November 01, 2003
No. 21 Texas A&M extended its winning streak to seven with a crucial 30-21, 13-30, 30-28, 27-30, 15-13 victory over No. 24 Missouri tonight in front of 2,344 at the Hearnes Center.
The Aggies improve to 17-5 overall and 9-3 in the Big 12 to move into third place in the league standings, a half game ahead of the Tigers. Missouri, which suffered its first home loss of the season, falls to 16-6, 9-4.
A&M overcame a three-point deficit in the fifth and deciding game and took its first lead at 7-6 following a block by Carrie Moreira and Kendra Felder. The Tigers answered with a kill and an ace to regain a one-point lead. A&M matched Missouri point for point, tying the score five times before back-to-back kills by Laura Jones gave the Aggies a 13-12 advantage. The Tigers got a kill to tie the score for the ninth time in the game before Carol Price registered consecutive kills to seal the victory.
Four Aggies reached double digits in kills with Jones posting team highs of 19 kills and a .405 hitting percentage. Melissa Munsch tied her season high with a team-leading 21 digs, and Price, Felder and Tara Pulaski tallied four blocks apiece as A&M outblocked Missouri, 9-3.
Missouri, which outhit A&M, .249 to .226, was led by Shen Danru, who recorded 22 kills but was held to a .179 hitting efficiency. Lindsey Noll had 20 kills and hit .450 for the match.
Missouri scored the first point of the match on an A&M error, but the Aggies answered with four consecutive points and held the lead for the remainder of the game. A&M built its biggest lead at 27-17 as Moreira tallied one of her five kills of the game by tooling the Missouri block. The Aggies were leading, 29-21, when Tara Pulaski finished off the game with a tip that fell for a kill. A&M outhit Missouri, .273 to .132.
It was the Aggies who were out of sync in the second game. Missouri, which hit a blistering .606 in the frame while holding A&M to a .188 hitting percentage, took advantage of A&M's passing and hitting miscues while holding the Aggies to a season-low 13 points in a 30-point game.
The final three games went down to the wire. There were six lead changes and 12 ties in Game 3. The Aggies were able to overcome an early three-point deficit to take their first lead at 11-10. Missouri regained the lead at 13-12 and held the lead until a block by Felder and Price put A&M up, 18-17.
Missouri took its final lead of the game at 24-23 following a three-point run, but back-to-back errors by the Tigers gave the Aggies a lead they would not relinquish. Missouri tied the score at 25 and 26 when Price and Munsch posted consecutive kills to put A&M up, 28-26. The teams exchanged points for the remainder of the game with a Missouri service error clinching the win for A&M.
There were 12 ties and three lead changes in a closely contested fourth game. Missouri took its second lead at 4-3 when A&M was called for reaching over. The Aggies matched the Tigers point for point until Missouri scored three straight points to build a 15-12 advantage. A&M stayed close and eventually tied the score for the final time at 26-26 on a Missouri attack error. Missouri went on to outscore the Aggies, 4-1, to close out the game and force the fifth game.
A&M returns home Wednesday as the Aggies play host to 11th-ranked and five-time defending Big 12 champion Nebraska. First serve of the match, which is being billed as "Maroon Out Big Red Night," is at 7 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum.