September 01, 2006
Texas A&M suffered its first loss of the season, falling to LSU, 30-32, 36-34, 30-23, 30-16, at the SLU Billiken Invitational at the Bauman-Eberhardt Athletic Center.
The Aggies jumped out to an early lead by coming from behind to take the opening game, which saw 20 ties and six lead changes. The Tigers equaled their biggest lead at 22-19 before A&M scored three unanswered points to tie the score. LSU responded with back-to-back kills, but A&M stayed close and tied the score four times before taking the lead at 28-27 on a block by Mary Batis and Kelly Stanton. The teams exchanged points, and the score was tied at 30 when LSU committed a crucial substitution error resulting in a point for the Aggies. A Tiger attack sailed long on the ensuing play, giving A&M the win.
?I thought our start was great,? A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. ?We were playing together. We had good rhythm on our offense. We felt a little hesitation, but we were really working hard to work through it. They were having some serving troubles, which helped us a lot in getting our passing going and getting our offense in rhythm.?
The Aggies held a 28-24 lead in Game 2 when their passing began to break down. Marina Skender posted three aces during an LSU 5-point run to give the Tigers the lead. The scoring went back and forth with each team holding off three game points apiece. The Aggies held their last lead at 34-33 following a kill by Sarah Ammerman. Lauren DeGirolamo answered with a kill for LSU, and Skender followed with another kill to put the Tigers ahead, 35-34. In a wild game-ending rally, LSU made several diving plays to keep the ball alive following an attack attempt. LSU?â„¢s final dig of the play went over the net and fell inbounds for the game-winning point.
?In Game 2, when we were up 27-24, we had our opportunities, and then their serving got hot,? Corbelli said. ?That shook us a little bit and we ended up not getting that game.?
Kelly Stanton gave A&M its only lead of Game 3 at 3-2, putting away an LSU pass that hung over the net. Skender returned the lead to the Tigers at 6-5, posting another one of her seven aces in the match. LSU, which outhit A&M, .306 to .194, in the stanza, built its biggest lead at 29-21. Consecutive attack errors put A&M within 29-23, but Vanessa Freeman finished off the game with one of her 12 kills in the match.
?In Game 3 they got their rhythm with their serving,? Corbelli said, ?and we never did get our serving rhythm. Last weekend I felt we served maybe better than we?â„¢ve ever have before. Tonight I thought we were really tentative and not challenging them at all with our serve. It showed because they were able to pass right to their setter and ran some nice, quick plays with their very athletic attackers. It made it really tough on our defense.?
LSU never trailed in the fourth game. Freeman broke the only tie in the frame, posting back-to-back kills to put the Tigers ahead, 3-1. The Tigers outhit A&M, .600 to .100, en route to the 30-16 match-clinching game.
Mary Batis led the Aggies with 19 kills and 10 digs. Stanton added 11 kills, and Ammerman pitched in 10. Jen Moore tied Batis with a team-leading 10 digs, and Kelsey Bryant led A&M with five blocks.
LSU, which aced 12 serves to A&M?â„¢s two, was led by Skender?â„¢s 20 kills. DeGirolamo added 16, and Kyna Washington contributed 13 as the Tigers improved to 3-1.
?If we could just get a little more experience with that speed and athleticism against us, I?â„¢m confident that we have what we need,? Corbelli said. ?We were getting thrown off a little bit with the serving, but that is what this type of tournament is for. It?â„¢s to learn from and find where we are going to struggle when we get into Big 12 play and find a way to be able to train this team to work through that and work around it and where to go from there. It is just a matter of time until we learn those things.?
The Aggies (3-1) conclude the tournament with two matches on Saturday. A&M faces Saint Louis at 10 a.m. and takes on No. 22 Minnesota at 7:30 p.m.
Short Box Score (Match)
2006 Texas A&M Volleyball
LSU vs Texas A&M (Aug 30, 2006 at St. Louis, Mo.)
