BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – No. 7 Texas A&M volleyball fell in four sets to Mississippi State (21-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-23) on Wednesday night at Reed Arena. With the loss, the Aggies fall to 4-1 on the season as the Bulldogs climb to 1-4 in fall SEC play.
Texas A&M took the first set of the match 25-21, but fell behind early in the second and third sets to give Mississippi State a two-to-one lead. The fourth and final set proved more competitive, but the Bulldogs were able to pull away and finish the match with a 25-23 victory in set four.
Morgan Davis took a leading role on both sides of the net for the Aggies, recording her third career match in double figures with 13 kills hitting at a .435 clip. The Orlando, Florida, native also contributed five total blocks to command A&M’s defense at the net. Her sister, sophomore outside hitter Lauren Davis, also chipped in with 10 kills and four digs.
Camille Conner directed the Maroon & White’s offensive attack with 41 assists, 10 digs, a pair of service aces and a kill. The Katy, Texas, native completed her 30th career double and her third of the season. Junior defensive specialist Taylor Voss joined in with three service aces, setting a season high in the category. Sophomore opposite hitter Treyaunna Rush added nine kills and junior middle blocker Mallory Talbert logged seven.
The defensive effort was anchored by Karly Basham and Camryn Ennis, who recorded 13 and eight digs, respectively. At the net, A&M was led by the aforementioned Morgan Davis, as well as two blocks apiece from Conner and Morgan Christon.
The Aggies return to Reed Arena tomorrow evening Nov. 5, for the final home match of the abbreviated 2020 fall campaign, completing the back-to-back against Mississippi State. First serve from Aggieland is slated for 7 p.m. with live streaming available on SEC Network+ and the ESPN app.
Post-Match Quotes
Head Coach Laura “Bird” Kuhn
Opening Statement…
“Tonight we learned a challenging lesson. You have to respect your opponent no matter what. Mississippi State wanted it more and they outworked us. It comes down to playing the game. You have to play the match. We have to give props to them tonight. They were able to execute in ways that we did not.”
On the mindset against Mississippi State…
“You’re only as good as your last match. You have to constantly be playing in the moment and play every match as if you have a clean slate. It doesn’t matter who our opponent is. At the end of the day, it really comes down to having respect for your opponent and being ready and willing to show up every night.”
On the team’s energy tonight…
“I think it was lacking in the beginning. They were able to find their groove again towards the end, but when you’re in a battle like that your character is going to be tested, and we wavered. I think we were flat when we started and found our groove toward the middle, but it all came a little too late.”
Senior middle blocker Morgan Davis
On her role as a leader on the team…
“I can feel good about my performance, but in the end, it’s still a loss for our team. I think we can always get better as a team, and I can get better individually. Collectively, we are not satisfied with a loss. I have to give the team everything that I have to help us through the hard parts of the match.”
Senior setter Camille Conner
On how the team can improve tomorrow…
“I think we are going to need to be more efficient tomorrow to compete with Mississippi State. Personally, I can definitely be more consistent with the tempo on offense, so I am going to really focus in on that so we can get back into our rhythm as a team.”
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics