Alabama in its first home match of the spring season Friday night at Reed Arena. With the win, the Aggies improved to 7-4 on the season while the Crimson Tide fell to 6-11 this year.
Sophomore Ciera Hecht shattered her career-record and matched a program-record with eight service aces against the Crimson Tide, besting Hollan Hans' program record of five aces in a four-set match in the 25-point rally scoring era. Hecht tied Hans' single-match record of eight set in a five-set win at Georgia on Sept. 23, 2018. Hecht, from Prosper, Texas, had registered just a pair of aces in her 12 career matches, both in A&M's last match at South Carolina on Feb. 11.
Alabama maintained much of the momentum in the first set before Hecht's ace-spree and a well-timed timeout from the Aggies. Trailing 24-21 the Maroon & White called for a break and then proceeded to rally off nine of the next 13 points to take the opening stanza 30-28. In the opening frame the Aggies outhit Alabama .286 to .114 while only recording three attack errors.
The second set was a back-and-forth affair with 19 ties and seven lead changes before the Aggies wrestled control of the set with a kill from Lauren Davis followed by a service ace from Camille Conner to win 26-24.
With the sweep in their sights, the Aggies maintained a slight advantage throughout most of the third set before Alabama rallied from down 23-19 to win the third set 29-27. Over the final 10 points of the set, the teams combined for seven errors that allowed the Crimson Tide to eke out the set.
After dropping the third set, the Aggies came out on fire in the fourth and final set of the night, as they did not trail in the set after the first point. The Maroon & White hit at a match-best .407 clip in the final frame while holding Alabama to a -.062 mark.
The Aggies have won three straight and five of the last six matches against Alabama. Texas A&M maintains a 11-4 record in the all-time series against Alabama with a 7-1 record in Bryan-College Station.
Texas A&M and Alabama will conclude the miniseries on Saturday on SEC Network+ with first serve slated for 6:00 p.m. (CT).
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram by following @AggieVolleyball.
Post match Quotes
Laura "Bird" Kuhn, Texas A&M Head Coach
On the match…
"I think we were so pumped this whole week to be playing and then to be playing at home and it was Dig Pink there was tons of energy. We know there were training delays and match delays, but this team when they are back together and they are on is just a special feeling. In that fourth set I think they just had to lock back in. We played tight at the end of all of the sets and I was proud of how they were finishing and then we kind of took it for granted, but they refocused we made some subs. I'm proud of everybody, I mean we always say it is going to take all of us and we will use every one of them but they had great energy and they were consistent with that."
On Ciera Hecht's performance…
"I'm proud of Cici [Hecht] because she grinds and I think everyone that comes into a college program they are challenged. She is coming into her own again and I tell it to her every day and she looks like herself again. I think that is allowing her to play more free of mind and she has embraced that role. I am proud of her, I think she earned that moment and she deserves it but she is an even better team player. She knows it is all about the team and that is what makes this team special is they feed off each other."
Ciera Hecht, Texas A&M sophomore outside hitter
On the match…
"It felt amazing being back in here having the fans and having our families here. We have missed some games and that has been hard, but we have been training really hard and it was a great way to come back finally and be at home. In that fourth set, I think that we finally started to settle in a little bit because we have been on a little bit of a break. I think there were some jitters at the beginning, but we really started to get comfortable and get our confidence back and it felt like our old team. I was not aware that I tied the record until I was just told in the locker room for eight aces in a match. I was not even thinking about that honestly, but itis an amazing feeling and I have to thank my team for keeping me in there to be able to serve and I hope that I can keep that up."
Sophomore Ciera Hecht shattered her career-record and matched a program-record with eight service aces against the Crimson Tide, besting Hollan Hans' program record of five aces in a four-set match in the 25-point rally scoring era. Hecht tied Hans' single-match record of eight set in a five-set win at Georgia on Sept. 23, 2018. Hecht, from Prosper, Texas, had registered just a pair of aces in her 12 career matches, both in A&M's last match at South Carolina on Feb. 11.
Alabama maintained much of the momentum in the first set before Hecht's ace-spree and a well-timed timeout from the Aggies. Trailing 24-21 the Maroon & White called for a break and then proceeded to rally off nine of the next 13 points to take the opening stanza 30-28. In the opening frame the Aggies outhit Alabama .286 to .114 while only recording three attack errors.
The second set was a back-and-forth affair with 19 ties and seven lead changes before the Aggies wrestled control of the set with a kill from Lauren Davis followed by a service ace from Camille Conner to win 26-24.
With the sweep in their sights, the Aggies maintained a slight advantage throughout most of the third set before Alabama rallied from down 23-19 to win the third set 29-27. Over the final 10 points of the set, the teams combined for seven errors that allowed the Crimson Tide to eke out the set.
After dropping the third set, the Aggies came out on fire in the fourth and final set of the night, as they did not trail in the set after the first point. The Maroon & White hit at a match-best .407 clip in the final frame while holding Alabama to a -.062 mark.
The Aggies have won three straight and five of the last six matches against Alabama. Texas A&M maintains a 11-4 record in the all-time series against Alabama with a 7-1 record in Bryan-College Station.
Texas A&M and Alabama will conclude the miniseries on Saturday on SEC Network+ with first serve slated for 6:00 p.m. (CT).
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Fans can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram by following @AggieVolleyball.
Post match Quotes
Laura "Bird" Kuhn, Texas A&M Head Coach
On the match…
"I think we were so pumped this whole week to be playing and then to be playing at home and it was Dig Pink there was tons of energy. We know there were training delays and match delays, but this team when they are back together and they are on is just a special feeling. In that fourth set I think they just had to lock back in. We played tight at the end of all of the sets and I was proud of how they were finishing and then we kind of took it for granted, but they refocused we made some subs. I'm proud of everybody, I mean we always say it is going to take all of us and we will use every one of them but they had great energy and they were consistent with that."
On Ciera Hecht's performance…
"I'm proud of Cici [Hecht] because she grinds and I think everyone that comes into a college program they are challenged. She is coming into her own again and I tell it to her every day and she looks like herself again. I think that is allowing her to play more free of mind and she has embraced that role. I am proud of her, I think she earned that moment and she deserves it but she is an even better team player. She knows it is all about the team and that is what makes this team special is they feed off each other."
Ciera Hecht, Texas A&M sophomore outside hitter
On the match…
"It felt amazing being back in here having the fans and having our families here. We have missed some games and that has been hard, but we have been training really hard and it was a great way to come back finally and be at home. In that fourth set, I think that we finally started to settle in a little bit because we have been on a little bit of a break. I think there were some jitters at the beginning, but we really started to get comfortable and get our confidence back and it felt like our old team. I was not aware that I tied the record until I was just told in the locker room for eight aces in a match. I was not even thinking about that honestly, but itis an amazing feeling and I have to thank my team for keeping me in there to be able to serve and I hope that I can keep that up."
Team Stats
Bama
TA&M
Kills
44
51
Errors
30
19
Attempts
141
138
Hitting %
.099
.232
Points
69
74
Assists
38
49
Aces
12
11
Blocks
13
12
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
18
Aces
0
Blocks
1
Kills
9
Aces
1
Blocks
6
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
S
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