October 20, 2004
No. 16 Texas A&M dropped the first game to Colorado but came back to win the match, 25-30, 30-28, 30-26, 30-21, tonight at the Coors Events Center.
It was the second consecutive match the Aggies rallied after dropping the opening game, as well as the second straight match A&M set a season high in blocks. A&M, which had 17 blocks in a come-from-behind victory against No. 9 Texas on Saturday, posted 18 blocks against the Buffs. Kendra Felder, the State Farm Player of the Game, led A&M with a career-high 10.
With the win, the Aggies conclude the first half of conference 11-5 overall and 7-3 in the Big 12. Colorado falls to 10-7, 5-5.
Game 1 was tied at 13 when Colorado scored four consecutive points. A&M twice got within a point before the Buffs built their biggest lead at 26-20. Colorado held a 28-25 edge and finished the game with a kill and a block.
There were six lead changes and 13 ties in the second game. The teams were tied at 26, when the Buffs scored consecutive points on a kill and an A&M attack error to force an Aggie timeout. Colorado then committed a service error and a kill error to even the score. Laura Jones followed with an ace, and Cristin Burton and Felder teamed for a block to give the Aggies the win.
Game 3 was tied at 14 when A&M reeled off three unanswered points to take the lead for good. The Aggies built their biggest lead at 28-23, but a Colorado kill followed by a block put the Buffs within 28-25. Felder put down one of her seven kills of the match to put A&M at game point, but Allie Griffin answered with a kill to keep the Buffs alive. But Griffin's next attack was blocked by Felder and Christi Hahn to end the game.
For the third straight game, Jones began with back-to-back kills to give the Aggies a quick lead in Game 4. The Aggies carried the momentum throughout the game, never trailing. A&M built a game-high 11-point lead three times, the last at 18-7. A&M went on to a 30-21 win with Kari Kelley putting the game-winner on an overpass.
The four-game win ended a streak of four matches against the Buffs that have gone five games, and it was A&M's first win at Colorado since 2001.
Munsch, who had eight kills in the first game, led the Aggies with 19 kills and also had seven blocks. Jones added 17 kills, and Hahn finished with 10. Kelley led in digs with a season-high 14.
Maragda Santillanna led the Buffs with 19 kills.
The Aggies head to Lubbock Saturday to take on the Texas Tech Red Raiders. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. at the United Spirit Arena.