Oct. 28, 2012
COLUMBIA, S.C. — A crowd of 817 fans came to Sunday’s contest at the Volleyball Competition Facility and saw Texas A&M (17-5, 9-4 SEC) take a three-set win from South Carolina (15-10, 3-10 SEC) by set scores of 25-19, 25-16, 25-23.
Lindsey Miller led the Aggies with 13 kills and a .550 hitting percentage. Tori Mellinger had 12 digs, while Stephanie Minnerly topped all players with five blocks and added nine kills. Alisia Kastmo also had nine kills and posted three of Texas A&M’s seven aces.
South Carolina junior outside hitter Juliette Thévenin tallied 10 kills to lead the team, while junior libero Paige Wheeler added 12 digs. Freshmen Darian Dozier and Christina Vereb both posted three block assists each.
The Gamecocks gave the Aggies a run in the third set, but Texas A&M prevailed 25-23. An 8-1 Aggie run took control away from South Carolina, handing the visitors a 18-13 lead. But the Gamecocks clawed back and retook the lead at 20-19 with a 7-1 skein that included a kill and a solo block by redshirt sophomore Cara Howley. A pair of two-point stands helped the Aggies close out the match, however, with Miller providing the final kill. Thévenin had six kills in the final stanza, but Miller posted seven without an error to lead Texas A&M.
Texas A&M took the first set 25-19, getting a five-point run early to provide distance and a four-point string late to nearly close it out. The final stand came on Allie Sawatzky’s serve and included three Aggie blocks, all at least helped by Minnerly. The first run came on Kastmo’s serve and was capped by an ace. Kastmo had five kills and Miller four in the frame for Texas A&M, while Vereb had six of the Gamecocks’ 14 kills with just one error.
The Aggies took the second set 25-16 behind Minnerly’s four kills. Sawatzky added three, neither posting an error, as the Aggies only allowed consecutive Gamecock points on four occasions. Dozier provided the best play for the Garnet and Black in the second, posting three kills without an error and adding a block assist.
Texas A&M won every stat category, but the digs category was close, 40-39, in favor of the Aggies. South Carolina finished with two less attacking errors than Texas A&M, the first time the Gamecocks had less hitting errors than a foe in a loss this season.
South Carolina travels to Missouri for the first time in history on Friday and closes out the road swing at Kentucky on Sunday.
