Gamecocks Lose at Texas A&M
Shields leads the way with 13 kills in the three-set decision
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – South Carolina volleyball dropped a three-set decision at Texas A&M (11-4, 3-2 SEC) Friday night, 25-15, 25-17, 33-31. The loss moves the Gamecocks to 10-7 overall and 2-3 in conference play. Mikayla Shields led the team with 13 kills, but A&M’s Hollann Hans’ match-high 18 kills and .486 hitting percentage would power the Aggies to the sweep.
SET ONE: The Aggies were aggressive on serve right from the start, forcing the Gamecock offense out of system for the majority of set one, building an early 14-6 lead on the way to a 25-15 win. South Carolina committed six unforced attacking errors and were out-hit .440 to .103, with Mikayla Shields’ three kills leading the way.
SET TWO: The Gamecocks were able to claim the lead early on in the second game, but Texas A&M roared back for a big finish to a 25-17 win that put the home side up 2-0 in the match. A kill from Jess Vastine made it a 13-11 advantage for Carolina, but the Aggies tied it up and then used a 10-2 run to break away from a 15-all tie. The Gamecock offense accounted for a match-low eight kills in the game, but the defense did provide a trio of blocks.
SET THREE: The two teams battled through a marathon third set, with Texas A&M coming out on top with a 33-31 decision to clinch the match. Both offenses were sharp in the third set, with the Gamecocks surpassing their kill total from the first two sets combined with 23. South Carolina pushed ahead early before the frenetic point-for-point ending, taking a 17-14 lead, but the Aggies scored the next four points to swing the score. The set became a duel between Shields and Hans; the two seniors combined for 16 kills in the third, 11 of which came after a 19-all tie.
The Aggies had two early match point opportunities at 24-22 and 24-23, but kills from Alicia Starr and Britt McLean denied them. A second straight kill from McLean set up a set point chance for Carolina at 25-24, but A&M was able to side out. The Gamecocks came up empty on two other set point opportunities, and at 31-31 it would be back-to-back kills from Hans that ended the match.
NEXT UP: The team’s western road swing wraps up on Sunday with a 2 p.m. ET first serve at Arkansas. The match will air on the SEC Network+.
