September 04, 2004
The 15th-ranked Texas A&M volleyball team put up a good fight, but No. 3 UCLA came out on top, 31-29, 30-27, 30-25, to capture the McDonald's/Texas A&M Invitational trophy in front of a boisterous crowd of 2,858 at G. Rollie White Colisuem.
Although the Bruins won in three games, they had to rely on a late surge to win the tight-knit first game. The Aggies held a 28-26 advantage when all-tournament selection Brynn Murphy put down a kill to put UCLA within one. A&M was called for being in the net in the ensuing play resulting in the 17th tie of the game. The lead changed for the 11th time when UCLA's Chrissie Zartman aced her serve to put the Bruins ahead, 29-28. Her next serve went into the net to tie the scored, but a kill by teammate Brittany Ringel and an A&M attack error gave the Bruins the game.
"We missed a few points that made a big difference," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "As much as we tried to fight back, they took off and found our weaknesses more than we found theirs."
The Aggies jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second game and never trailed until Murphy put down a kill to give the Bruins their first lead at 22-21. Kendra Felder posted a kill for A&M to tie the game, but the Aggies were unable to retake the lead for the remainder of the game. Heather Cullen closed out the game with an ace to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead.
UCLA (4-0) built an 18-14 lead in Game 3, but A&M got back within one point at 19-18. The Aggies got within one point two more times but were unable to overcome the deficit. The Bruins slowly pulled away, and a kill by tournament MVP Krystal McFarland clinched a 30-25 victory for the Bruins.
"We played hard and did some nice things, and we got to see what it will take to win the Big 12 Conference," Corbelli said. "UCLA played with a lot of consistency and did their job well."
McFarland set a balanced attack for the Bruins with 43 assists as three UCLA players reached double figures in kills. Murphy tied for match-high honors in kills with 14. Ringel added 12 kills, and Colby Lyman added 11.
All-tournament team selections Melissa Munsch and Laura Jones led the Aggies with 14 and 12 kills, respectively. Munsch also led A&M with eight blocks to lead A&M to a 14-10 advantage in blocks. Jones took team-high honors in digs with 11.
The Aggies (2-1) return to action Tuesday when they play host to Texas State. First serve is at 7 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
Texas A&M State Farm Player of the Game: Melissa Munsch
2004 McDonald's/Texas A&M Invitational
All-Tournament Team
Lindsey Petzold, McNeese State
Iulia Porumbescu, Georgia Southern
Amy Truong, Southern Mississippi
Laura Jones, Texas A&M
Melissa Munsch, Texas A&M
Brynn Murphy, UCLA
Most Valuable Player: Krystal McFarland, UCLA
Complete tournament results:
Thursday, Sept. 2
McNeese State def. Georgia Southern 3-0 (30-28, 30-22, 30-25)
Friday, Sept. 3
McNeese State def. Samford 3-0 (30-21, 30-12, 30-22)
No. 15 Texas A&M def. Georgia Southern 3-0 (30-15, 30-27, 30-13)
No. 3 UCLA def. Southern Mississippi 3-0 (30-18, 30-22, 30-20)
No. 15 Texas A&M def. McNeese State 3-0 (30-14, 30-17, 30-15)
Georgia Southern def. Samford 3-1 (30-28, 30-26, 28-30, 34-32)
Saturday, Sept. 4
No. 3 UCLA def. Samford 3-0 (30-12-, 30-21, 30-11)
Southern Mississippi def. Georgia Southern 3-2 (30-25, 27-30, 22-30, 30-24, 15-11)
McNeese State def. Southern Mississippi 3-2 (30-24, 26-30, 30-22, 26-30, 16-14)
No. 3 UCLA def. No. 15 Texas A&M 3-0 (31-29, 30-27, 30-25)