October 16, 2004
No. 20 Texas A&M came from behind to defeat No. 9 Texas, 32-34, 30-24, 30-27, 30-21, in front of 3,150 at the State Farm Lone Star Showdown at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
"I was really pleased with the way we played," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "It's never hard to get excited about this match, and we take it as a great challenge and a way to test our team in its execution against a great team."
Texas (16-1, 8-1 Big 12), which suffered its first loss of the season and its seventh straight defeat in College Station, entered the week leading the nation in hitting percentage. The Aggies, however, outblocked their rivals, 17-7 while holding the Longhorns to a season-low .156 hitting efficiency.
"Our blocking was so critical," Corbelli said. "Sometimes in the match, our block really made a big difference."
Texas took a 20-12 lead in the opening game, but A&M refused to back down and tied the score at 21 on a block by Kendra Felder and Christi Hahn. The Aggies then took their first lead since the start of the game, 24-23, when Texas was whistled for a net violation. A&M maintained the lead until a kill by Dariam Acevedo tied the score at 29. Melissa Munsch then put down one of her 17 kills of the match to put the Aggies serving for the game.
The Horns fought off two game-points and took a 32-31 lead on a block by Bethany Howden and Jen Christian. Munsch tied the score with a kill, but a kill by Howden and an A&M attack error gave the Horns the game.
"After the first game, I knew we had it in us," Corbelli said. "It (Game 1) was a tough one to drop, but we challenged the team with how much heart they could give. It was just believing. We knew that we could win it, but it had to show in our game."
Two five-point scoring rallies spurred the Aggies to a 30-24 win in Game 2 to even the match. Texas held its biggest lead at 9-3, when four kills by Jones along with a Kari Kelley ace gave the Aggies the lead for good. Texas stayed within three points and cut the lead to one five times until, with A&M holding a narrow 24-23 lead, Felder ignited another five-point run for the Aggies, posting three kills during the stretch. Mira Topic ended the run with a kill, but Jones answered with a kill of her own tie the match.
A&M took its first lead of Game 3 at 9-8 on a block by Munsch and Jones and never trailed the remainder of the game. Texas overcame a four-point deficit and twice tied the score, the last at 22. A&M then scored four unanswered points, the last two on consecutive aces by Felder. The Horns could not get closer than two points before Jones capped the win with a kill.
The Aggies trialed, 10-5, in the fourth game but stormed back with five unanswered points to tie the score. A&M then took its first lead, 12-11, on a Texas attack error. Topic posted a kill to tie the score, but Kelley answered with a kill to spark a 6-1 run for the Aggies. The Horns mounted their own 5-1 rally to get within 19-18, but a block by Munsch and Hahn kept the Aggies in the lead. Texas, which was held to a -.082 hitting percentage in the game, stayed within striking distance at 22-19, when A&M scored eight straight points, two following blocks and two courtesy of Texas attack errors. Then with A&M leading, 29-21, Munsch put down a kill to give the Aggies the victory.
Jones posted a match-high 26 kills while hitting at a .344 clip as the Aggies posted a .261 hitting efficiency. Jones also tied for match-high honors in digs with 19 and earned State Farm Player of the Match laurels.
Munsch nearly notched a triple double as she added 12 digs and nine blocks, along with 17 kills. Felder also reached double figures in kills with 10.
Kelley and Lindsay Frantz had career nights with 57 assists and 15 digs, respectively.
Topic led the Horns with 25 kills and 19 digs but was held to a .159 hitting percentage. Howden added 18 kills, and Acevedo had 14 kills and 15 digs.
The Aggies improve to 10-5 overall and 6-3 in the Big 12 and take a 1.5-0 lead in the Lone Star Showdown series against the Horns.
A&M returns to the road to face the Colorado Buffaloes on Wednesday. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. (MDT) at the Coors Events Center.