September 13, 2006
A veteran Oklahoma squad spoiled Texas A&M?â„¢s Big 12 Conference home opener, defeating the Aggies, 30-28, 30-26, 30-28, in front of 2,588 at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
With the win, the Sooners snapped a 26-match losing skid against the Aggies that dated back to 1979, earned their first-ever league win against A&M, and picked up their first victory at G. Rollie in 11 visits.
?We didn?â„¢t have a good game tonight,? A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. ?Bottom line, we got out-served and out-passed. We were really struggling getting our first ball to our setter so that we could get into our system. It didn?â„¢t really look like my team out there today.?
In a back-and-forth first game, A&M used a five-point run to take its biggest lead at 16-12. OU, however, answered with a seven-point run to take its third lead of the game. A&M regained the lead at 22-21 following a three-point surge, but the Sooners once again responded with their own three-point run to take the lead for the final time. A&M tied the score at 25 before OU posted back-to-back blocks to begin pulling away. The Sooners held a 29-26 lead, but a kill by Christi Hahn and an ace by Sarah Ammerman kept the Aggies alive until Laura Tomes clinched the win for the Sooners.
Game 2 saw six lead changes and 10 ties, the last tie coming at 26. The Sooners then closed out the game with four consecutive points. Joanna Schmitt sparked the rally, posting three of her eight kills in the game during the finally run.
OU took the lead for good in Game 3 at 6-5 following a triple block. A&M tied the score twice, the last coming at 7-all. OU built its biggest lead at 14-8, but the Aggies managed to cut the lead to a point three times, including at 29-28, before Eliane Santos put down the match-winning kill.
?OU was very consistent and they were using all of their hitters, and our blocking was non-existent,? Corbelli said. ?They played a nice match; solid and confident.?
Mary Batis led the Aggies with 15 kills and nine digs.
Schmitt also finished with 15 kills to lead the Sooners, and Tomes added 11 while hitting at a .500 clip. Santos collected nine blocks to lead OU to a 14.5 to 9 advantage, and libero Anna Monsen recorded a match-high 15 digs in the win.
OU improves to 9-2 and extends its winning streak to seven. A&M falls to 7-2 and suffers its first sweep of the season.
?We really weren?â„¢t in our rhythm or our system at all,? Corbelli said. ?I know that we are a better team than that, so we have to just put this behind us.?
The Aggies return to action Saturday at No. 17 Missouri. First serve is slated for 6:30 p.m. at the Hearnes Center in Columbia.
Short Box Score (Match)
Oklahoma def. Texas A&M 30-28,30-26,30-28
Oklahoma (9-2, 1-0 Big 12) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Schmitt, Joanna 15-2-3; Tomes, Laura 11-1-4; Weiland, Sarah 9-0-2; Laplante, Bridget 9-1-2; Santos, Eliane 7-0-9; Jackson, Rachel 1-0-6; Sharp, Hannah 0-2-0; Totals 52-6-14.5. (Assists) - Jackson, Rachel 41. (Dig leaders) - Monsen, Anna 15; Sharp, Hannah 11; Jackson, Rachel 10; Laplante, Bridget 8; Schmitt, Joanna 8.
Texas A&M (7-2, 0-1 Big 12) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Batis, Mary 15-0-1; Ammerman, Sarah 9-1-1; Hahn, Christi 6-0-2; Stanton, Kelly 5-0-4; Bryant, Kelsey 5-2-4; Yon, Lindsey 4-0-1; Kainz, Meghan 2-0-1; Totals 46-3-9.0. (Assists) - Kainz, Meghan 36. (Dig leaders) - Batis, Mary 9; Kainz, Meghan 7.
Site: College Station, TX (G. Rollie White Col.)
Date: Sep 13, 2006 Attend: 2588 Time: 1:35
Referees: Eric Sanders, Jim Giacomazzi