September 23, 2000
Texas A&M outside hitter Erin Gibson rewrote her own personal record book on Saturday, leading the 23rd-ranked Texas A&M volleyball team to a 15-7, 15-13, 13-15, 15-9 victory over the Colorado Buffaloes before 1,414 fans at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The win moves the Aggies within one of tying their all-time record for consecutive home victories. A&M, which has not lost at home since Nov. 1, 1998, can tie the record of 24 matches on Sunday when they host the Texas-Pan American Broncs.
Gibson, a junior from Houston, set career highs in kills (25), attempts (54) and digs (35). Her defensive performance was the fourth-best in school history, three shy of the mark held jointly by Stacy Sykora and Yvonne Van Brandt. She also set a season best with a .407 hitting percentage (25-3-54).
The Aggies opened the match with intensity, jumping out to a quick 8-2 lead in game one. Colorado rallied midway through the game, but a couple of big blocks by senior Heather Marshall, who posted four in the game, increased the A&M lead to 13-6. Redshirt freshman middle blocker Tara Pulaski put down a kill to give the Aggies a 15-7 victory.
A long and entertaining game two saw CU rally from a five-point deficit to get within one at 6-5. The Buffaloes would keep it very close until finally tying the game at 11 on an Elizabeth Gower service ace. Sara Fredrickson put a kill through the Aggie block to give Colorado their first lead at 12-11. A&M would regain the lead on a block assist and a kill by junior outside hitter Michelle Cole. The teams exchanged nine side outs before a Marshall attack error tied the game again at 13. Cole, who posted eight kills in the final stretch of the game, would register two among nine changes of possession to give the Aggies a hard-fought 15-13 win.
Game three started out as a back-and-forth affair early before A&M pulled ahead to a commanding 11-4 lead. Just when it looked like the Aggies would earn a sweep, Colorado came roaring back to cut the A&M lead to one at 13-12. Following a timeout, Fredrickson put down a kill to tie the game and the Aggies failed to return a CU attack, giving the Buffaloes a 14-13 edge. Sara Villwock closed out the game with a big kill, giving Colorado the 15-13 win. The hot-hitting Aggies were held to a .140 hitting percentage in the third game.
Texas A&M raced out to a 6-0 lead in game four and eventually held an 11-4 edge yet again. Colorado cut the lead to three at 11-8 before a Cole kill and a CU attack error put the Aggies up by five. After the Buffaloes scored when A&M was called for a net violation, Gibson put down the final two kills of the match to give the Aggies a 15-9 win.
"There were some incredible performances out there tonight," A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli said. "We had a start tonight better than we've had in a long time, and we played some awesome defense. Our team is playing with more and more confidence each game."
A&M out-hit Colorado for the match, .286 to .188, and out-blocked the Buffaloes nine to eight. The Aggies set a school record in out-digging CU 124 to 105, breaking the previous best for digs in a four-game match of 117 set in 1990. A&M improved to 9-1 all-time against Colorado with the victory.
Gibson wasn't the only Aggie who set new personal bests. Cole posted a career high with 21 kills, while Marshall notched 23 digs. Junior defensive specialist Beth Weynand's 17 digs was a career best as well. Junior setter Jenna Moscovic set season highs in assists (65) and digs (17).
The Aggies, who have won six of their last seven matches, return to action on Sunday when they play host to Texas-Pan American (4-8) in non-conference action at 3 p.m. A&M returns to Big 12 play on Saturday, Sept. 30 when they travel to Lincoln to face the No. 1-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers. First serve at the Nebraska Coliseum is set for 2 p.m.