October 01, 2005
Texas A&M struggled to get in sync in all areas of its game, and No. 16 Kansas State jumped on the opportunity and handed the 23rd-ranked Aggies a 30-16, 30-21, 30-22 loss in front of 687 at Ahearn Field House.
The Wildcats, who improve to 10-0 against the Aggies at Ahearn, set the tone at the start, posting four service aces and two blocks while jumping out to an 8-0 lead. Laura Jones ended the run with a kill, but K-State refused to let up. The Wildcats, who hit .577 in the game, quickly built a 22-8 lead. A&M could get no closer than 11 points the remainder of the frame and was held to a season-low 16 points.
The Aggies took their first lead of the match at 4-3 in Game 2 when K-State was whistled for reaching over the net. A&M maintained a one-point advantage at 8-7 before K-State reeled off four unanswered points to mark the beginning of a 10-2 scoring run. The Wildcats built their biggest lead at 25-16, and the teams traded point for point until Agata Rezende put down the game-winning kill for K-State.
Two Wildcat errors gave A&M a 2-0 advantage to start Game 3, but the lead was short lived as K-State scored three straight to pull ahead. A&M twice tied the score before K-State went on a 10-3 run to take a 14-7 lead. The Wildcats were ahead, 16-10, when they went on another spurt, scoring seven consecutive points to extend the lead to 23-10.
A&M, whose longest scoring spurt had been a three-point run in the first game, ran off six unanswered points to get within 25-18. A service error ended the run, and the teams once again traded points until Rezende put down the match winner.
K-State hit .442 for the match, a season-high by an A&M opponent. Sandy Werner led the K-State attack with 14 kills and a .737 hitting efficiency. Joy Hamlin and Rezende also posted double figures in kills, combining for 22 kills and a .514 hitting percentage.
The Wildcats also tallied nine aces and 11.5 blocks against the Aggies, who were held to a .212 hitting percentage for the game and did not manage a block for the first time this season.
Laura Jones led A&M with 18 kills and a .316 hitting percentage. She was the only Aggie to reach double figures in kills.
K-State snaps a two-match losing skid to improve to 12-3 and 3-2 in the Big 12 Conference. The Aggies suffer their fifth consecutive loss and fall to 7-6 overall and 0-4 in the Big 12.
The Aggies return home Wednesday to host No. 22 Texas in the State Farm Lonestar Showdown. First serve is at 6:30 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum.