Texas A&M volleyball extends win streak to five, defeats Tennessee, 3-0

The Texas A&M Volleyball team continued their recent success on Sunday afternoon against the Tennessee Volunteers, extending their win streak to five games. The Aggies have now won ten out of their last eleven matches and are heading into the final part of their SEC schedule.

Texas A&M started slow in the first set, falling behind the Volunteers early, but stormed back by winning seven of the last eight points to close out the set, 26-24.  

“Getting a feel for each other and getting a rhythm is important,” said head coach Laurie Corbelli, “but overall to be able to come out of set one and fight back is nice.

“I am really proud of the fact that we were down quite a bit and fought back again, and I think it is nice for the team to know they can do that.”

Texas A&M was in the driver’s seat for the rest of the match, winning the second set, 25-20. Hollann Hans set the tone by notching three aces to start the second set. Hans finished tied for the team lead in kills with nine and led the Aggies in service aces with three on the day.

Texas A&M did not look back following their comeback win in the first set, remaining in control and allowing neither a lead change nor tie in the second or third sets.

The Aggies completed the sweep of the Volunteers by handily winning the third set, 25-15.

During the match, Jazzmin Babers tallied her 457th block assist, breaking the A&M all-time record. Babers finished the match with four kills and seven block assists.

Stephanie Aiple recorded a double-double after logging 24 assists and 10 digs against Tennessee. Kiara McGee tied for a team-high nine kills on the match.

Aiple is confident in where the team is heading into the backstretch of SEC play.

“We try to take each day as it’s own and not focus too much on the future,” said Aiple. “I think our team is definitely confident right now.

“We having really tough practices, and we are just working hard to get better for our next opponent. We are excited to finish out the SEC.”

Texas A&M is now heading into its final six matches of SEC play and currently sits at 16-7 overall and 10-2 within the conference. The Aggies currently sit at fourth in the SEC. Corbelli is ready to continue their recent success into the latter part of the SEC slate.

“The key is going to be mentally staying engaged and keeping a narrow focus on what we have to do each day,” she said.

“Focus can be set on the future, and we cannot do that. This team is great at narrowing their focus and just taking care of what they need to take care of each day.”