Texas A&M surged late to force a fifth set but ultimately fell to No. 5 Penn State 3-2 in Saturday evening's match at Reed Arena.
Hollann Hans racked up a career-high 28 kills and Camille Conner registered a rare triple-double with 12 kills, 43 assists and 12 digs, but the Aggies could not overcome a 7-0 Nittany Lion run in the middle of the decisive fifth set as they suffered their first defeat of the season.
“I’m so grateful that Penn State came to this gym,” A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli said after the match. “We got a chance to go against a great team in our gym and see what it’s going to take from us to win. We’ve got what it takes and this showed us exactly the things we need to work on.
“I’m just so proud of these players and the composure they showed.”
The Aggies jumped out to an early lead and did not appear to be intimidated by Penn State’s ranking or talent. Kaitlyn Blake recorded kills on each of her first four attempts and the Aggies scored the final three points with Hans serving to win the first set 26-24.
“We just came in and treated it like any other team,” Conner said. “We stepped on the court and had a lot of composure. There was nerves, but no one showed it and everyone played with a lot of heart today.”
After Penn State controlled and won both the second and third sets and led 17-14 in the fourth, the Aggies refused to go down without a fight. Hans recorded back-to-back points with a kill and an ace to cut the deficit to one, and then A&M scored six of the final eight points to force a fifth set.
“That was a lot of fun. The fight that everyone had was great to see and we came together as a team and played well against one of the best teams in the country,” Hans said. “I wish we could’ve come out with a win but I’m still so proud of everyone.”
In the fifth set, the Aggies looked like they were on their way to victory when they went on a 5-0 run to grab an 8-5 lead, but the Nittany Lions regained the momentum after the teams switched sides of the court and held on for a 15-12 win.
“The future with the young players we have is so exciting,” Corbelli said. “The composure they showed and the competitiveness they showed was phenomenal.”
The Aggies will face more stiff competition tomorrow from Reed Arena as they host No. 1 Stanford at 11 a.m.
“It’s a great feeling with how young we are and how much potential we have,” Hans said. “We already are playing great but as the year goes on I know we’re going to get a lot better.”
