Texas A&M
TEXAS
Aggies Defeat Texas on Senior Night
Nov 27, 2002 | Volleyball
Texas A&M seniors A.D. Achilefu and Julia Rex, playing their last scheduled home match of their careers, departed G. Rollie White Coliseum winners as the Aggies defeated rival Texas, 23-30, 30-25, 31-29, 30-27, in front of 1,756 fans.
The victory, which avenged Texas' five-game come-from-behind win over the Aggies in Austin earlier this season, snapped an A&M two-match losing streak as the Aggies improved to 19-9 overall and 11-8. The Longhorns' four-match winning streak ended as they completed the regular season 22-8, 13-7.
Aggie setter Lexy Beers ran a balanced attack as five A&M players posted double figures in kills. Melissa Munsch led the charge with 16, and Carol Price and Laura Jones added 14 apiece. Achilefu and Tara Pulaski contributed 13 and 10 kills, respectively.
Kathy Hahn led Texas with a career-high 27 kills, and sophomore Mira Topic surpassed 1,000 kills in her young career with a 21-kill performance.
There were 13 ties and eight lead changes early in the opening game. A&M held a 14-13 edge when Kathryn Wilson put down a kill and LaTonya Coates followed with an ace to begin a string of six unanswered points for the Longhorns. The Aggies could get no closer than four points for the remainder of the game before Hahn finished off the game with back-to-back kills.
Texas held a 6-5 advantage in game two when A&M when on a seven-point run. The Aggies eventually built a game-high seven-point lead, but Texas fought back to get within 20-18. A kill by Achilefu put the Aggies up by three, and Texas could not get any closer the rest of the frame. With A&M up 29-24, Texas setter Caron Blotch staved off game point with a dump, but Achilefu finished off the game with her sixth kill of the game.
The Longhorns were up, 27-23, when A&M rallied for three consecutive points to get within one. Hahn ended the run with a kill, but a service error and a kill by Jones knotted the score at 28. The teams exchanged kills as the score remained tied at 29. The Horns then committed back-to-back attack errors as A&M secured the come-from-behind victory and a 2-1 game advantage.
The Aggies carried their momentum into the fourth game and led the entire game as Price opened the frame with a kill. A&M equaled its largest lead of the game at 20-13 before Texas rallied for five points to get within 20-18. The Horns closed the gap to one point at 22-21 and 23-22 but were unable to overcome the deficit. With the Aggies up, 28-26, Texas committed a critical service error and Achilefu fittingly put down the match-ending kill.
Texas outhit A&M, .303 to .280 and tallied 78 kills to the Aggies' 68 in the tightly contested match. The teams tied in blocks with six apiece, and A&M led in aces (5-4) and digs (66-63).
A&M concludes the regular season Saturday against Iowa State in Ames. First serve is at 2 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum. The Aggies will then await the announcement of the 64-team NCAA championship bracket to be aired at 8 p.m. Sunday on ESPNews.
