A&M volleyball rallied past the Gamecocks in a heart-pounding 3-2 match to get back on track following a road loss in Florida.
The Aggies (10-6, 2-2 SEC) took on the South Carolina Gamecocks (7-12, 0-6 SEC) in Columbia in a surprisingly close matchup. The Aggies were expected to win by a large margin and possibly even sweep USC, but the Gamecocks weren’t going down without a fight.
The Gamecocks came out hot to start off the match. At one point in the opening set the Aggies were trailing 17-8, but rallied to come within a point at 23-22, forcing a S.C. timeout. A&M’s Emily Hardesty’s kill late in the set put the Aggies up 27-26, but S.C. rallied for three points to take the opening frame.
Jazzmin Babers brought back life to the team during a 5-0 run in which the Aggies took a 15-12 lead in the second set. Babers finished the day going 10-for-11 on attack attempts. A&M finished off the second set by holding off S.C. with three straight points to capture the set and even the match score to 1-1.
South Carolina dominated to open the third set and led A&M to take a timeout with the score settled at 16-8. The Aggies began a rally to bring the score to a 20-15 deficit, but their efforts weren’t enough to top S.C. as the Gamecocks finished ahead 25-22.
Ashlie Reasor contributed three kills to a 6-0 rally in the fourth set to give the Aggies a 10-7 lead. Reasor’s contribution pushed her to a career-high 16 kills and a hitting percentage of .667. The Aggies pulled ahead to close the set 25-21 and force a fifth and final set.
The Aggies proved to be too much for South Carolina, with career-highs for both Reasor and SEC Player of the Week, Jazzmin Babers. Babers collected a total of 21 kills to push the Aggies to their victory. The match was clinched with a block by Shelby Sullivan and Kaitlyn Blake.
The Texas A&M Aggies will return to the court against Alabama at 6:30 p.m. in College Station on Friday. The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+.
