September 02, 2006
Lindsey Yon drew her first start of the season and responded with career highs in both kills and digs to lead Texas A&M to a 22-30, 30-24, 31-29, 30-25 victory over No. 22 Minnesota in the final match of the SLU Billiken Invitational tonight at the Bauman-Eberhardt Athletic Center.
?Lindsey Yon came on the court today and was maybe the most valuable player for our team for these two matches in a row,? A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. ?We decided to put her out there, and she came through with flying colors, with so much heart. She used her smarts and her experience last year as a starter, and it was necessary for us to have her.?
Yon hit .333 and had 18 kills and 19 digs in the win as the Aggies improve to 5-1 overall and take second place in the tournament with a 2-1 mark.
All-tournament selections Mary Batis and Christi Hahn also reached double figures in kills. Batis pitched in a career-high 21 kills, and Hahn added 17 while leading all players with a .406 hitting percentage. The Aggies also received some major contributions off the bench.
?This was such a wonderful team effort,? Corbelli said. ?We had some players come off the bench who are freshman who are brand new to the system and the whole level, and they were just spectacular. We had Courtney Rhodes play some back row, and she balanced out our defense really well. Zanny Castillo came in the left back and played some great defense and served well.?
Minnesota cruised to a win in the opening game, outhitting A&M, .419 to .209. The Gophers took the lead at 3-2, and A&M managed to tie the score only once after that, and it came at 3-3 following a Yon kill. Minnesota later used a 6-1 run to build its biggest lead at 25-17. A&M could get no closer than six points the rest of the game.
A&M had built a narrow 12-10 lead in Game 2 before Minnesota went on a 7-point scoring spree. A Batis kill ended the Gophers?â„¢ run and marked the beginning of a 9-point outburst by the Aggies to put A&M ahead, 21-17. A&M later used a 6-1 scoring run to build its biggest lead at 28-22. Minnesota got within 29-24 before setter Meghan Kainz put down the game-winning kill and evened the match at a game apiece.
A&M never trailed in the third game, although Minnesota threatened at the end. The Aggies used a 3-point run to build their largest lead of the game at 25-20, but the Gophers fought back and tied the score at 28. Minnesota then tipped into the net to put A&M at game point, but a kill by the Gophers?â„¢ Meredith Nelson tied the score for the 11th time. Hahn broke the tie with a kill, and Batis followed with the game-winning kill to give the Aggies a 2-1 lead in the match.
Although Game 3 was close at the end, Game 4 was tight throughout with15 ties and six lead changes. The Gophers held their final lead at 17-16 before Hahn and Yon put down back-to-back kills to put A&M back on top, 18-17. The teams exchanged points until a Yon kill sparked a 3-point run by the Aggies to put A&M ahead, 22-19. A&M built a 26-22 lead, but Minnesota answered with consecutive kills to get within 26-24. The hard-hitting Yon then blasted two kills during another A&M 3-point run to put the Aggies serving for the match. A serve into the net prolonged the match, but Hahn?â„¢s strategically placed tip attack fell in for a kill to end the match and start the celebration.
?We were making adjustments, and the players were responding right away to the changes we needed to make,? Corbelli said. ?They were just really determined tonight. It took a lot of heart and determination to beat a ranked team. They really wanted to know that they could do that. It really gave us a boost of confidence.?
Jessy Jones and Kyla Roehrig led the Gophers with 15 kills apiece. Minnesota, playing in its season-opening tournament, falls to 1-2.
The Aggies make their home debut with a pair of matches Friday at the Texas A&M Invitational. A&M hosts Loyola at 2 p.m. and faces McNeese State at 6:30 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum. The matches mark A&M?â„¢s final tune-up before beginning Big 12 Conference play against Oklahoma on Wednesday, Sept. 13 in College Station.
?We can?â„¢t wait to get home to G. Rollie and show our work and what we?â„¢ve been striving to do to the 12th Man,? Corbelli added.
Tickets to A&M home matches are $9 for reserved, $7 for adult general admission and $4 for youth general admission.