November 09, 2002
Laura Jones posted 22 kills and Carol Price added 16 as Texas A&M defeated No. 20 Missouri, 30-24, 30-19, 28-30, 30-25, in front of 1,282 fans at G. Rollie White Coliseum. It marked the Aggies' first victory against a Top 25 opponent this season, while the Tigers remained winless in seven trips to the Holler House.
"It's starting to all come together," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "The team sees it, and we just keep getting better. We knew if we kept working at it, we could pull it (the victory) out."
The Aggies (17-7, 9-6 Big 12), who extended their Big 12 winning streak to a season-high four matches, outhit Missouri, .325 to .222 for the match, posting their second highest hitting percentage in Big 12 competition this season.
The score was tied six times early in the first game, the last occurring at 8-8 following a Jones kill. Lexy Beers, who had a career-high and match-high 21 digs, then aced a serve to give the Aggies their first lead of the game. A&M went on to score four more unanswered points and never trailed for the remainder of the game. The Tigers got within 20-18 before Jones recorded back-to-back kills and a solo block. Price put away a kill to put the Aggies up, 24-18, and giving them their biggest lead of the game. The Tigers could get no closer than four points, and with A&M leading 28-24, A&M's Melissa Munsch put down a kill, and the Tigers' Mary Lauren Smith hit into the net to end the game.
The second game had a familiar start as the teams battled to six ties. Missouri overcame a 3-point deficit to tie the score at 9-9 before the Aggies pulled away with a 10-2 run. A&M was up, 22-15, when the Aggies rallied for four unanswered points to build their biggest lead of the game. The teams exchanged points for the rest of the game, and with A&M leading, 29-19, Price and A.D. Achilefu blocked Shen Danru's attack for the game winner.
Missouri came out of the break with a greater intensity and built their biggest lead of the match at 14-8. The Tigers held onto a 16-11 advantage when A&M rallied for six straight points - two on solo blocks by Munsch and another on a block by Price and Achilefu - to give the Aggies their first lead of the game. Missouri regained the lead following back-to-back A&M errors. The Aggies managed to tie the score three more times, the last at 28, before Danru put down consecutive kills to give the Tigers the win.
A&M never trailed in the fourth game, building a game-high nine-point lead at 20-11. The Tigers refused to give in and got within two points at 25-23 and 26-24. Kills by Price and Achilefu and a line violation by the Tigers put A&M serving for game point. Lisa Boyd posted a kill for Missouri before Price ended the match with a kill.
Beers, who posted a team four-game season-high 61 assists, directed a consistent and balanced attack as the Aggies hit above .340 in three of four games. In addition, her 21 digs led an Aggie defense that outdug Missouri, 75-68. Munsch contributed 16 digs, and Jones also reached double figures with 13.
Price tied her career high with seven blocks to lead A&M to a 12-7 blocking advantage.
Christi Myers led the Tigers with 20 kills and a .405 hitting percentage. Danru also reached double figures with 15 but was held to a .152 hitting efficiency.
Missouri, who defeated the Aggies earlier in the season in Columbia, Mo., fall to 20-6 overall and 9-5 in the Big 12.
The Aggies return to action Wednesday, Nov. 13 when they face Kansas (17-6, 8-6 Big 12) in Manhattan. First serve is at 7 p.m. at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center.