After the Texas A&M volleyball team upended No. 6 Nebraska in four games, many of the students weren't satisfied with just singing the Aggie War Hymn in the stands, so they crowded in just a few feet in front of the players on the court and savored the victory with the team.
It was especially gratifying for the seniors, who can look ahead to the rest of the season knowing the signature victory that has escaped them for three years is no longer an issue.
"It feels great," A&M senior outside hitter Mary Batis said. "The past two years, the reason we haven't made it to the NCAA Tournament is we haven't beat a ranked opponent. So coming into this match we set goals, and we came into this game knowing we were going to win. It's just amazing we carried through and played so well, and that's not the best Aggie volleyball you're going to see, so that is so exciting."
The 28-26, 17-25, 25-19, 25-19 victory is A&M's first over a team ranked as high as No. 6 since Dec. 7, 2001.
"The timing was right for us and it was our turn I guess," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "It's been our turn for a while. We've been close for several years ... and it just seems like the team has been scratching and clawing for a shot at the Tournament, which has eluded us somehow."
It was the first victory for A&M's seniors over either Nebraska and Texas, the Big 12's dominant teams over the past four years. It was also the Aggies' first victory against the Cornhuskers in nearly 10 years. The 1999 squad, led by Jenna Moscovic, was the last to defeat Nebraska.
After the break, the Aggies (9-1, 2-0) took control of Games 3 and 4 early.
Nebraska (9-3, 2-1) closed a 15-10 deficit to 18-15 before an Aggie run with Sarah Ammerman serving all but iced the set.
Nebraska had a hitting error after a poor service return, then Ammerman floated a serve to the back line for an ace.
Nebraska took a timeout, which did nothing to slow the Aggies' momentum. Jennifer Banse followed with a kill, and Alisia Kastmo took advantage of a bad Nebraska service return for a point. Ammerman then dropped another serve on the back line to put A&M up comfortably at 23-15.
"It just wasn't what they were expecting," Ammerman said of changing from her topspin jump serve to the floater. "I didn't know I had that in me. They told me to stay down, and I gave that a shot and it worked for me. Being able to push that lead to as much as we could get felt awesome."
In Game 4, Kastmo's three kills helped A&M jump out to a 7-1 lead. The Cornhuskers never got any closer than five points the rest of the way.
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