Oct. 14, 2016
COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS – The South Carolina Gamecocks lost at Texas A&M Friday night, 3-0 (6-25, 15-25, 18-25). The Aggies (11-6, 5-1 SEC) hit .404 in the match while holding Carolina (13-5, 1-5 SEC) to a .088 clip.
1st Set: Rolling with a new offense to start the match, the Gamecocks had growing pains early on both sides of the net. The Aggies’ offense piled up the kills, hitting .652 for the game with 16 kills among their 25 points. Dessaa Legros led the offense with three kills, but the Aggies dug the ball well and held Carolina to a .000 team hitting percentage in the game and won 25-6.
2nd Set: South Carolina moved back to its traditional offense to start the second game, but still were unable to slow down the Texas A&M attack. Though the Aggies’ efficiency dropped to just .220 on their swings, they still held a 16-7 advantage in kills. Abreia Epps led the Gamecocks with three kills on three swings in the game, but the Aggies went into halftime with a 2-0 lead after a 25-15 win.
3rd Set: The Gamecocks held close out of the break, trailing 6-4, but Texas A&M used a 7-1 run immediately after to take control of the game. Epps and Legros continued to pace the attack with three more kills apiece for the pins, but Carolina could not find enough options on the attack to overcome the Aggies’ lead. The home side won the third set 25-18 to clinch the match.
Stat of the Match
Texas A&M’s passing was key in the match, as the Aggies finished with 51 digs in the sweep (17 per set), exactly half of South Carolina’s total attacks.
Notable
- Abreia Epps finished with six kills and a .364 hitting percentage after entering the match in the second set. It was her most efficient night hitting in the conference season.
- Dessaa Legros’ .353 hitting percentage was also her best of the conference season. She now has five matches this season with five or more kills and a hitting percentage above .350.
- The Aggies finished the match with a sideout percentage of 75 percent, compared to 39 percent for South Carolina.
- The Gamecocks started the match in a 5-1 (single setter) offense for the first time this season. Courtney Koehler ran the offense, while Aubrey Ezell moved to libero for the first time in her career.
Up Next
The Gamecocks will bus it out to Louisiana tomorrow to prepare for a Sunday match at LSU. First serve is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. ET and the match will air nationally on ESPNU. The Tigers lost their Friday night match to Florida, 3-0.
