September 14, 2002
The 16th-ranked Texas A&M volleyball team defeated Louisiana-Lafayette, 29-31, 30-26, 30-13, 27-30, 15-9, before 822 fans at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The victory is A&M's 14th in a row at home and improves the Aggies?â„¢ season record to 7-1. UL Lafayette falls to 4-5.
The Aggies trailed most of the first game and found themselves down 28-21 late in the frame after a kill by Clarice Laires. An 8-1 run, keyed by five Ragin' Cajun attack errors, knotted the score at 29. UL Lafayette would respond, however, posting back-to-back kills to claim a 31-29 opening game win.
The second game was close early before UL Lafayette opened up a 16-11 lead on a Lesley Tough kill. Texas A&M rattled off another scoring run, as the serving of Carol Price and Laura Jones led to an 11-1 run and a 23-17 Aggie lead, one they would not relinquish. UL Lafayette climbed within one at 24-23, but A&M pulled away late and iced the match on a kill by Tara Pulaski. A.D. Achilefu, who suffered a muscle pull in warm-ups on Friday, came off the bench and sparked A&M with six kills in the second frame.
A&M took a 2-1 match lead after the intermission, cruising to a 30-13 win in game three. After trailing 4-3 early, the Aggies scored 18 of the next 23 points to take a commanding 21-9 lead. Melissa Munsch posted six kills in the game for the Aggies.
The teams battled back and forth in game four before A&M rattled off five straight points to take a 21-15 lead. UL Lafayette bounced back quickly though, and two Priscilla Lima kills brought the Ragin' Cajuns within two at 21-19. The Aggies would hold no bigger than a three-point lead before UL Lafayette tied the game at 27 on another kill by Lima, who posted nine in the frame. UL Lafayette would score the final three points to win 30-27 and force a deciding fifth game.
The Aggies overcame a three-point deficit early in the final stanza and tied the score for the fifth and final time at 9 following a kill by Pulaski. A&M then took the lead on a bad set by the Cajuns and continued to rally. A&M held UL Lafayette scoreless as Munsch served out the game. Pulaski put down the game winner, pounding a Cajun overpass for her 12th kill of the match.
Jones led the Aggies with a career-high 20 kills, and Munsch posted a career-high 25 digs as six A&M players reached double figures. Pulaski also recorded a career high with 11 blocks as the Aggies recorded a season-high 15 blocks.
Lima and Stacey Cole led the Ragin?â„¢ Cajun attack with 23 and 22 kills, respectively.
The McDonald's Texas A&M Invitational II will conclude tonight, as UL Lafayette meets Sam Houston State at 5 p.m. and the Aggies host BYU at 7 p.m. In early Saturday action, BYU defeated SHSU, 31-29, 30-17, 30-20.