September 10, 2005
Senior All-American Laura Jones tied a school record with 35 kills while leading No. 13 Texas A&M to a come-from-behind 28-30, 30-17, 30-28, 29-31, 15-13 victory against previously undefeated LSU at the UTSA Dome Rally at the Alamodome.
LSU (7-1) was riding the momentum going into the fifth game after holding off the Aggies' late rally in a 31-29 fourth-game win. The Tigers built a 9-3 advantage in the deciding game when A&M began to cut into the lead. LSU held a 13-11 lead before Jones tooled the Tiger block for back-to-back kills to tie the score. Jones then rifled a kill off the top of the block to give the Aggies their first lead of the game and put A&M serving for the match. A&M's Kelly Stanton and Christi Hahn then teamed for the winning point, blocking an attack attempt by Kyna Washington.
"We were down 9-3, but I could still see that we could chip away at that deficit" A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "The fact that we slowly, slowly, rotation-by-rotation found what needed to happen in that rotation and get it done, I'm just really excited for the team because they needed to have that kind of a win. We failed to do that yesterday (a 3-1 loss to No. 6 Florida) when it was tight, and we managed to do it today."
The Aggies got off to a sluggish start in the opening game and found themselves fighting from behind after LSU used a five-point rally to help build a 12-5 lead. A&M whittled away at the lead and tied the score at 18 following a three-point run. The Aggies, however, were unable to overtake the lead. LSU was serving for the game at 29-24 when Kendra Felder posted two kills and teamed for a block to help A&M get back within 29-28. The comeback came up short when the Tigers' Melody Clark put down a kill to end the game.
"We didn't come out absolutely prepared for them to bring their best stuff," Jones said. "They fought hard, they really did, and we got down on ourselves some. But that is a big part of what we are working on in practice is coming out of those lulls."
A&M came out with more intensity in Game 2 and reeled off strings of points multiple times, including a 6-0 run to take a commanding 23-10 lead. LSU, which was outhit, .433 to .108 in the frame, could get no closer than 11 points during the remainder of the game.
LSU built a 23-18 lead in the third game, but the Aggies outscored the Tigers, 7-2, to tie the score. LSU had a kill and an ace to pull ahead, 27-25. Jones ended the run with a kill, and an LSU attack into the net knotted the score. Jones and Stanton followed with a block to give A&M its first lead since a 9-8 advantage.
A&M had an attack error before Jones put down her eighth kill of the game to put the Aggies at game point. An LSU attack error ended the game and gave the Aggies a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Tigers used a pivotal five-point run late in Game 4 to take a 28-25 lead. The Aggies tied the score following a Tiger attack error and back-to-back kills by Felder and Jones, but A&M muffed the next play, allowing the ball to drop between two players following a great digging save by the defense. Jones tied the score with a kill, but Clark answered with a kill, and Jelena Mijatovic recorded her third ace of the stanza to end the game and tie the match.
"I'm really glad it's over," Corbelli said following the match. "Knowing that we had opportunities in Game 4, the stress level was really high on our court. That is something we've really got to address is how to keep our stress level a little bit lower, because you get impatient and you let the stress get the best of you."
Jones' 35 kills ties the A&M record set by Kristie Smedsrud in a five-game loss at No. 17 Wisconsin in 1996. In addition, Jones, who hit .295 in the match, broke her previous personal high of 30 kills set in a four-game loss at No. 10 Tennessee in the second round of the 2004 NCAA tournament and also tied a career high with six blocks.
Cristin Burton hit .300 with 14 kills, and Felder and Hahn added 12 and 10 kills, respectively, for the Aggies
In addition to Jones' career high in kills, libero Holly Clay posted a career-high 23 digs, and setter Kari Kelley had a career-high 59 assists.
Mijatovic led the Tigers with 25 kills, but was held to a .143 hitting percentage. Washington added 16 kills and Clark finished with 14. Ivana Kuzmic took match-high honors in blocks with 10.
The Aggies (7-1) conclude the tournament against No. 8 Southern California Sunday at 1 p.m. A&M will be aiming for its first victory against the Women of Troy, who have defeated the Aggies in each of the previous six meetings.
Live internet audio of the match will be available at AggieAthletics.com.