September 05, 2003
Four Aggies posted double figures in kills as Texas A&M defeated No. 16 Louisville, 30-22, 30-26, 28-30, 32-30 in the opening match of the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge at Cliff Keen Arena.
"This was a big win for us," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "Their tough serving had us passing tight and took away our hitters, but we were still able to spread the offense and te hitters still found ways to get the kill and not make the errors.
"Their two outside hitters (Sonja Percan and Lena Ustymenko) were relentless and didn't let up, but we didn't get rattled and persevered with consistent serving and our incredibly disciplined block. Our defense was key."
Laura Jones recorded her fourth consecutive double-double performance for the Aggies with a team-high 17 kills and 13 digs as the Aggies improved to 4-0. Beth Skypala also had a double-double with a career-high 15 kills and 19 digs, and Melissa Munsch and Tara Pulaski added 13 and 10 kills, respectively.
Munsch led in blocks with nine, and Kendra Felder added a career-high seven as A&M outblocked the Cardinals, 14.5 to 8.5. The Aggies also outhit Louisville .273 to .192 with Skypala posting a career-high and match-high .448 hitting percentage.
Louisville was led by Percan, who posted a match-high 24 kills. Ustymenko added 17 kills as the Cardinals fall to 1-3.
A&M held a 7-5 lead in the opening game when the Aggies outscored the Cardinals, 9-1, to take a 16-7 lead. The Aggies, who never trailed in the game, built their biggest lead of the game when Tara Pulaski put down a Louisville overpass for a kill to put A&M up, 18-7. The Cardinals twice got within seven points, the last at 29-22 when Pulaski recorded a kill to end the game.
Louisville overcame a four-point deficit early in the second game and tied the score four times before taking the lead at 18-17. Skypala quickly tied the game with a kill, and following an exchange of points, a Jones kill regained the lead for the Aggies, 21-20. A&M never lost the lead for the remainder of the game, and with the score at 28-26, Felder killed a Louisville overpass and Skypala followed with a kill to give the Aggies the 30-26 win.
There were 10 lead changes and 13 ties in Game 3 before Louisville prevailed, 30-28. A&M built its biggest lead of the game at 22-16 following a stuff block by Munsch and Carol Price. A&M held a 24-19 lead when the Cardinals went on a sixpoint scoring run to take their fourth lead of the game. A Munsch kill and a Louisville attack error put the Aggies back on top. Louisville quickly tied the score and at 27-27, and consecutive A&M attack errors gave the Cardinals a lead they would not lose to force a fourth game.
Louisville battle back from a 17-8 as the fourth game went down to the wire. The Cardinals took their first lead since a 3-2 advantage at 27 on a Percan kill. A Louisville service error and a Munsch kill regained the lead for the Aggies, but the Cardinals answered with a kill and a block to be serving for game point. A block by Munsch and Felder evened the score, but Percan put down a kill to put Louisville back at game point. Jones then registered a kill and Pulaski followed suit to give the Aggies a 31-30 lead. Price, who hails from nearby Fenton, Mich., then posted a kill off the block to give A&M the hard-fought win.
The Aggies return to action Saturday as they face Michigan at 6 p.m. (CDT). A&M concludes the tournament Sunday against Murray State at 10 a.m.