A&M's win streak ends at four as Tennessee sweeps Sunday finale, 3-0
Texas A&M Volleyball took on Tennessee for the final match of a two-day conference series Sunday at Reed Arena.
After a thrilling five-set win yesterday, the Aggies ultimately ended the series with a straight-set loss to the Lady Volunteers, 3-0.
Caroline Meuth registered 13 kills during the match, and Madison Bowser followed closely behind with nine. Two-time SEC Freshman of the Week Logan Lednicky struggled throughout the match, only registering seven kills through the three sets.
“Back-to-back SEC matches are going to be challenging,” A&M head coach Bird Kuhn said. “We know that going in. You have to be prepared. You have to be able to adapt and adjust.
“I think that Tennessee did a great job. They did what we thought they would do.”
In set one, the Aggies started strong, going point for point with the Lady Vols. Meuth registered seven of her 13 kills, and A&M’s middles were established well with three kills from Bowser. The set finished off with an ace from the Lady Vols, 26-24.
The second set was a struggle for both offense and defense on the Aggies' side. Lednicky struggled to find holes on the court, and libero Ava Underwood along with others were unable to pick up what the Lady Vols were sending over the net.
A&M ultimately dropped the stanza, 25-17.
At the end of the third set, Lauren Hogan and Brooke Frazier came in and held down the back row with a five-serve streak.
“It is always great when you have teammates on or off the court coming in to do their job, and it always helps the team with not just execution but also energy,” starting setter Elena Karakasi said.
The Aggies fought back but were not able to extend the match as Tennessee took the third, 26-24.
“We have to learn how to compete and be resilient,” Kuhn said. “Back-to-back days, back-to-back opponents, whatever the case may be, we need to be ready to compete the way we know how to compete and who we are every day.”
The Aggies are set to continue SEC conference play on Saturday, Oct 1, against Georgia in Athens. The first serve is set for 1 p.m. CT.