October 07, 2000
The 23rd-ranked Texas A&M volleyball team held off a fierce Baylor rally, posting a 15-12, 15-7, 12-15, 17-15 victory over the Bears before 1,012 fans at the Ferrell Center.
The Bears, who trailed in the match 2-0, won game three and served for game point in the fourth at 15-14 before the Aggies rallied to score the final three points of the game and the match. A&M tied the game on a Baylor attack error, took the lead on a Jenna Moscovic kill and won the match when Tatiana Kenyon's attack went into the net. The fourth game was a back-and-forth affair that saw 10 ties and six lead changes.
"Coming to play at Baylor has been our nemesis," A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli said. "We haven't had much luck here lately. Tonight we set our goal to have a total team effort. We didn't focus on Baylor, but more on what we could do well. It was a personal victory tonight for our team. The players had a great mental attitude, were focused and came to perform."
A&M began the match with an unmatched intensity, racing out to an 11-1 lead in the first game. The Bears clawed back, cutting the lead to two at 14-12. The Aggies, who had served five times for game point, shut down the rally with a big block by Tara Pulaski and Erin Gibson, who ended the match with a career-high six blocks.
The Aggies trailed early in game two before rattling off seven unanswered points to take a 7-2 lead. Baylor got no closer than four points as A&M went on to win 15-7. Michelle Cole's service ace was the clincher, and the Aggies entered the locker room with a 2-0 match lead.
Baylor took the momentum at the start of game three and opened up a six-point lead at 8-2 on a Dana Atkinson kill. The lead would get as large as seven at 12-5 before A&M came racing back to tie the game at 12 behind the arm of outside hitter Michelle Cole, who put down three of her 11 kills during the rally. The Bears answered, however, scoring the final three points of the game to win 15-12.
Heather Marshall led all A&M players with 16 kills and 13 digs. Gibson had a team-high 19 digs and added 15 kills on the night. Stevie Nicholas led the Bears with a match-high 23 kills, while BU's Dana Atkinson led all players with 25 digs. A&M set a season best in out-blocking the Bears 16 to 10, led by Brandi Mount's career-high seven. Pulaski tied a career best with seven blocks as well.
The win improves A&M's record to 10-4 on the year and 5-2 in Big 12 play. The Bears fell to 10-6 overall and 4-4 in the league.
"I count this victory as a turning point in the season," Corbelli said. "The girls have really been working hard at being more of a team. When you look back on this season, I think this match will stand out as a pivotal one."
Texas A&M will put its school-record 25-match home win streak on the line on Wednesday, Oct. 11 when they play host to the 24th-ranked Texas Tech Red Raiders, who lost in five games to Colorado on Saturday. The Red Raiders are the last team to beat the Aggies at G. Rollie White Coliseum back on Nov. 1, 1998. First serve is set for 7 p.m.