The No. 13 Texas A&M volleyball team found itself on the losing end of a hard-fought match against the University of Texas Thursday night, bringing an end to its eight-game winning streak.
But despite the loss, one would be hard-pressed to find anyone on the team who is disappointed with how the season has been playing out.
“This team has a chance to do some big things,” said A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli. “Yet, we can’t get ahead of ourselves because we have a lot of tough matches down the road. We’re going to take them one at a time.”
The next game in line for the Aggies is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m. in G. Rollie White Coliseum against Iowa State University (8-18, 1-16 Big 12).
In Thursday’s game against Texas, the Aggies won the first game and had six chances to close out game two, but failed to grab hold of the advantage. Texas ended up winning game two 40-38, and then won game three as the Aggies came out, as Corbelli put it, “demoralized.” The Aggies never recovered from game two and lost the match 3-2.
Despite the tough loss, the Aggies are viewing it as a learning experience.
“We wanted it really bad,” said junior Laura Jones. “I think it’s a learning experience for us. We’re confident and know what we have to do when we step on the court for every match.”
A&M (16-6, 12-4 Big 12) is in the process of piecing together an impressive year. Expectations were not especially high as A&M had several key players from last year’s NCAA regional semifinalist team graduate. This year’s team has improved throughout the season, and Jones believes the success A&M has achieved in Big 12 play this year stems from a strong mental game.
“I think just focusing on our mental game and not letting lulls get to us has been important,” Jones said. “Coming back from behind after a side-out and just taking it one point at a time (has helped).”
The Cyclones will attempt to snap their 15-game conference losing streak. Head coach Linda Krum admits that the season hasn’t gone as they would have hoped, but says the Cyclones are going to come in ready to battle.
“We go in every match believing we can win,” Krum said. “Our team loves playing in this conference and, although there are a lot of tough environments, we like the challenge. A&M is a tough place to go, and their crowd really knows the game. We’re looking forward to it.”