Texas A&M swept by No. 8 Tennessee in penultimate home match
A disappointing final stretch of conference play continues for Texas A&M volleyball after being swept by No. 8 Tennessee on Senior Day at Reed Arena (25-22, 25-11, 25-18).
The Aggies, who have now lost seven of their last eight matches, honored seniors Lauren Hogan and Caroline Meuth ahead of their final home game on Wednesday vs. Ole Miss.
Despite the impressive seniors that were honored, A&M couldn’t pull out a win in front of a larger-than-usual home crowd of 3,273 — the 10th largest in program history.
“There are some matches this season I want back a little bit, this one being one of them,” head coach Jamie Morrison said. “I thought we played good for stretches, they are a very good volleyball team.”
In the first set, the Aggies took control through the opening minutes, which could perhaps be attributed to utilizing a different lineup than usual.
Alayna Pearson got the start at libero due to an apparent injury with Ava Underwood, who has held that title for the majority of the season. Molly Brown also started in the middle blocker position. Through the middle of the set, A&M seemingly lost their momentum and gave it away to the dominant force that was Tennessee.
The end of the set did see a last-ditch effort from the Aggies, who were down 22-16.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough as they eventually dropped the first frame, 25-22.
The second set saw a complete breakdown of the Aggie defense and total domination from the Lady Vols. A&M was down 15-5 through the midpoint of the set and was unable to put together an effective rally as Tennessee’s offense proved to be too much to handle.
The set ended quickly, with the Aggies losing, 25-11.
The final set of the match featured a switch that inserted Hogan and Ifenna Cos-Okpalla into the starting rotation. That move offered a breath of fresh air after the massacre that was the previous set.
The Aggies trailed closely behind the Lady Vols for the majority of the set thanks to a handful of impressive blocks and kills by Cos-Okpalla & Co. The A&M defense also crawled out of the ruins created in the previous set.
Despite a commendable effort, the Aggies once again failed to stop Tennessee and came just short of a comeback as they dropped the final set, 25-18.
“I think we are still in a good place to make the [NCAA] Tournament,” Morrison said. “We have an RPI that’s expected to be in the 32 area. We have to win the next two matches, but I think we are in a good spot to make the tournament our first year.”
Texas A&M plays its final home game of the season on Wednesday against Ole Miss. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. CT.