Texas A&M volleyball dominates Alabama to sweep weekend series

The Aggie volleyball team was back at Reed Arena on Saturday for their second match against Alabama. The Aggies won 3-1 yesterday, showing they haven’t stalled after missing last week’s matches with Kentucky due to COVID-19 issues.

Set One: Texas A&M, 27-25

The first set was about as tight as it gets.

Back and forth lead changes were consistent until Mallory Talbert broke the early tie with a kill to make it 6-5. London Austin-Roarke got the kill to make it a two-point game at 11-9. Alabama took their first lead since being up 1-0 at 14-13 with a kill from Abby Marjama.

The home team was able to tie it once again at 15-15 until a failed A&M block gave the Crimson Tide a 16-15 lead.

Alabama kept the lead until Aggies tied it at 19 with a kill from Morgan Christon.

The momentum shifts did not stop the whole set, but the Aggies took set one, 27-25, on a hit from Lauren Davis.

Set Two: Texas A&M, 25-17

The second set wasn’t nearly as close as the first.

After being down 2-1, the Aggies went on a four-point run to go up 5-2.

This was followed up by a five-point run, capped by an ace from Claire Jeter, 10-3.

The Aggies led 13-6 with all the momentum in set two in their possession. Later, a block from Austin-Roark would make it 15-9.

An attack error by Bama’s Alyiah Wells made it 18-10, resulting in a Crimson Tide timeout to stop the Aggie momentum.

The second set ended on another attack error from Wells, securing the second set for the Ags at 25-17.

Set Three: Texas A&M, 25-22

Set three also started dominantly for the Aggies, capping off an impressive win and series sweep over the Crimson Tide.

The Ags opened the set on a 3-0 run and took a 7-2 lead later, thanks to an athletic kill from Camille Conner.

The Aggies quickly got a large lead, but multiple kills and two consecutive aces brought the Crimson Tide back, giving them the lead at 11-10.

However, the Aggies regained the lead at 12-11 thanks to an ace from Sabrina Sustala, who has impressed not just offensively but arguably more so defensively.

“Yesterday was unique because it felt like a first match again, but I think today she was settled in and more comfortable.” said head coach Bird Kuhn on Sustala’s growth. “She has been solid. She communicates well, and I think everyone feeds off her.”

After more back and forth play for a while, the Aggies finally regained the lead at 18-17 thanks to an Austin-Roark kill, causing Bama to call another timeout. Austin-Roarke had a great day, coming up clutch in big moments, trailing only Christon (13) in kills on the day with nine.

After another hard-fought set, Christon secured the sweep with a final kill, taking the third set at 25-22.

“I’m proud of them,” Kuhn said. “The intangibles, the little things… I think we just cleaned it up all around. That takes effort as individuals to focus on the team that much. The vibe we had was way different today, and it was a good thing.”

Up next: Texas A&M volleyball returns next weekend as the Aggies travel to Athens to take on Georgia.