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University of Northern Iowa
4-4,0-0MVC
Texas A&M
7-0,0-0SEC
UNI volleyball falls to Texas A&M in straight sets
9/8/2023 7:35:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Panthers struggle to overcome attack errors in loss to Aggies. Close out Texas A&M Invitational on Saturday against Utah State.
COLLEGE STATION, Tex. --- UNI volleyball challenged Texas A&M late in both the second and third sets, but would come away empty handed as the Panthers fell to the Aggies on day two of the Texas A&M Invitational early Friday night at Reed Arena.
The Panthers were held to a .160 hitting percentage in the loss and committed 21 attacking errors against the Aggies, and struggled to out-maneuver Texas A&M's defense at the net, being outblocked in the match 9-2.
ÂHOW IT HAPPENED
The Panthers struggled to find consistency on offense, hitting just .077 percent as a team in the opening set with nine total errors. Despite a slow start, UNI was able to claw away as the Aggies' six-point lead down the final stretch and pulled within two points at 21-19 thanks to key terminations by Kaylissa Arndorfer, Olivia Tjernagel and Emily Holterhaus. Having difficulty in breaking through Texas A&M's stellar blocking defense, the Panthers dropped the first frame by a score of 25-19.
UNI and Texas A&M duked it out in a back-and-forth second stanza with seven early ties before the Aggies rattled off a 6-0 run to put the Panthers in a 17-10 hole. With Kira Fallert, Layanna Green and Arndorfer pacing the way, UNI gradually closed the gap, pulling the Panthers within two points at 19-17 and tying at 21-21. Despite 16 team kills and an improved .184 attacking percentage in the set, the Aggies limited errors on the attack paid off as Texas A&M took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-23 set win.
In the third frame, UNI continued to improve on its attack against a powerhouse Aggie offense with 13 kills on a .194 hitting percentage. Back-to-back terminations by Tayler Alden pulled the Panthers within one point at 10-9 as UNI continued to put pressure on its opponents. Holterhaus briefly gave the Panthers the lead at 18-17 before Texas A&M regained control in another see-saw style battle. Tied at 22-22, UNI would be unable to slow down the closing energy of the Aggies as Texas A&M took the final set, 25-23 to complete the three-set sweep.
Holterhaus finished the match with a team high 12 kills and a season-high two service aces in the loss, while Alden tied her season-best with eight terminations and a match-high 26 assists. Arndorfer matched her season-high in kills for the third time this year with six as Tjernagel led the Panthers with two blocks
ÂADDITIONAL NOTES
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Texas A&M leads the all-time series 2-0 after Friday's match. The Aggies' other victory against UNI came back in 2009, also at the Texas A&M Invitational.
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The Panthers drop to 21-14-3 against opponents from the Southeastern Conference all-time. UNI is 1-1 against SEC challengers this season, having defeated LSU at the Bluejay Invitational in Omaha last week.
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Olivia Tjernagel recorded her 400th career kill in Friday's loss, finishing with two terminations on nine attempts.
UP NEXT
The Panthers will close out play at the Texas A&M Invitational on Saturday morning against Utah State. First serve is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT with live coverage available on the Panther Sports Radio Network.
