November 11, 2004
No. 13 Texas A&M saw its eight-match win streak snapped Thursday night as the Aggies fell at No. 9 Texas, 23-30, 40-38, 30-23, 25-30, 15-10, before 3,608 fans at Gregory Gym.
It was the third consecutive year the match went five games in Austin and the third straight win for the Longhorns at home against the Aggies.
Mira Topic led the Longhorns with 33 kills, equaling the most kills by an A&M opponent in school history, as Texas extended its winning streak to five and improved to 21-2. In addition, the Longhorns remained in second place in the Big 12 with a 13-2 mark and picked up a half point in the State Farm Lone Star Showdown, which A&M leads 1.5 to .5.
A&M, which upset the Horns, 3-1, in College Station earlier this season, falls to 16-6, 12-4.
"I was proud how we played," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "Our execution mirrored exactly what I pictured minus the few errors at bad times. We played with a lot of heart."
Laura Jones had 23 kills to lead a group of five Aggies to reach double figures in kills. Kendra Felder, Christi Hahn and Melissa Munsch added 14 kills apiece, and Cristin Burton added a career high 13. A&M outhit Texas, .303 to .275, and outblocked the Horns, 14-9.
A&M, which is the only team that has hit over .250 against the Horns this season, fell for the first time this season after winning the first game and also for the first time after leading its opponent in hitting percentage.
A&M took its first lead of Game 1 at 4-3 and never trailed for the remainder of the game.
The second game was a different story. There were 22 ties and 13 lead changes. A&M fought off four game points, while Texas fought off six game points before pulling out the 40-38 win and tie the match. The 40 points is the most by an A&M opponent.
Texas carried the momentum into the third game. A&M held a narrow 12-11 edge when the Longhorns scored three straight points and slowly pulled away.
The Aggies trailed 9-8 in the fourth game when freshman Meghan Kainz came in and sparked A&M to a 30-25 win. The Aggies hit a match-high .382 in the game to tie the match.
A&M took a 3-1 lead to begin the fifth game before Texas went on a four-point run. A&M never could overcome the deficit as the Horns closed out the match.
The Aggies are idle this weekend and return to action Wednesday when they play host to Iowa State. First serve is at 7 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum
State Farm Player of the Match: Laura Jones