September 22, 2006
Texas A&M picked up its first Big 12 Conference victory of the season and left Kansas State still searching for its first league win as the Aggies defeated the Wildcats, 30-28, 30-26, 20-30, 20-30, 15-10, in front of 1,960 at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The Aggies, playing in their third consecutive five-game match, snap a three-match losing skid and improve to 8-4 overall and 1-3 in the Big 12. K-State, 8-5 overall, suffers its fourth consecutive loss and falls to 0-3 in conference play, marking the first time the Wildcats have been winless after three Big 12 matches.
A&M used a balanced attack with four players reaching double figures in kills. Sarah Ammerman led the team with 18 kills. Mary Batis and Christi Hahn had 15 kills apiece and Kelly Stanton pitched in a season-high 14. Batis tied libero Zanny Castillo for team-high honors in digs with 20, and setter Courtnee Rhodes also reached double digits in digs with a career-high 15.
Sandy Werner led the Wildcats with 19 kills, and Ginta Gabruseva added 12. Big 12 dig leader Angie Lastra led all players with 29 digs, the most by an A&M opponent this season.
A&M quickly jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the decisive fifth game following a solo block by Kelsey Bryant. K-State never got closer than two points, the last time coming at 12-10. Batis, Ammerman and Bryant then posted back-to-back-to-back kills to clinch the victory.
A&M which was held to a .177 hitting percentage for the match, hit .318 in the final stanza. K-State, which hit .212 for the match, was held to a match-low .087 hitting efficiency in the final frame.
There were 15 ties and six lead changes in the first game. A&M took its biggest lead at 29-24, but the Wildcats scored four unanswered points to get within 29-28. Stanton ended the run, putting down her fourth kill for the game winner.
A&M overcame an 18-14 deficit in the second game and used a seven-point rally late in the game to take its third lead of the game at 29-24. The Wildcats got two points before defensive specialist Stephanie Cadavid?â„¢s roll shot fell in for the game-winning kill.
K-State hit .343 and held A&M to a .000 hitting efficiency in Game 3. The Wildcats ended the game on an 11-5 run and carried the momentum into the fourth game. K-State ran off six consecutive points to pull ahead 11-6 and take its third lead of the fourth game. The Wildcats outhit A&M .234 to .073 in the game and got the match-tying point on an A&M attack error.
The Aggies hit the road again on Wednesday, as they take on the Colorado Buffaloes in Boulder. First serve is at 7 p.m. (8 p.m. CDT) at the Coors Events Center.