IOWA CITY, Iowa – No. 25 Texas A&M suffered its second loss at the Comfort Suites Challenge, falling to tournament-champion Iowa, 25-23, 20-25, 25-22, 25-22, tonight at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. A&M, which went 1-2 at the tournament, falls to 5-3 overall. The host Hawkeyes finish the tournament 3-0 to improve to 6-2 on the year. There were nine lead changes and 13 ties in the opening frame with neither team building more than a three-point margin. The Hawkeyes used a 3-0 run to build their largest lead at 17-15 in the back-and-fourth affair. After exchanging points, Jazzmin Babers put down a kill to begin a three-point run for the Aggies, with Angela Lowakposting one of her seven kills in the frame to give A&M a 19-18 lead. Iowa countered with back-to-back kills to regain the lead, 20-19, but A&MK’s Kiara McGee had a kill to tie the score once again. Iowa was unable to connect on a set attempt on the ensuing play, putting A&M ahead, 21-20. The lead was short lived as Iowa got a kill and A&M followed with consecutive attack miscues to put the Hawkeyes up, 23-21. A&M quickly tied the score for the final time at 21-21 with freshman opposite hitter Kaitlyn Blake posting a kill followed by an Iowa center line violation. The Hawkeyes, who outhit A&M .406 to .333, then posted a kill and an ace to close out the frame. The Aggies used an 8-0 run to build their first lead of the second set at 18-14. The Hawkeyes could get no closer than two points and trailed 20-18 when A&M went on a 4-0 spurt, with Blake getting an out-of-system kill to put the Aggies at set point. Iowa, which was outhit .344 to .176, fought off two set points before Blake tipped in a kill to close out the frame and tie the match at a set apiece. In the third set, the Hawkeyes used a 5-0 run to take an 8-5 lead. A&M got within 9-8 but was unable to overcome the deficit as Iowa then used a 7-1 rally to pull away. The Hawkeyes, who outhit A&M, .438 to .278 in the set, kept their seven-point lead and were serving for the set at 24-17. The Aggies fought off five set points, including back-to-back kills by Babers, who had seven kills in the stanza. Tournament most valuable player Jess Janota then put down a kill to thwart the Aggie comeback. Iowa never trailed in the fourth set, hitting .234 while holding A&M to a match-low .079. The Aggies overcame a 15-9 deficit, tying the set for the first time at 21-21 on a kill by Blake. The Hawkeyes countered with back-to-back kills, but Blake kept A&M within 23-22 with her 10th kill of the match. Iowa, however, would follow with a kill and a block to clinch the victory. Babers tied for match-high honors with 17 kills and was named to the all-tournament team after hitting .393 and averaging 4.0 kills, 1.17 blocks, 4.62 points per set in the three matches. Lowak also reached double figures in kills with 13 against the Hawkeyes. Libero Amy Nettles posted a match-high 17-digs for A&M, and setter Stephanie Aiplerecorded a double-double with 50 assists and 10 digs. Lauren Brobst led the Hawkeyes with 17 kills, and Janota added 14. A&M returns home Tuesday to play host to No. 14 Colorado State. First serve is at 6:30 p.m. at Reed Arena. It will be Fish Camp Night, and anyone wearing a Fish Camp shirt will be eligible to win free prizes, including a $200 gift card. Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook and on Twitter and Instagram by following @AggieVolleyball.
Story courtesy of Texas A&M Athletics