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No. 5 Volleyball takes down Texas A&M in NCAA First Round
11.30.2023 | Volleyball
The Longhorns rebounded after dropping the first set to beat the Aggies in the first round.
AUSTIN, Texas – No. 5 Texas Volleyball battled to a 3-1 win over Texas A&M, 21-25, 25-13, 25-20, 25-20, in the NCAA First Round on Thursday at Gregory Gymnasium.
The Longhorns (23-4) advance to the NCAA Second Round to face SMU on Friday at 7 p.m. at Gregory Gym.
Asjia O'Neal had an outstanding match, recording her first double-double of the season with 14 kills and 10 total blocks. She hit .538 in the match and also added four digs and one assist.
Madisen Skinner led all players with 20 kills and added five blocks, four digs, one assist and one service ace.
Ella Swindle, playing in her first NCAA Tournament match, posted her sixth double-double of the season with 35 assists and 10 digs. Swindle also added five blocks and four kills in the match.
Emma Halter led the team with 14 digs and also had four asissts and one service ace. Carissa Barnes had 10 digs and three assists, while Keonile Akana finished with four digs and three assists.
The Longhorns got out to a 7-5 lead in the first set before Texas A&M went on an 10-0 run to take a 15-7 lead. Texas managed to stop the run at 10-straight but the Aggies still held on to win the set 25-21 with six blocks in the set.
Texas started hot in the second set, jumping out to a 10-0 lead with Halter serving lights out. The Longhorns didn't let up and evened the match up with a 25-13 win, hitting .382 in the set. O'Neal led the way with seven kills on just nine swings.
The third set was very close most of the way, with the teams tied up 17-all before the Longhorns grabbed the lead with a 5-0 run. Texas held on to win it 25-20, while hitting .370 in the set and holding the Aggies to a .000 hitting percentage.
Texas jumped out to a big 20-12 lead in the fourth set before needing to hold off a late rally and close out the match with a 25-20 win.
