A&M suffers second sweep of 2024 as Florida leaves Reed with 3-0 win
Not the best kind of homecoming.
An amped-up crowd at Reed Arena greeted Texas A&M on Friday night, where the Maroon & White played host to the No. 23 Florida Gators for the Aggies’ first home game in 19 days.
However, the result was not what A&M was looking for, as the Aggies were swept 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-20).
A&M has now lost two straight games for the first time this year.
“We need to play cleaner to beat a good team like Florida,” head coach Jamie Morrison said. “Disappointed, but we get a chance to respond on Sunday.”
The Aggies began this game with a bang as junior opposite Logan Lednicky notched a kill for the first point in the opening set.
A&M led 4-2 early, but the Gators did not lie down, as they answered by scoring eight of the next 11 points to take a 10-7 lead. That lead eventually blossomed into a 15-9 Florida edge, with Kennedy Martin registering kills for two of those points.
Florida remained in control in the first set, building upon their lead to make it 19-12. Despite A&M continuing to battle back, the Gators continued to apply pressure defensively.
With A&M trailing 22-15, the Ags ripped off four straight points, two via Gator attack errors. Now 22-19, a kill from redshirt senior outside hitter Isabel Martin made it 23-19, and another won the set for the Gators at 25-21.
It was a valiant comeback effort from A&M, but it wasn’t enough, as Florida was extremely active defensively in the set. The Gators had five blocks and held the Aggies to a .029 hitting percentage.
Not only this, but A&M had a negative hitting percentage for the majority of the period with the Maroon & White committing nine attack errors to Florida’s five.
Like the first set, the Aggies began the second with a kill, this time coming from junior outside hitter Emily Hellmuth. It was an even-keeled set that saw a plethora of ties, and it was 10-10 to begin as a result. Every time one team scored, the other responded, and this continued until Florida held a 15-14 lead at a media timeout.
Hellmuth landed another kill to make it 15-15, and the Aggies finally took a lead after a service error by the Gators made it 17-16.
With A&M up, they scored three more points to open their lead up to 20-16.
However, the Gators are ranked for a reason.
Trailing by four, Florida cut the deficit to one at 21-20. The Gators kept their momentum afloat, and two aces from Martin had Florida up 23-21 and looking to claim another set.
Florida did just that thanks to kills from Martin and freshman middle blocker Jaela Auguste, giving them the 25-22 win.
A&M had their backs against the wall in the third set, but the response ultimately never came.
The Aggies came hot out of the gates with a 3-1 lead, but that was quickly exterminated by Florida, as it was knotted at 5-5. It was a set that had a similar flow to the second, with a lot of back-and-forth action.
After the Aggies had a 10-8 lead, neither team had more than a one-point advantage until the Gators went up 21-19 late. Florida finished the game on a 4-1 run to win the game, as Martin put down yet another service ace to seal the win for the Gators.
The Aggies have struggled against ranked competition this year and are now 1-3 against such opponents. In the losses, they’ve claimed just one set of the 10 played against ranked foes.
“I think we’re there in terms of skill as a volleyball team,” Morrison said. “I think we need to prep better during the week and be able to push through the dog days of October.”
A&M won’t have much time to reset, either.
The Ags' next game is on Sunday, Oct. 20, against the Arkansas Razorbacks, who boast a record of 14-3 on the season.
The first serve is set for 2 p.m. CT.