Strong finish propels Aggie Volleyball to 3-1 victory over Auburn

Three Texas A&M hitters reached double-figures in kills as the Aggies won the last three sets Sunday to defeat Auburn 16-25, 25-22, 27-25, 25-19 at Reed Arena.

Samantha Sanders led the way with 13 kills, Kiara McGee recorded 12 and Hollann Hans chipped in a double-double with 10 kills and 14 digs as the Aggies (6-8, 3-4 SEC) outhit the Tigers by nearly 50 points for the match.

“We’ve got some awesome players,” head coach Laurie Corbelli said after the match. “When they all put it together and we run the system with the pace that we ran, with the passing — our setter made great choices and had some really nice deliveries right where we needed it — it helps us play Aggie volleyball.”

Auburn held the Aggies to a negative hitting percentage in the first set as A&M struggled to keep up with the Tigers’ fast pace of play.

The second set was a back-and-forth affair that featured 13 ties and seven lead changes. With the score tied at 21 late in the set, Hans came through with a kill and then an ace to give the Aggies a lead they would not relinquish. Sanders recorded four kills, and Amy Nettles chipped in six digs in the second frame.

In the third set, the Aggies found themselves trailing 23-19 and on the verge of falling behind in the match. Two kills by McGee and a kill apiece by Hans and Sanders, however, sparked a 4-1 A&M run that put them within one, and then the Aggies scored five of the next seven points to cap off the comeback victory.

"We’ve had trouble most of the season coming back in those games,” said Nettles, who notched a team-high 15 digs. “So I looked at the score and I was like, ‘Alright, let’s see what we’re made of. Let’s show people we can finish.’ We just slowly started one point at a time coming back. Each person knew they had a job to do and what their focus was exactly, and we took care of it.”

The Aggies carried that momentum into the fourth set as they exploded out of the gate with a 7-2 advantage and never looked back. Auburn made things interesting with a couple of runs, but the outcome was never really in doubt as the Aggies hit a whopping .433 in the set.

“The fact that everyone did their job the way that helps us get into Aggie volleyball was just so much fun to watch,” Corbelli said. “It’s coming — we’re not halfway done yet with what we’re going to put on the floor.”

A&M returns to the Reed Arena court on Friday, October 20 for a home match against Arkansas. First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and will be televised on SEC Network +.