Photo by Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Texas A&M Volleyball
Aggie Volleyball starts strong, fizzles in 3-1 loss to Arkansas
It looked like it might be Saturday all over again for Texas A&M and Arkansas fans. For the second time this weekend, the Razorbacks looked like the better team, but it looked like the Aggies might be able to pull out a victory.
Unlike Saturday, Arkansas was able to weather the storm, leaving the state of Texas with a win.
The Aggie volleyball team opened conference play on Sunday with a 1-3 loss to a red-hot Arkansas Razorback squad brimming with confidence. After a solid start, Texas A&M (7-5, 0-1) fell apart in the second set and wasn't able to regain enough momentum to take control the rest of the way.
The Ags played well in the first set, out-hitting Arkansas en route to a 25-21 victory. Emily Hardesty led the team with 4 kills in the first set, and Texas A&M did a good job containing a powerful Arkansas attack.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Emily Hardesty reached double-digit kills, but only hit at a .088 clip against the Razorbacks.
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The tide turned quickly in the second set, however, as the Razorbacks put the Ags on their heels in short order. With the score tied at 10, Arkansas put together an 8-point run aided by multiple Aggie miscues.
The Hogs didn't look back, running away with the second set, 25-13. Texas A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli had a hard time explaining the furious momentum swing.
"When you get a run of points in volleyball, it can sometimes kind of snowball," she said. "We lost three or four in a row, and it just turned into eight. It hadn't happened in a while to us, so when it was happening, I think the frustration grew. We weren't able to shake it off. I don't know."
Things evened out over the next two sets, but the Razorbacks always seemed to be just a little bit better than the squad in maroon and white. The Aggies hit over .300 in each of the last two sets -- a solid percentage -- but allowed the Hogs to hit over .375 in the process.
Led by Pilar Victoria's 20 kills, the Arkansas attack was just too much for the Aggies who dropped hard-fought third and fourth sets, 27-25 and 25-22, respectively. Corbelli believes the team is having trouble finding a rhythm -- something that was evident on Sunday.
"I think the team is a little bit disconnected," she said, "because we're dealing with an injury bug and a lot of part-time players right now in terms of practice. It doesn't lend itself to giving us a lot of flow."
Texas A&M will need to recover and find that flow quickly. They'll travel to Auburn on Wednesday to take on the Tigers in a mid-week clash.
Unlike Saturday, Arkansas was able to weather the storm, leaving the state of Texas with a win.
The Aggie volleyball team opened conference play on Sunday with a 1-3 loss to a red-hot Arkansas Razorback squad brimming with confidence. After a solid start, Texas A&M (7-5, 0-1) fell apart in the second set and wasn't able to regain enough momentum to take control the rest of the way.
The Ags played well in the first set, out-hitting Arkansas en route to a 25-21 victory. Emily Hardesty led the team with 4 kills in the first set, and Texas A&M did a good job containing a powerful Arkansas attack.
Matt Sachs, TexAgs
Emily Hardesty reached double-digit kills, but only hit at a .088 clip against the Razorbacks.
{"Module":"photo","Alignment":"left","Size":"large","Caption":"Emily Hardesty reached double-digit kills, but only hit at a .088 clip against the Razorbacks.","MediaItemID":60372}
The Hogs didn't look back, running away with the second set, 25-13. Texas A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli had a hard time explaining the furious momentum swing.
"When you get a run of points in volleyball, it can sometimes kind of snowball," she said. "We lost three or four in a row, and it just turned into eight. It hadn't happened in a while to us, so when it was happening, I think the frustration grew. We weren't able to shake it off. I don't know."
Things evened out over the next two sets, but the Razorbacks always seemed to be just a little bit better than the squad in maroon and white. The Aggies hit over .300 in each of the last two sets -- a solid percentage -- but allowed the Hogs to hit over .375 in the process.
Led by Pilar Victoria's 20 kills, the Arkansas attack was just too much for the Aggies who dropped hard-fought third and fourth sets, 27-25 and 25-22, respectively. Corbelli believes the team is having trouble finding a rhythm -- something that was evident on Sunday.
"I think the team is a little bit disconnected," she said, "because we're dealing with an injury bug and a lot of part-time players right now in terms of practice. It doesn't lend itself to giving us a lot of flow."
Texas A&M will need to recover and find that flow quickly. They'll travel to Auburn on Wednesday to take on the Tigers in a mid-week clash.
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