Texas A&M defeats North Carolina State with four-set win in first round of 2012 NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament
Nov. 29, 2012
AUSTIN, Texas - Senior middle blocker Lindsey Miller led Texas A&M in their 3-1 (25-21, 12-25, 23-25, 20-15) victory over North Carolina State in the opening round of the NCAA Women's Volleyball Tournament Thursday afternoon at Gregory Gym. Miller recorded 17 kills and a .469 hitting percentage (17-32-2), as well as three digs and seven total blocks.
Senior opposite hitter Alisia Katsmo registered 12 kills, two assists, six digs and three blocks for the Aggies, while junior setter Allie Sawatzky tallied six kills on 11 swings with no errors (.545), 40 assists, five digs and one block.
Texas A&M (25-5) freshman middle blocker Shelby Sullivan had nine kills on 12 attempts with no errors for a .750 hitting percentage. She recorded two assists and one ace.
North Carolina State (22-10) was led by sophomore middle blocker Alesha Wilson with a total of 16 kills on 29 attempts with three errors for a .448 hitting percentage.
The start of set one was characterized by balanced scoring. Tied at 15 apiece, NC State launched a 4-1 run stymied only by an Aggie timeout. Despite back-to-back kills from Miller to narrow the Wolfpack's lead to 21-19, NC State would ultimately close the set with three straight, including a kill on set point from sophomore outside hitter Nikki Glass.
The Aggies seemed to hit their stride in the second set. Down 3-1 early, Texas A&M launched two separate 6-1 runs, causing NC State to call their second timeout of the set trailing, 13-6. Soon after, the Aggies registered a streak of six unanswered for a 12-point cushion the Wolfpack could not overcome.
Tied at four early in the third set, the Aggies tallied four straight points, including three straight kills from Kastmo. The Wolfpack came back from a five-point deficit to tie the set at 22-22. Miller, who posted seven kills in the set, helped the Aggies secure the 2-1 lead in the match to finish it.
The fourth began as another evenly-matched set with 11 total tied scores before Texas A&M steadily built a lead. Coming out of an NC State time out, the Aggies committed a service error that allowed the Wolfpack to narrow their deficit to two, 20-18. A pair of kills from Katsmo, another kill from Miller, as well as a service ace from Stephanie Minnerly placed the Aggies in match point position. A service ace from Heather Reynolds concluded the match.
Texas A&M plays the Texas/Colgate winner tomorrow night in a 7 p.m. Central match that will be broadcast on Longhorn Network. |
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