November 08, 2000
Nebraska became the first volleyball team to win in College Station in over two years, as the No. 1-ranked Huskers rallied to post a 8-15, 15-6, 15-13, 15-9 victory over the 24th-ranked Texas A&M volleyball team Wednesday before a season-high crowd of 2,130 fans at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
"The crowd tonight was unbelievable," A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli said. "It's really special to be able to coach here and have this kind of atmosphere. It doesn't happen anywhere else."
The loss snapped the Aggies 28-match home winning streak dating back to 1998, and dropped A&M to 15-7 overall and 10-5 in the Big 12. Nebraska improved to 24-0 on the year and 16-0 in league play.
The homestanding Aggies drew first blood in the match with a 15-8 win in a back-and-forth, 45-minute first game. The Huskers held leads of 4-0 and 6-2 before the Aggies climbed within two at 7-5 on a NU attack error. Three consecutive A&M points then gave the Aggies their first lead of the match at 8-7 before the Huskers tied the game at 8-8. Christy Clark led a ferocious seven-point rally that earned A&M the game one win. The senior defensive specialist posted two kills and three block assists down the stretch to aid the run. Clark teamed with senior middle blocker Heather Marshall on a big block for the final point of the game.
Nebraska showed why it holds the nation's top ranking, rebounding big time in game two by exploding out to an 11-1 lead. In that 12-point span, NU out-hit the Aggies .650 to .032. A&M scored three straight times to pull within seven, but the Huskers, who ended up hitting .400 in the game, proved too strong. An Aggie attack error gave Nebraska a 15-6 win and tied the match at 1-1 heading into the break.
Game three was close at the start as the teams were tied four times, the last at 7-7, before Nebraska built a five-point lead. After the teams traded a few sideouts, A&M scraped away at the Husker advantage and closed within one at 12-11 on an Anna Schrad attack error. An Amber Holmquist kill combined with a bad Aggie attack had NU serving for the game. A&M fought off four game points and closed within one at 14-13 on a Marshall kill before Kim Behrends put a kill down to give Nebraska the ball again. Greichaly Cepero and Holmquist teamed for a towering block to silence the A&M comeback and give NU a tough 15-13 win.
The teams again battled back and forth in game four, exchanging three leads before Nebraska pulled ahead for good at 7-6 on a kill by Jenny Kropp. Following an Aggie timeout, NU built a four-point advantage at 11-7 on an Aggie attack error. A&M closed to within three at 12-9 on a Husker attack error, but points off a block and a kill had Nebraska serving for the match. The Aggies fought off one match point before Holmquist put down one of her match-high 26 kills to give the Huskers a 15-9 victory.
Clark had a strong night for the Aggies, posting career highs in kills (eight) and blocks (nine). Marshall and junior outside hitter Erin Gibson led A&M with 18 kills apiece, while Gibson led the Aggie defense with a match-high 23 digs. Junior outside hitter Michelle Cole added 15 kills.
For the Huskers, Holmquist was the star, hitting .550 and tallying11 blocks to go along with her 26 kills. Laura Pilakowski posted 17 kills and a team-high 20 digs, while Kropp added 15 kills and seven blocks. Cepero tied for the team lead with 11 blocks on the night.
The Huskers out-blocked A&M 19 to 14.5 on the night, the most blocks against the Aggies this season. NU out-dug the maroon and white 110 to 100.
"This was by far the best team we've faced this season," Corbelli said. "I bet it's one of the most balanced and consistent teams out there right now. We stayed right with them in our blocking, I think we just struggled with our attack. We have to get better offensively against the better teams and put more balls away."
A&M will look to snap a two-match winning streak when the Aggies travel to Ames to face the Iowa State Cyclones on Saturday, Nov. 11. First serve at Hilton Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. Texas A&M then returns home for a Big 12 battle with the Baylor Bears on Wednesday, Nov. 15 at 6 p.m.