Texas A&M
12-6, 4-3SEC
South Carolina
13-6, 3-4SEC
Aggies Earn 3-2 Road Win Over South Carolina
Oct 19, 2014 | Volleyball
The fifth set was knotted 13-all before Aggie freshman setter Stephanie Aiple connected with junior middle blocker Shelby Sullivan for back-to-back kills to close out the victory. Sullivan, who entered the match leading the SEC with a .430 hitting percentage, led all players with 16 kills in the match while hitting .480. The co-captain also paced the Aggies with six blocks, including a career-high tying three solo blocks.
Angela Lowak and Jazzmin Babers also posted double-digit kills for A&M with 13 and 11, respectively, as A&M led the Gamecocks in kills, 61-48, and also led in hitting percentage, .253 to .106.
Sophomore Emily Hardesty, who returned to the outside hitter position after being the libero in the last five matches, led the Aggies with 12 digs, and freshman defensive specialist Amy Nettles pitched in a career-high 11 digs.
A&M, which committed a season-high 17 service errors, improves to 12-6 overall and 4-3 in SEC play to move into a four-way tie for fifth place. South Carolina drops to 13-6, 3-4.
Both teams entered the match aiming to avoid their first three-match losing skid of the season. A&M took the early lead, never trailing in the opening set and pulling away for the 25-21 win. The Aggies, who hit .333 while holding South Carolina to a .185 efficiency in the set, used a 4-0 run to build a 12-7 cushion, but the Gamecocks chipped away at the lead to get within 16-15. A&M then went on an 8-3 run to be serving for the set, but the Aggies committed their fifth service error of the frame. A&M hit wide on the ensuing play, and South Carolina followed with a kill to get within 24-21 before Sullivan tipped the ball over for the set-ending kill.
A&M used a 4-0 run to take its first lead of the second set, 18-17. South Carolina tied the score courtesy of an A&M service error before a kill by Babers and back-to-back solo blocks by Sullivan gave the Maroon and White a 21-18 lead. South Carolina then reeled off five unanswered points, including one the result of a crucial blocking error by A&M that put the Gamecocks up, 23-21. Freshman opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor got a clutch out-of-system kill that put the Aggies within a point but then served into the net for A&M's ninth service error of the match, equaling the Aggies' season high for service errors, set in a five-set victory at Southern California on Sept. 11. Sullivan staved off one set point with a tip kill from the right-side pin before the Gamecocks evened the match with a set-clinching kill.
Set 3 was tied at 7-all before the Gamecocks quickly pulled away, outhitting A&M .345 to .129 in the frame. South Carolina, in search of its first ranked win since defeating No. 6 Florida in 2006 in Columbia, would record two kills and A&M committed two attack errors during a 4-0 surge that allowed the Gamecocks to take their largest lead, 19-11. A&M later used a 3-0 run to get within 23-19 but then got blocked and hit into the net to end the set and give South Carolina a 2-1 lead in the match.
The fourth set was all A&M as the Aggies outhit South Carolina .333 to -.233. The Aggies reeled off runs of points several times and did not allow the Gamecocks to score consecutive points until A&M had established an 18-6 lead. South Carolina scored multiple points for the first time on a kill, a block and its second dig-to-kill point of the match to get within 18-9. The Gamecocks' next attack sailed long, and Hardesty followed with a kill, but characteristic of the day, A&M committed a service error to end the run. Sullivan punished the Gamecocks for an overpass on the following play to start a 4-0 run, which included a Hardesty ace that put A&M at set point, 24-10. South Carolina then got back-to-back kills before Sullivan got a kill to end the set and force a fifth set.
There were nine ties and four lead changes in the final set. The Aggies jumped out to a 3-0 lead, which would be the largest lead by either team. The Gamecocks countered with a 4-0 run to take the lead, but the teams would then trade service errors before Sullivan posted a kill and then teamed with Lowak for a block to give the Aggies a 6-5 advantage. Babers got a kill on the next play, during which the Gamecocks' Jacqy Angermiller, who led all players with seven blocks, suffered an injury and limped off the court. Taylr McNeil took charge for South Carolina and posted three of her team-leading 13 kills to return the lead to the Gamecocks, 8-7. Lowak evened the score with a kill, but A&M once again had an untimely service error. South Carolina then took its largest lead, 10-8, on an ace. It would be the Gamecocks' last lead as Lowak followed with a kill and South Carolina had back-to-back attack errors as A&M went ahead, 11-10. The teams then sided out until Sullivan came through with the match-clinching back-to-back kills.
Overall, twelve of A&M's 14 players saw action in the match, including 11 who played in multiple sets. Sophomore defensive specialist Katelyn Labhart, who entered the match having seen action in only one set this season, played in four sets and had a career-high eight digs.
McNeil was the only Gamecock to post double figures in kills with 13. Libero Mikael Christiaansen led all players with 17 digs.
The Aggies return to Reed Arena on Friday, Oct. 24 to begin a two-match home stand against Georgia and No. 12 Kentucky. A&M hosts the Bulldogs on Friday at 6 p.m., and it will be the Aggies' annual “Dig Pink” match. The first 250 fans will receive a free limited edition Dig Pink T-shirt, and all fans who wear pink to the match will be admitted for only $3. In addition, there will be a silent auction with numerous items up for bid, including autographed memorabilia, tickets to the A&M men's basketball game against Kentucky and football tickets to the Missouri game.
A&M hosts No. 12 Kentucky on Sunday for an 11 a.m. start. The match will be televised on the SEC Network.
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 by following @AggieVolleyball.
Texas A&M post-match quotes:
Head coach Laurie Corbelli:
On switching Hardesty back to outside hitter and Arenas to libero…
“We decided to go back to the lineup we had earlier this season for this match. I think all teams are often looking for new ways of attacking teams, what might work against this particular system and what they have to offer, and we felt like this was a match that would be a good time to make that change. I thought for the most part they got back into the rhythm that that group had in August and September pretty quickly.
“I thought that we missed serves so much that it was such a choppy match. It was really hard to get into a rhythm with all of our missed serves. So that was probably the most disappointing part.”
On the feeling of getting the win...
“We are pretty relieved and happy that it ended up our way. It could have gone either way at 13-all [in the fifth set]. We all know that. I was really pleased with the effort in the last two points where it was a pretty tight situation. [Stephanie] Aiple had to set a ball that was really tight, and the only hitter she had was in transition, Sullivan, and they still made it work and scored a point. That was a really nice effort on their part. So I am just really happy for my team. They needed to have this feeling again - that they can do it. A lot of the issues we deal with are the inconsistency of playing, which turns into inconsistency of confidence. As coaches and as a team we see it with individuals. They are working through it, and that is just part of the journey. It is learning how to prepare yourself consistently every time, and performing consistently every time. And that's when you start to get your consistent confidence. That will be really nice when it comes around.”
Closing thoughts...
“I thought South Carolina did a really nice job. They played great defense. They really made us work for every point. They served us really tough. And that's another part of the game that I thought was much better today - our serve receive. Our passing was more consistent. Steph [Aiple] was able to do more offensively, and I really like when Aiple is an active attacker when she is front row as well. It is really hard to stop her.”
