COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KRHD) — Texas A&M's volleyball team swept Cal Poly 3-0 (26-24, 25-15, 25-23) Saturday evening at Reed Arena in College Station to close out the Texas A&M Invitational.
The No. 8 Aggies improved to 3-2 on the season, making it back-to-back sweeps after also downing GCU and Arkansas State on Friday. Outside hitter Natalie Ring led the offensive charge with 15 kills, hitting .387 on the night. As a team, Texas A&M hit .333.
The opening set was a back-and-forth battle. Texas A&M and Cal Poly traded points and tied on six occasions before the Mustangs took a three-point lead at the first break, 15-12. Ring turned the tide, logging 8 kills in the frame, with her final one giving the Aggies set point at 24-22. The teams knotted at 24 before an Eliza Sharp kill paired with a Mustang error gave Texas A&M the opener, 26-24.
Texas A&M carried that momentum into the second set. Service runs from Gabi Rodriguez and Taryn Morris forced an early Cal Poly timeout at 7-2. The Aggies kept the pressure on, leading 20-15 before Kirra Musgrove capped a 5-0 run with an ace — one of her 3 on the night — to close out the set, 25-15. Musgrove was a force throughout, finishing the match with 34 assists to anchor the Aggie offense.
"She did really well, and our offense was flowing while she was in there, so I decided to stick with it for a little bit," head coach Jamie Morrison said. "She's, I don't know, grown leaps and bounds, and I've told her privately, I'll say it publicly. I'm just proud of the work that she's put in to get to where she's at right now."
Cal Poly came out strong in the third set, building a four-point lead at 10-6. Kaia Castle sparked an Aggie response from the middle, recording 3 kills and a block in a six-point span to tie the set at 11. Rodriguez anchored the back row throughout the match, finishing with 10 digs, while Morris led the team with 5 blocks. The Mustangs pushed ahead again, opening a three-point gap at 20. Texas A&M answered with an 8-3 run capped by Ring's 15th kill of the match to seal the sweep, 25-23.
Morrison said the team's ability to respond in tight moments has been a bright spot early in the season.
"You got to make sure you put yourself in those moments against good volleyball teams, and again, they're a good volleyball team," Morrison said. "My, I don't think I'm proud of is the fact that we responded in those moments when we were down or whether it was tight or they came back. We talk a lot about responses."
The Aggies started the season 0-2 before gaining momentum through the invitational. Morrison said the condensed schedule this weekend may have been a benefit despite the physical demands.
"Again, we had to cram two matches in yesterday, and there's a piece of me and the sports scientist in me doesn't necessarily want to throw that much load within a weekend before we go play," Morrison said. "But again, with the group that we have, that might be the best thing for us. Is to get that experience and again get better with every single match, and I think we're set up in a really good spot to go play with two really good teams in Purdue and Indiana."
Texas A&M will travel to Indiana to face Purdue in the Big Ten-SEC Volleyball Challenge.
