November 06, 2002
Texas A&M ran its winning streak to three and swept the season series against Baylor with a 30-19, 30-24, 30-25 victory over the Bears in front of 413 fans at the Ferrell Center.
With the win, the Aggies improve to 16-7 overall and 8-6 in the Big 12. The Bears suffered their seventh consecutive conference loss and fall to 9-15 and 2-11.
The Aggies led the entire first game, outhitting Baylor, .263 to .130 while cruising to a 30-19 win. The Aggies held a 5-4 advantage when they pulled away by scoring four consecutive points. Baylor could never get closer than three points for the remainder of the game.
A&M was up 24-18 when the Aggies scored five unanswered points to open their biggest lead of the game. Baylor's Daniela Lloreda posted a kill to prolong the game but then served into the net to give the Aggies the win.
Baylor scored the first point of the second game on an A&M ball handling error, but it would be the only lead the Bears would hold as the Aggies reeled off four consecutive points. The Bears got within one on back-to-back kills but A&M once against rallied for four straight points to take an 8-3 lead.
A&M built a six-point advantage at 15-9, but the Bears fought back and got within two at 21-19 and 22-20. A kill by Tara Pulaski sparked a 4-1 run by the Aggies. Baylor cut the lead to four points three more times, but A&M, leading 28-24, closed out the game with a kill by A.D. Achilefu and a block by Achilefu and Lexy Beers.
The Bears held a 5-4 edge in the final game when the Aggies scored six unanswered points. A&M went on to build a seven-point lead, its largest of the game, at 15-8, 17-10 and 20-13. The Aggies were up, 28-22, when the Bears got within three points on a kill and two A&M attack errors. A kill by Melissa Munsch put the Aggies at game-point, and a Baylor attack error ended the match.
The Aggies outhit the Bears, .274 to .115 for the match, posting 48 kills to the Bears' 39. A&M also outblocked Baylor, 6-3, and tallied 60 digs to Baylor's 44.
Munsch led A&M with 11 kills and a match-high 18 digs. Carol Price and Laura Jones added nine kills apiece, and Pulaski and Price led the team with three blocks each.
Tisha Schwartz led the Bears with a match-high 17 kills but was held to a .073 hitting percentage.
The Aggies return to action Friday with a crucial home match against No. 20 Missouri. First serve is at 7 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum.