The Texas A&M volleyball team (11-5, 3-3 SEC) will travel to Starkville to face Mississippi State on Friday.
After letting a five-set match against No. 14 Florida slip away, the Aggies look to bounce back as they take on the Bulldogs (11-7, 0-6 SEC).
As the Aggies have not dropped a game to Mississippi State in their 10-game history, they will look to push their series streak to 11 and get back on the winning track.
After A&M was edged out by Florida at home on Sunday, A&M coach Laura Kuhn said in order to finish and close out games like that, the team needs to keep focusing on its training as it has throughout the season so far.
“We have to finish,” Kuhn told 12thMan.com. “We always talk about going back to the baseline. Making them feel every point, baseline game plan. That’s the way we train.”
As the team moves on to face Mississippi State, Kuhn said she recognizes the shift of play when competing on the road against SEC teams.
“They’re a young team and they have people that are playing really well right now,” Kuhn told 12thMan.com. “So it’s going to be a new challenge.”
Senior outside hitter Hollann Hans led the A&M offense on Sunday as she tallied 26 kills and 10 digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Hans will guide the Aggies into Starkville as she leads the team in points while also ranking fourth in the SEC in kills (254) and second in service aces (24).
Following a performance that was just shy of a triple-double against Florida, junior setter Camille Conner will look to run the stat sheet once again after putting up 38 assists, 10 digs and nine kills last weekend. On Friday, Conner will try for a 13th consecutive match with 30 or more assists.
Mississippi State did not have a shot blocked in their last game against Tennessee, so A&M will try to have an effective front at the net behind junior middle blocker Makena Patterson, the current SEC leader in total blocks (75) and blocks per set (1.42).
Kuhn said that the team notes positive points from each game and takes it with them as they execute and move on to their next opponent.
“When they are just focused and they execute the game plan, they’re solid,” Kuhn told 12thman.com. “So, it’s just them being able to manage. Doesn’t matter what the score is, what set we’re in. Just do your job. And that’s all we talk about.”
Going into Friday’s match, Kuhn said there is nothing the team needs to change to have success on their upcoming back-to-back road games against Mississippi State and Ole Miss.
“I don’t mind being on the road,” Kuhn told 12thMan.com. “But I feel like it’s going to be a tough environment and it’s going to be another tough challenge, being on the road and in someone else’s house.”
The match will be held at the Newell-Grisson Building in Starkville, Mississippi. It will be broadcast on SECN+, with the first serve set for 6 p.m.