LSU def. Texas A&M 30-32,36-34,30-23,30-16
LSU (3-1) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Marina Skender 20-7-0; Lauren DeGirolamo 16-0-6; Kyna Washington 13-0-3; Vanessa Freeman 12-0-1; Melody Clark 9-1-1; Daniela Romero 5-0-2; Kassi Mikulik 0-1-0; Elena Martinez 0-1-0; Lauren Leaumont 0-2-0; Totals 75-12-8.0. (Assists) - Daniela
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Sept. 1, 2006
Texas A&M Volleyball
A&M Falls to LSU
ST. LOUIS ?- Texas A&M suffered its first loss of the season, falling to LSU, 30-32, 36-34, 30-23, 30-16, at the SLU Billiken Invitational at the Bauman-Eberhardt Athletic Center.
The Aggies jumped out to an early lead by coming from behind to take the opening game, which saw 20 ties and six lead changes. The Tigers equaled their biggest lead at 22-19 before A&M scored three unanswered points to tie the score. LSU responded with back-to-back kills, but A&M stayed close and tied the score four times before taking the lead at 28-27 on a block by Mary Batis and Kelly Stanton. The teams exchanged points, and the score was tied at 30 when LSU committed a crucial substitution error resulting in a point for the Aggies. A Tiger attack sailed long on the ensuing play, giving A&M the win.
?I thought our start was great,? A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. ?We were playing together. We had good rhythm on our offense. We felt a little hesitation, but we were really working hard to work through it. They were having some serving troubles, which helped us a lot in getting our passing going and getting our offense in rhythm.?
The Aggies held a 28-24 lead in Game 2 when their passing began to break down. Marina Skender posted three aces during an LSU 5-point run to give the Tigers the lead. The scoring went back and forth with each team holding off three game points apiece. The Aggies held their last lead at 34-33 following a kill by Sarah Ammerman. Lauren DeGirolamo answered with a kill for LSU, and Skender followed with another kill to put the Tigers ahead, 35-34. In a wild game-ending rally, LSU made several diving plays to keep the ball alive following an attack attempt. LSU?â„¢s final dig of the play went over the net and fell inbounds for the game-winning point.
?In Game 2, when we were up 27-24, we had our opportunities, and then their serving got hot,? Corbelli said. ?That shook us a little bit and we ended up not getting that game.?
Kelly Stanton gave A&M its only lead of Game 3 at 3-2, putting away an LSU pass that hung over the net. Skender returned the lead to the Tigers at 6-5, posting another one of her seven aces in the match. LSU, which outhit A&M, .306 to .194, in the stanza, built its biggest lead at 29-21. Consecutive attack errors put A&M within 29-23, but Vanessa Freeman finished off the game with one of her 12 kills in the match.
?In Game 3 they got their rhythm with their serving,? Corbelli said, ?and we never did get our serving rhythm. Last weekend I felt we served maybe better than we?â„¢ve ever have before. Tonight I thought we were really tentative and not challenging them at all with our serve. It showed because they were able to pass right to their setter and ran some nice, quick plays with their very athletic attackers. It made it really tough on our defense.?
LSU never trailed in the fourth game. Freeman broke the only tie in the frame, posting back-to-back kills to put the Tigers ahead, 3-1. The Tigers outhit A&M, .600 to .100, en route to the 30-16 match-clinching game.
Mary Batis led the Aggies with 19 kills and 10 digs. Stanton added 11 kills, and Ammerman pitched in 10. Jen Moore tied Batis with a team-leading 10 digs, and Kelsey Bryant led A&M with five blocks.
LSU, which aced 12 serves to A&M?â„¢s two, was led by Skender?â„¢s 20 kills. DeGirolamo added 16, and Kyna Washington contributed 13 as the Tigers improved to 3-1.
?If we could just get a little more experience with that speed and athleticism against us, I?â„¢m confident that we have what we need,? Corbelli said. ?We were getting thrown off a little bit with the serving, but that is what this type of tournament is for. It?â„¢s to learn from and find where we are going to struggle when we get into Big 12 play and find a way to be able to train this team to work through that and work around it and where to go from there. It is just a matter of time until we learn those things.?
The Aggies (3-1) conclude the tournament with two matches on Saturday. A&M faces Saint Louis at 10 a.m. and takes on No. 22 Minnesota at 7:30 p.m.