November 21, 2001
The 15th-ranked Texas A&M volleyball team clinched at least a share of second place in the Big 12 Conference with a 30-16, 30-20, 30-16 victory over the Texas Longhorns Wednesday before 1,807 fans at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The win was the fifth in a row for the Aggies (22-5, 15-4 Big 12) against Texas, who drops to 15-13 and 8-11 in league play. The Longhorns have not topped A&M in College Station since the 1998 season.
The Aggies raced out to a 12-2 lead in the first game, forcing the Longhorns to burn their two timeouts. During that span, A&M hit .625 and posted four blocks, holding Texas to a -.235 attack percentage. In cruising to a 30-16 victory, the Aggies were led by Michelle Cole's five kills and six digs.
A&M again jumped out early in the second game en route to a 30-20 win. After opening up an 8-3 lead, Texas pulled as close as they would in the game at 8-4 on a Bethany Howden kill. A 10-4 Aggie run would force a Longhorn timeout with UT trailing, 18-9. The Aggies' largest lead of the game would be 14 at 24-10 following a Texas attack error. A pair of kills by A.D. Achilefu sent A&M into the locker room with the 2-0 match lead.
The Aggies opened up Game 3 with a 10-3 run to force a Texas timeout. After a pair of Howden kills pulled UT to within five, A&M pulled away with a 6-1 rally that essentially put the game out of reach. The Aggies would not let the Longhorns any closer than nine points in a 30-16 win. For the game, A&M out-hit Texas .500 to .083, with the winning point coming on a Jenna Moscovic kill.
A&M hit a season-high .429 while holding Texas to a .104 hitting percentage on the night. The Aggies also won the battle at the net, out-blocking the 'Horns 10 to four. The Aggie deense posted 51 digs to Texas' 39.
Brandi Mount was the only Aggie in double figures in kills with 10. Cole, Melissa Munsch and Erin Lechler each tallied nine, as Munsch hit .615 in the match to go along with four blocks. Moscovic also posted four blocks for A&M. Lechler led the defense with a match-high 15 digs.
Howden led the Texas offense with a match-high 15 kills, four blocks and a .367 attack percentage. Mira Topic was also in double-figure kills for the Longhorns with 13.
Texas A&M, in the hunt for one of the 16 national host sites in the NCAA Tournament to be announced next week, will close out the regular season on Saturday when the Aggies host the Texas Tech Red Raiders. First serve at G. Rollie White Coliseum is set for 7 p.m. (CST). Prior to the match, the Aggies' five seniors ?" Michelle Cole, Erin Lechler, Jenna Moscovic, Brandi Mount and Beth Weynand ?" will be recognized.