October 28, 2006
No. 20 Oklahoma held Texas A&M to a season-low .075 hitting percentage and earned its first-ever home win against the Aggies with a 30-27, 30-15, 30-19 victory tonight at McCasland Field House.
With the win, Oklahoma improves to 19-4 overall and 11-2 in the Big 12 to remain in second place in the conference standings. A&M falls to 10-11 and 3-10.
?Once Oklahoma got into a groove with their offense, they were very, very difficult to stop,? A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. ?Coupled with a lot of unforced errors on our side, it was hard for us to get any momentum going after Game 1.?
There were nine ties and four lead changes in the first half of Game 1. A&M took its second lead after an OU service error and an ace by Kelsey Bryant put the Aggies ahead, 10-9. The Sooners responded with back-to-back kills to retake the lead, 11-10. Sarah Ammerman got a kill off the OU block to knot the score for the final time.
Oklahoma then reeled off four unanswered points -- the longest run by either team in the frame -- to build a 15-11 advantage. The Aggies got back within two points at 27-25, but the teams exchanged points for the remainder of the game, with the Sooners taking the 30-27 victory.
The Sooners scored the first three points of the second game and continued to pull away as the Aggies struggled throughout the stanza. The Aggies managed only five kills and committed nine attack errors to finish the game with a -.114 hitting percentage.
?Game 1 was a great start, and the team was ready to play,? Corbelli said. ?Once we got to Game 2 and we started out with five or six unforced errors, we never recovered from that. Letting them get a big lead on us and playing catch up is really difficult for a young team like this.?
Game 3 began much like the previous game as the Sooners scored the first three points before A&M got on the board. Leading 3-1, OU went on a 7-2 run, and A&M was unable to overcome the deficit.
The Sooners out-hit A&M .429 to .056 in the game and finished with a .345 hitting percentage for the match, the highest by an A&M opponent this season.
Sarah Ammerman and Mary Batis led the Aggies with nine kills apiece, but neither hit above .125.
The Sooners had four players reach double figures in kills, including Laura Tomes, who had a match-high 13 kills while hitting at a .706 clip.
?We have no time to wallow,? Corbelli said. ?We are ready to move forward. It was one of those off nights, and we?â„¢re going to move on and get ready for our next match.?
The Aggies return home Wednesday to host the Baylor Bears on ?Senior Night?. First serve is at 6:30 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum. Christi Hahn, A&M?â„¢s lone senior, will be honored prior to the start of the match.
Short Box Score
Oklahoma def. Texas A&M 30-27, 30-15, 30-19
Texas A&M (10-11, 3-10 Big 12) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Batis, Mary 9-0-0; Ammerman, Sarah 9-1-0; Hahn, Christi 5-0-2; Bryant, Kelsey 5-1-4; Stanton, Kelly 4-0-4; Totals 32-2-6.0. (Assists) - Rhodes, Courtnee 19; Kelner, Jola 11. (Dig leaders) - Rhodes, Courtnee 6; Batis, Mary 6.
Oklahoma (19-4, 11-2 Big 12) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Tomes, Laura 13-1-3; Santos, Eliane 11-0-8; Laplante, Bridget 11-0-2; Schmitt, Joanna 10-0-2; Weiland, Sarah 7-0-3; Jackson, Rachel 1-1-3; Sharp, Hannah 0-2-0; Totals 53-4-11.5. (Assists) - Jackson, Rachel 44. (Dig leaders) - Monsen, Anna 14; Schmitt, Joanna 11.
Site: Norman, Okla. (McCasland Field House)
Date: Oct 28, 2006 Attend: 425 Time: 1:34
Referees: Steve Schach, Jim Giacomazzi