Texas A&M’s volleyball team used a close 33-31 third set to complete a sweep of the South Carolina Gamecocks at Reed Arena on Friday.
The win also broke the losing streak against South Carolina in a two-game matchup from last year’s 2018 season.
“A 3-0 win in the SEC, that’s huge for us,” A&M coach Laura “Bird” Kuhn said. “Right now where we’re at, in the middle of October, that’s finishing and we need to do that. Obviously pretty tight set there, but we’ll take that.”
In the first set, the Aggies maintained a strong momentum, finishing with a 25-15 win. Sophomore Mallory Talbert and senior Camila Gomez led the Aggies with Talbert earning four kills and Gomez with five digs.
South Carolina picked up the pace in the second set, but still fell short to the Aggies, 25-17.
Freshman Camille Conner ended the second set with a total of 10 assists and two digs, leading the Aggies into the third set.
“I’ve been working on my defense in practice and it’s valuable for a setter to be strong in that,” Conner said, “It was exciting to get those up after working in practice and to see the results.”
Senior Hollann Hans pushed the momentum forward in the final set, earning a total of eight kills and ending with 18 kills overall, recording a .486 kill percentage against the Gamecocks. Defensively, Hans earned six digs in the third set and finished strong with a total of eight digs overall.
The Gamecocks fought to the finish, pushing A&M back and forth for the final point. With two kills by Hans, the Aggies ended up on top with a 33-31 win.
“Finishing has really been our main focus,” Hans said. “We did let up just a little bit but the way that we composed ourselves at the end and finishing strong was really awesome,
With the win, the Aggies recorded their 11th victory and are now 3-2 in SEC play.
A&M will remain at home for its next matchup against the Florida Gators at 12 p.m. on Sunday.