After going through a three game losing streak, the Texas A&M volleyball team righted the ship this weekend with wins against LSU and South Carolina as the Aggies remain tied with Arkansas on top of the SEC West standings.
The weekend started on the right note as the Aggies facing off against LSU on the road. Behind the superb play of senior opposite Alisia Kastmo who finished the match with 16 kills as the Aggies took the match 3-1.
Alisia Kastmo was again one of the most unstoppable attackers in the SEC, head coach Laurie Corbelli said. She just has such a high reach and such a sharp angled attack that no one can seem to figure out how to defend her.
A&M managed to finish the first set with a .213 hitting efficiency while holding LSU to .089 with senior outside hitter Tori Mellinger giving the Aggies the 1-0 lead with a kill down the line.
LSU equalized the match 1-1 with a second set win before the Aggies once again swarmed the Tigers to a .024 efficiency in the third set, giving A&M the 2-1 advantage.
In the fourth set, the Aggies started on a 14-4 run and would not look back as the Aggies took the clinching game for the 3-1 win.
Senior libero Megan Pendergast finished the match with 21 digs and Mellinger adding 19 digs.
On Sunday afternoon, the Aggies overwhelmed the South Carolina Gamecocks 3-0 as senior middle blocker Lindsey Miller continued her strong season with a match high 13 kills, picking apart the Gamecock defense.
Overall I thought our serving was really, really tough and our passing was good enough to get us going in our offensive patterns, Corbelli said. We knew we were going to attack from our middles and rights a lot today, and I thought they did a beautiful job.
Kastmo had four aces in the match to go along with her nine kills. Senior middle blocker Stephanie Minnerly also had a strong performance behind nine kills and five blocks. Junior setter Allie Sawatzky finished the match with 34 assists, seven kills and four digs as she and Miller were responsible for the majority of the performance.
Their combination is really tough to stop. When Sawatzky jump sets, she can either attack or set Miller and two blockers at the least have to be with both of those two, Corbelli said. It is really a struggle for defenses to handle them. We have been working a lot on their connection and on the dynamic between the two of them at the net, and I think we are seeing the results of that work.
The Aggies return to Reed Arena with a Friday afternoon match against Alabama and and a Sunday afternoon match against SEC West co-leader Arkansas. This weekend will be a reunion for players from the past 20 seasons.
The match on Friday versus the Crimson Tide is set for 6:30 pm while the match against the Razorbacks is set for 1 pm.