November 17, 2004
No. 13 Texas A&M improved to 8-0 in home conference matches with a 30-23, 30-26, 30-21 victory over Iowa State in front of 1,348 at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
Thirteen of A&M's 14 players contributed in the sweep as the Aggies hit .336 for the match and outblocked the Cyclones, 12-2. Melissa Munsch led the way, posting match highs of 14 kills with no errors, 14 digs and six blocks. Teammates Laura Jones and Christi Hahn added 13 and 11 kills, respectively, and the trio combined for a .415 hitting efficiency.
"The numbers looked good," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "The numbers are there. We hit a high percentage, and there were not nearly as many hitting errors as we've had in the past. Our passing broke down and it affected our offense. It could have been even better."
A&M never trailed in the opening game, using a five-point run to jump out to an early 8-2 lead. The Aggies increased their lead to seven points at 13-6, but the Cyclones cut the lead to 16-14 following two kills by Nicole Lorenzen and an ace by Erin Boeve.
Iowa State was unable to get any closer, and with A&M ahead, 27-23, the Cyclones committed consecutive attack errors to put the Aggies serving for the game. Hahn then crushed her fifth kill of the game to put A&M up, 1-0, in the match.
A&M seemed to be in to control early in Game 2, scoring nine unanswered points to take a 10-1 lead. The Cyclones, however, fought back and tied the score at 18 following a four-point rally. Iowa State also tied the score at 19 and 20 before A&M scored three straight points to pull away. With the Aggies leading 29-26, Jones put down a kill to end the game.
"We had a let down in Game 2, yet I was trying to get some new players on the floor and get some experience going," Corbelli said. "For whatever reasons, things broke down a little bit for awhile, but we were able to keep it together and keep it going."
The Aggies didn't let up in Game 3, posting six of their 12 blocks in the final game. A&M built its biggest lead at 24-12 following a four-point scoring spurt. The Cyclones could get no closer than eight points, and with A&M up, 29-21, Munsch slammed the match-winning kill.
Lorenzen led the Cyclones with 14 kills, and Katie Jessen added 11. Brittany Daalager led the team in digs with 14.
The Aggies improve to 17-6 overall and 13-4 in the Big 12 while extending their winning streak against the Cyclones to 19. Iowa State falls to 8-19, 1-17.
The Aggies make their final road trip of the regular season Saturday when they take on the Kansas Jayhawks in Lawrence. First serve is at 7 p.m. at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center.
State Farm Player of the Match: Melissa Munsch (.424, 14 kills, no errors, 2 aces 14 digs, 6 blocks)
Notes: Christi Hahn had a career-high .476 hitting efficiency (minimum 10 kills) with 11 kills, one error in 21 attempts...Kari Kelley tied Munsch for match-high honors in digs with 14, which equals her season high and is one shy of her career high...Defensive specialist Lindsay Frantz missed her first match this season as she was held out because of a strained hamstring.