September 07, 2002
No. 17 Texas A&M suffered its first loss of the season as No. 16 Wisconsin downed the Aggies, 30-23, 25-30, 30-25, 30-28, to capture the championship title at the Wisconsin InnTowner Invitational.
"We came up against a very solid team who is very powerful at the net and plays great defense," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "They return three or four seasoned players from last year, and this early in the season, that makes a big difference."
Wisconsin setter and tournament MVP Morgan Shields directed a balanced offense as five Badgers reached double figures in kills. Lori Rittenhouse took match-high honors with 18 kills, and all-tournament selections Jill Odenthal and Erin Byrd added 16 and 14, respectively, for the Badgers.
A&M was led by all-tournament selections Melissa Munsch and A.D. Achilefu, who posted 16 and 14 kills, respectively. Laura Jones also reached double figures with 10 kills. Munsch and Achilefu also led the team in digs with 15 and 14, respectively. Libero Rebecca Wynalda contributed 10 digs.
A&M held an early 2-1 lead to begin the match when Wisconsin reeled off four consecutive points to take a lead they would hold for throughout the remainder of the game. A&M managed to get within two points at 13-11 following a solo block by Carol Price and at 14-12 following a kill by Achilefu. Wisconsin, however, responded with three straight points and the Aggies could not get any closer than three points for the remainder of the game.
A&M took its second lead of Game 2 at 7-6 following an Achilefu kill and went on to build its biggest lead of the game at 15-8 before the Badgers scored five consecutive points to get within two. Wisconsin got within one at 20-19 and 21-20 before A&M scored four straight points. The Badgers scored three points, but the Aggies responded with three points to regain the five-point lead. The teams exchanged points until Achilefu put down a game-winning kill to tie the match at one game apiece.
Game three was tied at 7-7 when A&M committed four consecutive errors. The Aggies could never get closer than three points as Wisconsin eventually took a game-high eight-point lead at 23-15. A&M cut the lead to four points four times ?" the last at 29-25 ?" before an Aggie kill error ended the game.
There were nine ties and four lead changes to begin the fourth game before Wisconsin aced a serve to put the Badgers ahead, 12-11. The Badgers held a 20-16 advantage when A&M reeled off three points to get back within one. The Aggies stayed within a point at 25-24, but Wisconsin got a kill and a block to pull ahead, 27-24. The Badgers were serving for match point at 29-25, but A&M stayed alive by scoring three consecutive points to get within one at 29-28, before Byrd ended the match with a kill.
Wisconsin improves to 4-1 with the victory, while A&M falls to 5-1.
The Aggies return home Sept. 13-14 to host the McDonald?â„¢s Texas A&M Invitational II. A&M opens the tournament against Sam Houston State at 7 p.m. on Friday and then faces both Louisiana-Lafayette and perennial power BYU Saturday at 1 and 7 p.m., respectively.
InnTowner All-Tournament Team
Erin Jones, Illinois State
Sonia Tremblay ,Montreal
Melissa Munsch, Texas A&M
A.D. Achilefu, Texas A&M
Erin Byrd, Wisconsin
Jill Odenthal, Wisconsin
Morgan Shields, Wisconsin (MVP)