Aggie volleyball drops first match with seventh-ranked Florida, 3-0
After losing their last three matches, Texas A&M volleyball returned to Reed Arena on Wednesday night, looking to get back in the win column in front of a familiar crowd. Unfortunately for the Aggies, Florida’s offense was too much to handle as the Gators swept the Aggies, 3-0, in the first of a two-match series.
Set One: Florida, 25-23
The first set began as a back-and-forth affair, but the Aggies maintained a consistent two to three-point lead throughout the set until a clutch kill from Ciera Hecht put the home team up 19-15. Florida responded by calling a timeout to get everything in order. Five straight points immediately followed for the Gators, taking their first lead of the set. A Hecht ace put the Aggies back up, 21-20, but four straight errors gave the lead back. The Ags did not recover, falling in a tight set on a foot fault from Mallory Talbert, 25-23.
Head coach Bird Kuhn knows the importance of keeping errors to a minimum.
“We always talk about playing clean. To earn points and end games, we have to play clean,” Kuhn said. “Volleyball is a game of momentum. We have to execute momentum plays. Our errors killed us tonight.”
Set Two: Florida, 25-19
Set two started close once more until two consecutive aces and an error would put Florida up 9-4. A few more kills and an attacking error by A&M’s Lauren Davis gave the Gators a comfortable 13-5 edge. Florida continued their onslaught, forging a 17-8 lead on an impressive deep kill by T’Ara Ceasar. The Aggies managed to claw back but ultimately had no answers for the Gators’ explosive offense, falling in the second set, 25-19.
Set Three: Florida, 25-20
A&M went down 5-0 early in the third, but the Ags continued to fight, quickly cutting the lead to 8-6 thanks to a kill from Morgan Davis. The set remained close as Lauren Davis logged her sixth kill of the day to pull A&M within three, 18-15. The Aggies got their closest in the set trailing at 21-20 on a Claire Jeter kill, but the Ags could not close, as four attacking errors gave Florida the sweep, 25-20.
Despite the loss, Camille Conner led the team with 24 assists. The Aggies played well, but mistakes took away any chance of winning the match.
“The good and bad of it is when we execute on our side, we’re in control,” Kuhn said of the Aggies’ mistakes tonight. “The first set showed that. We were in control, and it came down to us finishing. It’s very fixable.”
The Aggies return to Reed Arena tomorrow to take on the Gators again at 6 p.m.