Aggies Capture Tourney Title; Moscovic Earns MVP Honors
Sep 01, 2001 | Volleyball
September 01, 2001
No. 18 Texas A&M swept the Rice Owls, 30-15, 31-29, 30-26, to capture the Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational. Senior setter Jenna Moscovic earn most valuable player laurels after leading the Aggies to a 4-0 record, and senior outside hitter Erin Lechler joined Moscovic on the all-tournament team.
The Aggies, who never trailed in the first game, were ahead 8-5 when they pulled away by scoring eight unanswered points. Rice pulled within seven points at 16-9, but were unable to get any closer as A&M cruised to a 30-15 win.
There were 14 ties in a tightly contested second game, including the final tie at 29-29. Back-to-back kills by junior middle blocker A.D. Achilefu and Lechler gave the Aggies the win and a two-game advantage.
The third game also was a close race to the end. Rice held a 17-16 lead, but an Owl attack error and a kill by Moscovic gave the Aggies a lead they would never lose. Lechler strung together four of her match-high 15 kills to put A&M ahead 22-17. The Aggies extended the lead to seven points at 26-19 for their biggest lead of the game, but the Owls continued to fight and twice got withing two points at 26-24 and 28-26. But a kill by A&M senior outside hitter Brandi Mount and a block by Moscovic and freshman middle blocker Melissa Munsch sealed the game and the championship title.
The Aggies hit .328 in the match while holding Rice to a .169 hitting percentage. Senior outside hitter Michelle Cole and Mount contributed 14 kills for the Aggies, and Moscovic put up 47 assists. In addition to leading in kills, Lechler also posted a match-high 13 digs as A&M outdug Rice 59-39.
The Aggies return to action Tuesday when they play their home season opener against the Texas-San Antonio Roadrunners. First serve is at 7 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
