A&M beats N.C. State after sluggish first set

Texas A&M got 17 kills from Lindsey Miller and shrugged off a slow start to beat North Carolina State 21-25, 25-12, 25-23, 25-20 in the initial firstround match Thursday in the NCAA Division I Women’s Volleyball Tournament at Gregory Gym.

The Aggies (25-5) advance to second-round play and will face Texas, the tournament host, beginning at 7 p.m. today.

Miller had 13 of her kills in the first three sets while A&M’s main offensive weapon, Alisia Kastmo, was finding her bearings. Kastmo came on strong in the third and fourth sets, pounding out 10 of her 12 kills.

The Wolfpack surprised A&M with a 25-21 first-set victory. The Aggies roared back to capture the second set impressively at 25-12. A&M turned the tide by turning up its defense; the Aggies had seven team blocks in the second set after having none in the first.

“N.C. State came out excited and focused in the first game and we didn’t,” A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. “The only way we were going to get on track was to make some plays with our defense, and our blocking in the second set made all the difference.”

The third set went back and forth throughout, and was tied 11-11 and again at 22-22 after a block by the Wolfpack’s Megan Cyr. But the Aggies ran off three of the set’s final four points, winning at 25-23 on Sullivan’s cross-court kill that brushed the net and found the floor.

The Aggies broke away from a 16-16 tie in the fourth set with three kills by Kastmo and aces by Stephanie Minnerly and, at 24-20, by Heather Reynolds to win the set and the match.

A&M middle blocker Shelby Sullivan, who had nine kills, had a left knee injury midway through the fourth game and did not return after being carried off. Sullivan’s availability for today’s game had not been determined.