November 22, 2000
The 25th-ranked Texas A&M volleyball team remained in the hunt for second place in the Big 12, sweeping the 22nd-ranked Kansas State Wildcats 16-14, 15-7, 15-9 Wednesday before 915 fans at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The win improves the Aggies' record to 18-8 overall and 13-6 in the Big 12, one game behind K-State and Missouri who both hold identical 14-5 league marks. KSU drops to 20-7 on the year with the loss and remains winless in five visits to College Station.
"We've really been focusing on certain things in practice," A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli said. "The team carried them out and stayed together tonight, and their attitude was really positive for the most part. I'm really pleased."
Game one saw A&M jump out to a quick 4-0 lead before the Wildcats fought back and tied the score at seven on a Liz Wegner kill, one of her 13 in the game. The Aggies held a 13-9 advantage before KSU scored the next five points to serve for the win at 14-13. A&M tied the game at 14 on a Wegner attack error and took a 15-14 lead when Heather Marshall and Michelle Cole teamed for one of the Aggies' eight blocks in the game. The teams traded sideouts and, with Cole on the service line, Jensen's attack went into the net to give A&M a 16-14 victory.
"We had our block going really well tonight," Corbelli said. "You have to against this team. They hit the ball really hard and play great defense. We had to stick to our game plan."
The Aggies never trailed en route to a 15-7 win in game two. A&M used the momentum generated from the first game to hit .571 while taking a commanding 10-1 lead. K-State cut into A&M's eventual 11-point lead, scoring four straight times and forcing an Aggie timeout at 13-6. Both teams scored once and, with Cole on the service line again, Erin Gibson put down one of her team-high 13 kills on the night to give A&M a 2-0 match lead heading into the intermission.
A kill by Cole and two blocks by Marshall opened up a 3-3 tie early in game three. The Aggies eventually built five-point leads of 10-5 and 13-8 before a Gibson service ace had A&M serving for the match. KSU scratched out another point before an attack error by Jenny Pollard clinched the 15-9 win for the Aggies and the 3-0 match sweep.
Wegner finished the night with 21 kills, leading all players. In addition to Gibson's team-high 13 kills, the junior outside hitter led the defense with 13 digs. Marshall had a match-high eight blocks, including three solos, while Tara Pulaski put down six kills and added five blocks while hitting .545. Cole also notched double-figure kills for A&M with 10.
A&M controlled the net throughout the match, out-blocking KSU 14 to four on the night. The Aggies out-hit the Wildcats .275 to .172.
The Aggies close out the regular season at home on Saturday, Nov. 25, when they play host to the rival Texas Longhorns. First serve at G. Rollie White Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. (CST).
"The Texas match is always a great match and I'm not expecting anything different," Corbelli said. "They want to salvage their season somewhat and finish on a great note. They have nothing to lose and I really believe they'll come in firing. Our team has to be really prepared, mostly emotionally, to handle that. I think a great crowd at this match will be really important."
Following Saturday's season finale, A&M looks to advance to its eighth consecutive NCAA tournament when the 64-team field is announced on Sunday, Nov. 26.