The Aggie volleyball team has improved their flawless record to 9-0, the best start in school history, with wins over Stephen F. Austin and Northern Illinois at the SFA Ladyjack Invitational.
Senior Kelsey Black led the Aggies with 13 kills against SFA, followed by juniors Alisia Kastmo and Lindsey Miller with eleven and ten, respectively. Despite a back-and-forth start to the first set, A&M was able to take charge in the second half and put away the Ladyjacks 25-19.
Game two began in similar fashion, as the maroon and white increased their hitting percentage and utilized several runs to win 25-16.
After going down 0-2, SFA would not be silenced easily. Several spurts of play by both teams kept the game tight, however the Ladyjacks outhit the Aggies and scored five consecutive points to take the game.
Hitting just .024, SFA lost its momentum in the fourth set. A&M hit .273 and never allowed the Ladyjacks a chance at the game, winning the final set 25-19.
“Our team communication was stressed a little bit, and I think it carried over into our play somewhat,” said A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli. “That was our first experience with that kind of environment so far this season, so I’m glad we got that one behind us.”
In Saturday’s game against Northern Illinois, sophomore setter Allie Sawatzky was able to get everyone involved. Black swung for fifteen kills, while Kastmo had twelve and junior Tori Mellinger added ten.
“We just continue to use different hitters all the time,” Corbelli said. “We are trying to evenly distribute our sets as much as possible. It gets everyone into the game, and it makes us really hard to defend.”
The two teams were evenly matched going into the game, both receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Poll. UNI was slated just one spot higher than A&M at 37.
Northern Illinois proved to be a tough competitor right off the bat, as it kept the game tied at 15-15. As the Aggies often have done this season, they pulled away with a 7-0 run to finish off the first set.
The Huskies relied on two hitters against the Aggies, as Lauren Wicinski had a game-high 22 kills and Allison McGlaughlin hit thirteen kills of her own.
Although A&M generally holds their opponent to a relatively low hitting percentage, UNI posted a huge .452 in game two compared to the Aggies’ .033. The Huskies made sure to capitalize on errors and won the game in commanding form, 25-11.
Despite jumping out to a quick lead, the Huskies could not keep up with the potent Aggie offense. A&M pulled ahead 20-16 before going on another streak to win the game convincingly, 25-20.
Black, named the tournament MVP, went off in the fourth and final set to put down eight of her fifteen kills. The Aggies strung together several runs to take control, win the game and ultimately the tournament.
The Aggies have won all three tournaments they have competed in so far, and will travel to Ann Arbor next weekend for the Michigan/adidas Invitational.