The Texas A&M volleyball team (8-15, 5-11 SEC) swept South Carolina (12-16, 5-11 SEC) 25-18, 25-19, and 25-18 in the final home match of the season.
Senior Kiara McGee had a double-double with 15 kills and 11 digs. Freshman setter Camille Conner led the Aggies in assists with 34.
The Aggies started the match with a lineup that included all four seniors even though it meant starting Ashlie Reasor in the back row, something she hasn’t done all season.
“It was amazing to be able to find a way to get them all on the floor to start and play most of the time,” head coach Corbelli said. “I was really impressed, Ashlie hasn’t been in the back row at all in her career, much less this year and she just killed it back there.”
In just her third start of SEC play, Reasor performed very well, finishing the match with five kills and 11 digs.
“It was surreal, it was awesome,” said Reasor. “It was really fun to end my career at Reed Arena like that, being able to serve and play defense. It was a day that I will never forget.”
The new-look rotation played well and found a rhythm that they used to grind out a very competitive first set.
The Aggies tied up the match at 12-12, and then the Aggie defense stepped up, forcing the Gamecocks to commit six attacking errors the duration of the set. The intense defense in tandem with the Aggies four service aces led the Aggies to a 25-18 first set win.
Senior Kiara McGee came alive in the second set, smashing five of her game-high 15 kills in the set, and providing an electric team morale boost that has been characteristic of her all season.
“It was my last game at Reed Arena so I wanted to go out there and give it my hardest and put myself in the best position possible to hit every ball,” senior Kiara McGee said. “I felt good out there.”
Errors continued to plague South Carolina, as they had eight in the second set alone, which gave the Aggies the boost that they needed to win the set 25-19.
The two teams battled it out in the third set, and the Aggies took a 16-15 lead. The Aggies then won nine out of the last 12 points, behind two kills from Reasor and McGee, clinching the sweep of the Gamecocks.
“With Kiara on fire, [Amy] Nettles on fire, and Gabby [Litwin] doing some awesome things, it was just a really satisfying finish to Reed Arena this season. I’m super proud of them all,” Corbelli said.
The Aggies will travel to Starkville to play Mississippi State on Wednesday at 3 p.m. The game will be televised on the SEC Network +.