October 31, 2001
The 14th-ranked Texas A&M volleyball team won its fifth-straight match Wednesday with a 30-23, 30-24, 30-23 sweep of the Oklahoma Sooners before 986 fans at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The Aggies (17-3, 10-2 Big 12) are off to their best start since 1984, when the team began the season with a 17-2 record. Oklahoma, which has not taken a game from A&M in the last 10 matches, fell to 2-21 and 1-12 in league play.
Texas A&M led 24-17 coming out of a timeout in the first game and moved within five points of the win on an Oklahoma attack error. However, two Aggie attack errors sandwiched around two OU blocks pulled the Sooners within three at 25-22 and forced an A&M timeout. The Aggies would go on a 5-1 run to win the game 30-23, with the final point coming when Oklahoma setter Jessica Barney was called for two hits. Brandi Mount and Tara Pulaski each posted five kills in the game for A&M.
Game 2 was a tight affair until late, when the Aggies pulled away for a 30-24 win. Neither team held a lead larger than three points until A&M went on an 8-2 run to send the match to intermission. With the game tied at 22, the Aggies regained serve and a one-point lead on a Melissa Munsch kill. A.D. Achilefu came off the bench and, from behind the service line, sparked A&M to a four-point advantage. The Sooners regained serve on an Aggie attack error, but Erin Lechler got the ball back when she drilled down an overpass. A kill and a block by Pulaski had the Aggies serving for the game and, after OU scored on a Christina Barlow kill, Lechler then tallied a kill off the OU defense for the final point.
The Sooners wiped away two four-point deficits early in the third game, taking a two-point lead at 17-15 on an Aggie attack error before A&M went on a 5-0 run to grab the lead for good. After the teams traded sideouts, the Aggies built a five-point lead at 24-19 on back-to-back OU errors. Oklahoma would scratch back within three at 26-23 on a Barlow kill before A&M rattled off four straight points to win the game, 30-23, and sweep the match. A&M clinched the win when Barlow's final attack of the night went wide of the antenna.
For the match, A&M out-hit Oklahoma .287 to .137 and out-dug the Sooners 51 to 38. The Aggies also posted nine blocks to OU's 6.5.
Pulaski led the way for A&M on the evening, hitting a career-high .600 with 10 kills and just one error to go along with a match-high five blocks. Also in double-figure kills for the Aggies were Mount (11) and Lechler (10). Cole led all players with 12 digs on the night. Meanwhile, Barlow led Oklahoma with a match-high 15 kills, while Logan Pierce added 12 to go along with a team-high 11 digs.
Texas A&M returns to action on Saturday when they travel to Waco to face the Baylor Bears. First serve at the Ferrell Center is set for 5 p.m. (CST).