November 24, 2001
The 15th-ranked Texas A&M volleyball team clinched second place in the Big 12 Conference with a 30-16, 30-13, 30-27 victory over the Texas Tech Red Raiders Saturday before 1,796 fans at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The Aggies finish the regular season at 23-5 overall and 16-4 in Big 12 play, tying the school record for the highest finish and the best record in Big 12 play. The Red Raiders conclude the year at 18-13 and 9-11 in the league.
After Texas Tech took an initial 1-0 lead to start the match, A&M battled to two early ties and took the lead for good at 5-4 on a kill by Jenna Moscovic. The Aggies built their lead to 10 at 19-9 on a Melissa Munsch kill and would win the game 30-16 when Moscovic and Tara Pulaski teamed up to block a Melissa McGehee attack attempt. Five Aggies posted four kills apiece in the game, and four blocks by the A&M front line helped hold the Red Raiders to an .087 hitting percentage.
The Aggies quickly opened up a 4-1 lead in game two before Brandi Mount served A&M to 11 consecutive points and a 15-1 lead, putting the game out of reach. In cruising to the 30-13 win, the Aggies held Tech to a -.183 clip and were led by Michelle Cole's five kills.
A&M would leap out to a 9-3 lead in the third game before Texas Tech pulled within two at 13-11 on an Angela Mooney kill. The Red Raiders would take their first lead since the first point of the match at 16-15 when McGehee slammed a kill off the Aggie block and out of bounds. Tech's lead would grow to as much as three before A&M tied the game at 24-24 on a Red Raider attack error. The teams traded sideouts, then the Aggies took the lead at 26-25 when Tech was called for being under the net. With A&M leading 28-27, A.D. Achilefu teamed with Michelle Cole and then Brandi Mount on consecutive blocks to give the Aggies the match with a 30-27 victory.
Cole's 12-kill, 17-dig performance made her only the sixth player in school history to record 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. The senior from Temecula, Calif., ends the regular season with 1,001 kills and 1,327 digs during her four seasons in Aggieland. Munsch added 12 kills without an error to go along with 14 digs and a match-high four blocks.
Kelly Johnson keyed the Tech offense, hitting .326 on the night with 17 kills and nine digs. McGehee led the Red Raider defense with 16 digs.
For the match, A&M hit .320 while holding Texas Tech to an .066 percentage. The Aggies out-blocked Tech 12 to three and out-dug the Red Raiders 70 to 56.
Texas A&M now awaits word on its postseason fate. The NCAA selection committee will announce the 64-team field as well as the 16 host institutions for the first and second rounds of competition on Monday, November 26 at 2 p.m. (CST). A number of regional sports networks will air the 30-minute selection show live, including Fox Sports Net South, Fox Sports Net West 2, Fox Sports Net Arizona and Empire Sports.