December 01, 2005
Texas A&M was eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Championship tournament after falling to Northwestern, 30-26, 20-30, 28-30, 30-27, 15-12, at the Joyce Center on the University of Notre Dame campus.
?We are obviously disappointed in our performance,? A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. ?We did play a very tough team tonight, a team that matched up well with us. We just couldn?â„¢t get our rhythm completely like we have had it the last month.?
The Aggies got off to a slow start to open the match and spotted NU a 4-0 lead. A&M stayed within striking distance at 17-14 and then scored four unanswered points to take its first lead. The Aggies built their biggest lead at 20-18, but NU scored three unanswered points to retake the lead. There were two more lead changes and the score was tied for the eighth time of the game at 24-all. NU broke the tie with its sixth block of the game. An A&M attack into the net and a kill by NU?â„¢s Courtnie Paulus put the Wildcats ahead, 27-25. A service error ended the three-point run, but NU got a kill from Chelay Hyser and a solo block from Julie Purcell to go up, 29-25. The Wildcats served into the net, but A&M was whistled for a ball handling error on the next play to give NU the win.
A&M made some effective adjustments to begin the second game and never trailed. The Aggies, who were outblocked 7-1 in the opening frame, jumped out to a 6-1 lead with three of the points resulting from blocks. The Wildcats got within two points three times, the last coming at 13-11 following a three-point NU rally. A&M answered with its own three-point run as Jones put down two kills and Kari Kelley added an ace. A&M maintained a 21-18 lead when back-to-back kills by Jones marked the start of a five-point A&M run. The score was 27-20 before consecutive kills by Kendra Felder and Kelsey Bryant put the Aggies serving for the game. Jones then aced her serve for the game-winner.
?Our blocking became a little more effective,? Corbelli said. ?They definitely made more errors. They were trying to go at our hands and made shots that we had adjusted to and our transition offense was in better sync at that time.?
The third game began much like the first game with NU jumping out to a 6-1 lead. A&M overcame the deficit and took its first lead at 10-9 after Purcell?â„¢s attack sailed wide. The teams traded leads, and NU used a four-point spurt to take its last lead at 18-16. The Wildcats were up, 21-18, when A&M went on a 9-1 run to build a 27-22 advantage. NU continued to fight and battled back to 28-27. Jones put A&M at game point with her eighth kill of the game, but her ensuing serve went long to reduce the lead to 29-28. A Kelsey Bryant kill gave the Aggies the win and a 2-1 lead in games.
A&M was unable to hold on to a 17-12 lead in Game 4, and the Wildcats took the lead at 24-23 following back-to-back kills by Purcell. A&M tied the score with a kill, but NU scored on five of the next six plays to build a 29-26 advantage. Christi Hahn kept A&M alive with a solo block, but A&M served into the net on the next play to give NU the win and even the match at two games apiece.
There were nine ties and six lead changes in the fifth and deciding game. The Aggies held a narrow 11-10 edge, but a ball handling error and an attack error put NU back in the lead. Paulus gave the Wildcats a 13-11 lead, but A&M got back within a point when NU was whistled for a ball handling error on the ensuing play. It was the last point for A&M as Hyser clinched the victory for the Wildcats with back-to-back kills.
?When we were passing well, we got to run our middle a lot more which we need to do,? Corbelli said. (Passing) has been a nemesis for us all year. There were just key times when it wasn?â„¢t as sharp as it needed to be. I think if it had been sharp at certain points we could be happy right now.?
Jones, who entered the match leading the nation with 6.09 kills per game, had a match high 30 kills and ends her illustrious career with an A&M-record 2,064 kills. Hahn added 19 kills, and Bryant and Felder also reached double figures in kills with 13 and 12, respectively.
Jones also led the Aggies in digs with 21. Freshman Lindsey Yon pitched in a career-high 17, and Holly Clay added 13.
Paulus led the Wildcats with 18 kills, and Purcell added 17. Brittany Aldridge helped NU to a 19-9 advantage in blocks with 10.
The Aggies, who won seven of their last nine regular season matches to get into the tournament for the 13th consecutive year, fall in the first round for the first time under Corbelli, who completes her 13th season at A&M with a 16-14 mark. The loss also marks the career ender for Jones, Clay, Felder, Kelley and Cristin Burton.
NU (20-11), which earns its first victory in seven trips to the NCAA tournament, advances to the second round and plays Friday against the winner of sixth-seed Notre Dame and Dayton at 6 p.m. (CST) at the Joyce Center. The winner of the match will be one of four teams to advance to the NCAA regional to be hosted by Texas A&M, Dec. 9-10 at G. Rollie White Coliseum.