September 29, 2004
No. 14 Texas A&M ran its winning streak against Baylor to 10 with a 30-23, 30-19, 30-23 victory over the Bears in front of 1,653 tonight at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The Aggies posted a season-high 12 serving aces, including a career-high-tying five by Kendra Felder (Corpus Christi, Texas), and snapped a two-match losing skid as A&M improved to 7-4 overall and 3-2 in the Big 12 Conference.
Baylor (7-7, 1-4) started strong in the opening game, building its biggest lead at 11-6. The Bears maintained a lead until an attack error by Desiree Guilliard-Young gave the Aggies their first lead of the match at 17-16. Guilliard-Young later regained an edge for Baylor, smashing an overpass to put the Bears up, 18-17. Stella Odion followed with a kill for Baylor, but a service error put the Aggies within 19-18.
A kill by A&M's Carrie Moreira (Stockton, Calif.) tied the score, and back-to-back aces by Felder gave the Aggies the lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the match. A&M built a 24-21 advantage, but Baylor rallied to cut the lead to 24-23. A&M then put the game away, scoring six unanswered points. Melissa Munsch (Columbus, Texas) tallied three aces, and Felder added two kills during the run.
"Baylor came out confident and knowing that they had to start strong," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "We really, really wanted the victory, and sometimes we try to hard. We finally relaxed and got into a rhythm."
The rhythm carried into the second game as the Aggies never trailed and held Baylor to a -.029 hitting percentage. The Bears stayed within five points during the first half of the game and trailed 19-14 when A&M ran off five consecutive points to put the game out of reach.
The Aggies held on to a 25-18 lead and then went on a 5-1 run to close out the frame and take a 2-0 game lead into the intermission.
Munsch posted one of her 10 kills of the match to begin the third game, and the Aggies never looked back. A&M led, 11-6, but Baylor rallied to get within 12-11 before A&M answered with three consecutive kills and a block to take a 16-11 lead. The Bears were unable to get closer than three points for the remainder of the game, and with A&M leading 28-23, Laura Jones (Arlington, Texas) put down her match-high 14th kill and Baylor hit into the net to end the match.
Munsch finished with a double-double, tallying 10 kills and a team-high 10 digs. Felder, the State Farm Player of the Match, added nine kills and a match-high five blocks to lead the Aggies with 17.5 points.
Guilliard-Young, who entered the match ranked 12th in the nation with a .422 hitting percentage, led the Bears with eight kills but was held to a .043 hitting efficiency. Nicole LeBlanc and Kristen Schramek led the team in digs with 12 apiece.
A&M continues its home stand Friday as the Aggies play host to Texas Tech at 6 p.m. at G. Rollie. Aggie Athletes Involved will be hosting its "Aggies Can" food drive. Anyone bringing a canned food item will receive free general admission to the match, and the first 1,000 fans will receive a free Big 12 volleyball shirt.