LEXINGTON, Ky. – Texas A&M saw its eight-match win streak come to an end as the Aggies fell to No. 23 Kentucky, 25-18, 23-25, 25-21, 28-26, in a key Southeastern Conference matchup today at Memorial Coliseum.
Both teams were in need of the victory to effectively remain in contention for at least a share of the SEC championship. Texas A&M, which had not suffered a defeat since a loss to then-No. 9 Florida on Oct. 16, saw its hopes of a repeat title all but dashed as the Aggies fall to 13-3 in conference matches and 19-8 overall with two contests remaining. Kentucky, 22-6 overall with one match remaining, improved to 15-2 in conference play and later in the day took a half-game lead over both Missouri (14-2 SEC) and Florida (14-2 SEC) atop the league standings following the Tigers’ 3-2 upset over the Gators.
Kentucky, celebrating Senior Day while making its final home appearance of the regular season, got off to a fast start and never trailed in the opening set. Texas A&M struggled offensively and quickly fell behind, 11-4. The Aggies later twice got back within two points, the last coming at 17-15 as senior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers and junior setter Stephanie Aiple blocked a Kentucky attack. The Wildcats countered with three consecutive kills, including a momentum-building kill following a long back-and-forth rally.
After an A&M timeout, Aggie junior opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor got a solo block, and Kentucky hit long on the ensuing play to put the Aggies within 20-17. But A&M, which was held to a .030 hitting efficiency, was unable to overcome the deficit, with Kentucky going on a 5-1 run to close out the frame.
Texas A&M bounced back and got into rhythm in the second stanza, outhitting the Wildcats, .333 to .243, to even the match at a set apiece. The score was tied for the fourth time at 11-11 before the Aggies took a lead they would not lose following Reasor’s kill high off the hands of the Kentucky block. Babers then had back-to-back blocks, getting a solo block and then teaming with Aiple for another to put the Aggies up, 14-11.
A&M committed consecutive attacking errors to put the Wildcats with 14-13, but Babers kept the Aggies in the lead with one of her five kills in the set. Kentucky remained within a point at 18-17 when Aggie freshman outside hitter Hollann Hanstooled the Kentucky block for a kill. The rookie then stepped to the service line and ripped two aces to put A&M ahead, 21-17, forcing Kentucky to use a timeout. A service error then ended A&M’s run, but junior outside hitter Kiara McGee returned serve to the Aggies with a kill. Babers followed with another block to give A&M its largest lead, 23-18. Kentucky mounted a comeback, outscoring A&M, 5-1, to get within 24-23 before Babers put down a kill to end the set and even the match heading into the intermission.
Kentucky led the entire third set, twice building as much as a seven-point lead, the last coming at 18-11. Blake and Hans quickly pulled the Aggies back within 19-18, combining for five kills and an ace during a 7-1 surge. Kentucky coach Craig Skinner stalled play, arguing the attack error call that put A&M within a point but never issuing a challenge. The delay disrupted the Aggies’ momentum, and A&M served into the net when action resumed. The Wildcats, who outhit A&M, .500 to .483, followed with a block and a kill to go up, 22-18. Reasor got a kill and teamed with Babers for a block to put the Aggies within 22-20, but the Wildcats used a 3-1 run to end the set and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
A&M used a 7-0 run early in the fourth set to equal its largest lead of the match at 8-3. Momentum quickly shifted by to Kentucky as the Wildcats reeled off series of points while outscoring A&M, 18-7, to take a 21-15 lead. A&M fought back, with Babers, Blake and senior outside hitter Emily Hardesty spearheading a 5-0 rally that put the Aggies within 21-20.
Kentucky, which outhit A&M, .312 to .204 in the set, later went up 23-21 after winning a challenge, but a block by Reasor and Blake and a crafty one-handed set by Aiple to set up Blake for the kill knotted the score at 23-all. Reasor followed with a kill to put the Aggies back in the lead and at set point, 24-23, but Kentucky stayed alive and regained the lead with a kill and one of its five blocks in the frame. With the Wildcats at match point, 25-24, McGee connected for a kill and Blake got an ace as her serve went untouched and skimmed the sideline, putting A&M at set point for the second time. Kentucky freshman sensation Leah Edmond evened the score by tooling the A&M block for a kill. She also was credited for a kill and put the Wildcats at match point for the second time when she sent a free ball over the net and it fell between the A&M defenders. The Aggies had an errant pass on the next play, with the overpass setting up Edmond for the match-clinching kill.
Kentucky outhit A&M, .308 to .246 for the match, tallying 69 kills to the Aggies’ 57. Texas A&M led in blocks, 13-12, with Blake posting seven blocks, including five block assists to give her 134 block assists for the season, putting her into a tie for fifth place in the all-time A&M season records. Babers had three blocks to give her 545 for her career, putting her within eight blocks of breaking the all-time record of 552 held by Cindy Lothspeich (1994-97).
Babers led A&M in kills with 12 while hitting .417, and Blake finished with a team-high 16.5 points, posting 11 kills without an error for a .611 hitting efficiency. Hans and McGee also posted double-figure kills with 11 and 10, respectively, while Aiple finished with 48 assists.
Junior libero Amy Nettles led the Aggies with 20 digs, and sophomore defensive specialist Amy Houser pitched in a career-high 12 digs.
Edmonds, who had eight kills in the final set, finished with a match-high 25 kills. Kaz Brown added 12 kills along with seven blocks for Kentucky. Darian Mack and Brooke Morgan also had double-figure kills with 11 and 10, respectively, while setter Olivia Dailey dished out 60 assists, the most by an A&M opponent this season. Libero Ashley Dusek finished with a team-high 17 digs.
Texas A&M plays its final home match of the season on Wednesday as the Aggies play host to the LSU Tigers on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Reed Arena. It will be Fan Appreciation Day, and the first 300 fans will get a free hat. In addition, it is Senior Night, and A&M seniors Victoria Arenas, Jazzmin Babers, Emily Hardesty, Katelyn Labhart and Kaysie Shebeneck will be honored in a postmatch ceremony.
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Texas A&M postmatch quotes:
TEXAS A&M HEAD COACH LAURIE CORBELLI:
On the difference in the match today…
“The serving and passing game was much stronger on their side of the net. They served really well in their home gym. We did not pass very well to get ourselves in any kind of offense, so it ended up being one-on-six, one hitter versus six defenders. We couldn’t do our deception. We couldn’t do any play sets. We were just out of system the whole night. We still came really close to getting the win. I love our passers. I think they do a really great job; I think they just had a tough night. Our serving put Kentucky in system all night—they had amazing numbers—so we went against their best offense almost the whole night.”
On the bright spots…
“I liked our blocking. I think our blocking has improved so much. I love how the team understands how important it is and how to make the adjustments that we do make. [Kaitlyn] Blake really turned it on in Set 4 and really had us come back to that near win. I was really proud of [Emily] Hardesty coming in at a really tough time and taking over that role as an outside hitter, and she plays all the way around. I thought she did a really nice job, a real steady and reliable job.”
On basically being eliminated from an SEC championship, but still having much more to play for…
“Our goals now are on the NCAA tournament, going deep in the tournament. We have had a setback and it’s kind of a weird feeling because we haven’t lost since the middle of October, so we are taking it pretty hard. We have two more [matches remaining] to really shore up our resume of conference play. We are looking at the tournament as a place for us to really have a bright new start and fix the things that we really need to fix and go deep in the tournament and have a blast with that.”