Hans notches 24 kills as Aggies open SEC play with 3-1 win over Alabama
Returning home after a tough Friday loss at No. 3 Texas, Texas A&M volleyball (9-2) opened SEC play with a 3-1 victory against the Alabama Crimson Tide (8-4), keeping their undefeated home streak alive.
Set One: Texas A&M 25-20
The Aggies controlled the set from the start, going up 1-0 to take control early. Two consecutive free balls from the Alabama offense set up kills by the Aggies, up 15-10 going into the media timeout. With a comfortable 21-17 lead for the Aggies, Alabama called timeout but couldn’t catch Texas A&M. At set point, Hollann Hans came up with the kill to secure the 25-20 Aggie set win. Texas A&M edged the Crimson Tide with a .325 hitting percentage to their .212. Hans led the Aggies in kills with six, followed by Lauren Davis with four.
Set Two: Texas A&M 25-19
The Aggies took care of business in set two to extend the lead to 2-0. After Texas A&M jumped out to a 9-4 start, an Alabama timeout resulted in a 4-0 Crimson Tide run to keep themselves in the game. Mallory Talbert responded to a 13-12 Crimson Tide lead with two consecutive kills.
After Alabama lost a no-tip challenge call down 15-14, the Aggies cruised to the 25-19 win. At set point, Davis hit one of her five kills, closely behind Hans’ additional six. The Aggies put up a .471 hit percentage, holding the Crimson Tide to .233.
Set Three: Alabama 25-23
Alabama took set three, 25-23, in a back-and-forth battle with 12 ties and seven lead changes. The Crimson Tide took the early lead, up 9-5. The Aggies would fall behind in the set and fight back for the ties at 11 and 17. The Aggies found themselves down 20-18 after an Alabama ace, calling timeout and quickly tying it up at 20. Texas A&M took a 23-21 lead going into the final Crimson Tide timeout, however a 4-0 Alabama run won the set and kept their chances alive. Held to just a .114 hitting percentage, the Aggies once again were led in kills by Hans with another six. She and Makena Patterson each had an ace in the set.
Set Four: 25-19
The Aggies came out hot to start set four, taking an early 7-2 lead after a 6-0 run. Even though the Crimson Tide showed signs of fight, the Aggies were able to remain in control, cruising to an 18-12 lead. Two consecutive aces from Alabama brought them back in the game, but the Aggies held on to take the set 25-19 and match 3-1. A .350 hitting percentage gave the Aggies the edge, while Hans recorded another six.
Postgame Sounds:
“The SEC is strong. Our game plan wasn’t as strong as we wanted it to be, but offensively we figured it out. I was happy about the balance on the court. They execute at a high level when they’re zoned in and focused,” said coach Laura “Bird” Kuhn.
“In practice we’ve been focusing on establishing the middles and getting us to hit the ball more and that was a huge part of our game plan,” said sophomore middle blocker Mallory Talbert.
Hans, who finished with 24 kills on the night, reflected, “the promising thing from the loss [against Texas] was knowing that if we finished we could have won. We have to finish like we know we can. We’re confident and know we’re capable of doing great things.”
Next Up:
The Aggies continue conference play, taking on Tennessee on the road on Sunday at 2 P.M.