October 27, 2004
No. 15 Texas A&M extended its winning streak to five matches and took sole possession of third place in the Big 12 Conference with a 30-23, 30-28, 25-30, 30-26 victory over Missouri in front of 1,484 tonight at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The Aggies, who avenged a 3-1 loss at Missouri earlier in the season, improve to 13-5 overall and 9-3 in the Big 12. In addition, the Aggies remain undefeated in conference home matches at 6-0.
Missouri, which entered the match tied with the Aggies for third place and riding a three-match winning streak, falls to 13-6, 8-4.
"Being at home, playing on our court and in front of our crowd were the major differences from the last time we played them," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "The comfort level we have in our gym is incredible."
Laura Jones posted match highs of 20 kills and 21 digs to lead the Aggies and earn State Farm Player of the Match honors. Melissa Munsch also recorded a double-double with 14 kills and 10 digs and added a match-high seven blocks. Kendra Felder reached double figures in kills with 10, and Carrie Moreira pitched in 15 digs.
Shen Danru had 17 kills to lead a group of four Tigers who reached double figures in kills. Lindsey Noll added 13, and Jessica Vander Kooi and Nicole Wilson contributed 11 kills each.
Missouri, which entered the match ranked 11th in the nation with a .287 hitting efficiency, posted 71 kills to A&M's 61 but was outhit, .222 to .200.
Missouri held a narrow 8-7 lead in Game 1, but A&M scored five consecutive points. The Aggies, who outhit Missouri, .317 to .233 in the game, held an 18-15 advantage when they went on another five-point run. The closest the Tigers could get was 23-17 before the teams exchanged point for point to close out the game.
The Tigers scored five consecutive points to take 26-22 lead in Game 2. Felder ended the run with a kill, and Munsch and Christi Hahn teamed for a block to put A&M within two points. A Missouri attack went wide, and Felder notched an ace to tie score for the 13th time in the game. Noll posted a kill to end the run and put the Tigers ahead, 27-26 and the teams continued to trade points until, with the score tied at 28, Jones posted a kill and Na Yang's attack sailed long to give A&M a two-game lead.
Missouri controlled the third game, outhitting A&M .267 to .159. The Tigers took their biggest lead at 28-20 following a four-point run, but A&M answered with a five-point rally to get within 28-25. Two consecutive kills by Danru ended the Aggies' comeback and gave Missouri the win.
The teams were tied at 10 in Game 4 before A&M eventually pulled away to a 22-16 lead. The Tigers responded with five consecutive points to force an A&M timeout. Felder then made Missouri pay for an overpass to end the Tigers' run. The Aggies held on to a 24-23 lead when a Munsch kill and back-to-back Missouri kill errors put A&M up, 27-24. The teams then traded point for point for the remainder of the game with Jones putting down the match-winning kill.
The Aggies now hit the road to face Oklahoma Saturday in Norman. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. at McCasland Field House. A&M has won 23 consecutive matches against the Sooners.