I just had a long conversation with a friend from ISU who attended the match on Saturday. She made some good observations for us who couldn't see it in person. These are her observations:
The Aggies have alot of talent, but came out very flat. By the third game you could see some panic and playing not to lose instead of to win. ISU saw the TAMU weaknesses and used them to the fullest. ISU used the deep corners, we couldn't seem to be there in time. There seemed to be some miscommunication between the passers. ISU used a quick set that the blocks weren't quite there for. She was impressed with our setter, but saw how ISU was able to continually use their strong hitter during the times she had to block as well as run after passes to set. She was surprised we didn't run a 6-2 for awhile to keep up a block, and to try to stop the long runs they would get going, which frustrated our setter and the passers. She thought the second setter did really well when she came in cold, and everything she saw was fixable because the Aggies have the talent.
That's the report from Ames!
I hope these past two matches were just a bump in the road, and we'll get to see a hungry team on Wednesday!