Aggies Battle Hoosiers, Fall in Four Friday Afternoon

Friday, September 16

Bowling Green, Ky.

1:00 PM

Texas A&M

Indiana

COLLEGE STATION, TX - September 09, 2022 - Middle blocker Madison Bowser #15 of the Texas A&M Aggies and Outside hitter Caroline Meuth #16 of the Texas A&M Aggies during the game between the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns and the Texas A&M Aggies at Reed Arena in College Station, TX. Photo By Evan Pilat/Texas A&M Athletics

Photo by: Evan Pilat/Texas A&M Athletics

Sep 16, 2022 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Shelby Hild, Athletics Communications

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Texas A&M volleyball team's five-match win streak came to a halt Friday afternoon, falling in four sets (25-19, 22-25, 19-25, 23-25) to the Indiana Hoosiers (6-4) in its opening match of the WKU Invitational inside Diddle Arena.

The Aggies (6-3) recorded 11 service aces as a team, led by Logan Lednicky, Ava Underwood and Caroline Meuth, who all finished with three apiece. The 11 aces were the most by the Aggies in a non-conference match since turning in the same amount against UTRGV on Sept. 13, 2019.

Lednicky recorded her first career double-double, finishing with 12 kills and a team-leading 13 digs, while Meuth tallied a team-high 19 kills on .317 hitting. Elena Karakasi dished out 33 assists and finished with a pair of aces and three blocks, while Madison Bowser registered a team-best four stuffs.

The Aggies opened the match on a 5-1 run behind a handful of Hoosier errors. A pair of aces from Lednicky and Underwood gave A&M a seven-point cushion approaching the midway point of the set. Lednicky's team-high four kills and pair of aces forced Indiana to call a timeout, trailing 19-13. The Hoosiers responded with a 3-0 run, but a kill and a block by Meuth silenced the surge. Back-to-back aces from Underwood carried the Aggies to a 23-16 advantage, before Meuth secured the frame, 25-19, with her team-leading fifth kill.

The second set was a back-and-forth battle to start, before the Hoosier charged ahead, 9-5, despite a trio of kills from Meuth. Indiana continued to separate itself, before A&M pieced together a 4-1 run behind another kill and ace from Meuth. The Maroon & White used a three-point run to come within two with Indiana sitting at set point, but the Hoosiers held on for the 25-22 win.

The Hoosiers continued to run in the third, before A&M's eighth ace of the match, this time from Karakasi, leveled the score at five-all. The Aggies took their first lead of the set behind a block by Bowser and Karakasi, sitting in front, 10-9. Indiana fought back and jumped ahead, 16-11, before a block and kill from Bowser brought A&M within four, trailing 21-17. A kill from Mia Johnson kept the Aggies within reach, but the Hoosiers sealed the frame, 25-19.

In the deciding set, the Aggies led early behind their ninth team ace and second from Karakasi, before Indiana battled back to knot the score at eight-all. The Hoosiers climbed ahead, but Meuth's second ace brought A&M within two before her third tied it. A kill from Johnson helped the Maroon & White regain the lead, sitting at a 16-15 advantage. Three-straight errors by Indiana leveled the score for the third time, before Johnson's fourth kill kept A&M in front by one. The Hoosiers fought back closing in on the set to take it 25-23.

UP NEXT
Texas A&M returns to the court tonight to face the nationally-ranked Hilltoppers at approximately 7 p.m.

BIRD BITS
Head coach Laura "Bird" Kuhn
Overall thoughts on the match…
"We need to do a better job at staying locked in at the beginning and keeping our focus throughout the match. Indiana is a good team, and we've got another tough opponent tonight in Western Kentucky. We always talk about the response, so we need to reset and get ready for tonight's match."

FOLLOW THE AGGIES
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