September 01, 2002
The 17th-ranked Texas A&M volleyball team rallied from two games down to defeat the LSU Tigers, 30-32, 24-30, 30-16, 30-24, 15-10, Sunday before 1,239 fans at G. Rollie White Coliseum. With the victory, the Aggies captured the McDonald's/Texas A&M Invitational with a 3-0 record, while the Tigers took second place with a 2-1 mark.
A&M was down 7-5 in the decisive fifth game before two LSU errors followed by a Melissa Munsch kill gave the Aggies a lead they would not relinquish. After the Tigers tied the match on the next play, A&M went on a 6-1 run to serve for the match up 14-9. Following an Aggie attack error, Tara Pulaski and Lexy Beers teamed to block LSU's Jennifer Hampton to clinch the victory.
LSU took a 2-0 match lead into the locker room, winning a see-saw first game 32-30 before taking game two 30-24. The Tigers and Aggies combined for 11 ties and seven lead changes in the first frame, with both teams serving for the game late. Back-to-back kills by Lauren Cuyler had LSU serving for the game at 31-30 before an attack by Jennifer Hampton hit the top of the tape and dropped in for the winner.
Texas A&M came out of the break strong, opening up a quick 9-3 lead before cruising to a 30-16 win in the third game. The Aggies served four aces in the game and out-hit the Tigers .355 to .056. A&M continued to hold the momentum in game four, extending an early 8-3 lead to as many as nine points before holding on for a 30-24 victory.
A&M out-hit the Tigers .232 to .136 on the afternoon while out-blocking LSU 13 to 12. The Aggies notched eight aces while committing 18 service errors.
Freshman Laura Jones again led the way for A&M with a team-high 17 kills and a .500 attack percentage. Munsch tallied 15 kills, while A.D. Achilefu added 14. In addition, Pulaski tied a career high with seven blocks in the win.
Cuyler paced LSU with 15 kills as the Tigers placed four players in double-figure kills.
Texas A&M begins a four-match road trip on Tuesday when the Aggies travel to San Marcos to battle the Southwest Texas State Bobcats (3-1). First serve at Strahan Coliseum is set for 7 p.m.