The No. 20 Texas A&M volleyball team was upset 3-1 at Reed Arena Wednesday night by an upstart Arkansas squad that now ranks third in the SEC.
Arkansas was the first to create separation in the first set, pulling away to an 8-12 advantage with a 5-0 run. But A&M (11-8, 5-1 SEC) scraped its way back into it, tying the Razorbacks at 15-15 with an ace from junior co-captain Shelby Sullivan. The Aggies captured the lead on the next point and rode it home to a 25-20 set victory.
The second set proved to be far less competitive than the first. Arkansas took the second round in lopsided fashion, 25-12, to pull even with the Aggies heading into intermission.
The break did nothing to curb the momentum of the Hogs, who took the third set and a 2-1 lead.
After leading for most of the fourth set, A&M was tied with Arkansas 19-19, needing a win in the set to extend the match. From there, the two teams swapped points, tying on six separate occasions down the stretch before Arkansas’ Breana Jones ended the set and the match with a kill, putting the Aggies away for good, 27-25.
The loss is A&M’s third in its last four games and its second against an unranked opponent.
“They ran a clinic on us,” head coach Laurie Corbelli said. “We put them in system with weak serving and they just ran their offense. It was one of our worst performances. I don’t understand my team right now. I don’t know how tonight happens, with us being at home. Someone has to make a change on our team.”
The Aggies take on South Carolina on Sunday in Columbia. First serve is at 12:30 p.m. and the match will be televised on the SEC Network.