September 22, 2001
No. 16 Texas A&M won its Big 12 Conference opener with a thrilling 30-28, 27-30, 23-30, 30-23, 15-13 victory tonight at the Hearnes Center.
The Aggies improve to 8-1 overall while the Tigers suffered their first loss of the season and fall to 8-1 overall and 1-1 in Big 12 play.
“To be on the road and win against one of the top teams in the Big 12 is huge for our program, especially considering the implications for the season,” A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. “Both teams played great defense, and our block took a big step tonight.”
Five Aggies posted double digits in kills, including a match-high 20 kills by freshman middle blocker Melissa Munsch. Six A&M players reached double figures in kills. Erin Lechler, Jenna Moscovic and A.D. Achilefu led th Aggies with 16 apiece. Moscovic and Achilefu also led the team with seven blocks each as A&M posted a season-high 15 blocks.
There were 11 ties in the first game, the last one at 28. The Aggies closed out the frame when Brandi Mount got a kill and then teamed with Achilefu to block a Missouri attack attempt for the game winner.
A&M scored the first point of Game 2, but Missouri answered with five consecutive points and never trailed for the remainder of the game. The Aggies got within one, 12-11, but never overcame the deficit as Missouri went on to win with the game-winner being scored on an A&M attack error.
The Tigers also led the entire third game except for a 1-0 A&M lead to start the game. Missouri held a six-point advantage at 15-9, but A&M cut the lead to two three times, the last one coming at 24-22. The Tigers then scored five unanswered points to build a game-high seven point lead. A&M scored on a block by Achilefu and Beth Skypala, but Missouri’s Kristen Johnson answered with a kill to end the game and give the Tigers a 2-1 match lead.
A&M trailed 21-17 in the fourth game when the Aggies rallied 10 unanswered points. Missouri got within four points at 27-23 on consecutive A&M errors, but Munsch and Gibson put down back-to-back kills to put the Aggies at game point. A&M then won the game when Missouri setter Chrissy Elder was called for being in the net.
The Tigers held a 12-10 lead in the deciding fifth game when Gibson got a kill deep in the back court corner to start a four-point rally for the Aggies. Achilefu and Mount tied the score with a block and Gibson followed with a solo block. Achilefu then put down a kill to put A&M at match point. The Tigers answered with a kill but Gibson responded with a match-winning kill.
Christi Meyers led the Tigers with 18 kills and 11 blocks.
The Aggies return to action when they host the Baylor Bears Wednesday. First serve is at 7 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum. The Bears are 8-2 overall and 0-2 in Big 12 play after dropping a four-gae match to Colorado today in Waco, Texas.