The first SEC loss of the season came in the third game of conference play for the maroon and white. The Aggie volleyball team could not get it done against Tennessee on Sunday, Sept. 25, after a five-set victory over the Volunteers on Saturday. The Aggies sit at 10-4 overall, and 2-1 within the SEC with victories over Ole Miss and Tennessee. Although the Lady Vols came out on top on Sunday, A&M looks to have a promising season ahead.
In a match that could have gone either way with sets one and three going down to the wire, the ball just did not bounce the Aggies’ way.
Graduate outside hitter Caroline Meuth led the way for A&M on Sunday, notching her 10th match with double-digit kills with 14 total kills. Fellow graduate, setter Elena Karakasi ended with 35 assists in the match. The Aggies had only 12 errors on 99 attempts, but hit at a 27.3% clip.
Blows from both sides led to a 24-23 A&M lead in set No.1. However, The Lady Vols responded with three straight points to close out the first set at 26-24. Tennessee just eked out the first set, but got rolling afterwards.
The second set was all Vols, as they claimed Set No. 2, 25-17. Tennessee jumped out to a 16-8 lead and never let go of it.
Down 2-0 and down in Set No. 3 early, A&M could have rolled over at the end. Despite these circumstances, the Aggies went on a 5-0 run and tied the set at 24. Alas, there was no fairy tale ending in Aggieland, as the Lady Vols finished 26-24 to complete the sweep.
A sweep is a tough pill to swallow and it was not a great day on the court, but there was more competition and better play than the score indicated. “We battled, but our execution wasn’t there today,” head coach Laura “Bird” Kuhn said.
Looking ahead, the maroon and white will begin their series with Georgia on Saturday, Oct. 1, where they look to get back in the win column. The Aggies will travel to Athens, Georgia ready to right the ship and make a statement. The Bulldogs sit at 9-3 on the season with a loss in their only conference game against Mississippi State.
The road trip to Georgia will be a test, as the Aggies will be without home-court advantage and the energized 12th Man. “It’s always great to be at home playing with the 12th Man against any opponent. We feed off that,” Kuhn said.