September 02, 2002
The 17th-ranked Texas A&M volleyball team heads to San Marcos, Texas, Tuesday to face the Southwest Texas State Bobcats. First serve is at 7 p.m. at Strahan Coliseum.
The Aggies are off to a 3-0 start after capturing the championship trophy at their own McDonald's/Texas A&M Invitational I over the weekend. A&M swept both Alcorn State and Texas-San Antonio but then had to overcome a two-game deficit to defeat LSU for the title.
The Aggies were led by Preseason Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year Laura Jones, who began her collegiate career by nailing 22 kills before posting the first attack error of her career. The Arlington, Texas, native finished the weekend with only two errors in 61 attempts while posting team highs of 35 kills, a .541 hitting percentage and 3.50 kills and 4.40 points per game. Junior middle blocker Tara Pulaski, who tied a career high with seven blocks against LSU, led the Aggies with 1.09 blocks per game.
As a team, A&M outhit its opponents, .301 to .087, and averaged 15.36 kills, 2.27 aces, 14.27 digs and 2.36 blocks per game. Opponents averaged 9.73 kills, 0.91 aces, 12.0 digs and 1.45 blocks per game.
Southwest Texas State went 3-1 and took second place at its own CenturyTel/Roger Beasley Honda Premier tournament over the weekend. The Bobcats defeated North Texas in five games in the season opener and then downed Mississippi State in four games before falling to tournament champion Southern Illinois in four games. SWT concluded the tournament with a four-game victory over Air Force.
Junior middle blocker Amy Amundson was named to the all-tournament team after hitting .322 and averaging 3.12 kills and a team-high 1.12 blocks per game. Senior outside hitter Tiffany Weidner led the Bobcats with 5.06 kills per game.
As a team, SWT hit .229 and averaged 15.94 kills, 14.41 digs and 2.06 blocks per game. Opponents were held to a .190 hitting percentage and averaged 13.59 kills, 13.24 digs and 2.06 blocks.
A&M, who has won the last nine meetings against the Bobcats, leads the all-time series, 18-3, including 6-1 in matches played in San Marcos. The teams last met on Sept. 7, 1999, with the Aggies prevailing, 15-4, 15-9, 15-3, in College Station. SWT's last victory over A&M was on Sept. 28, 1991 in San Marcos as the Bobcats edged A&M, 13-15, 15-4, 17-15, 4-15, 15-11.