November 01, 2006
Texas A&M struggled with unforced errors and fell to Baylor, 30-24, 27-30, 34-32, 30-16, in front of 1,286 tonight at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The Aggies committed 36 attack errors and were outhit, .282 to .140. Baylor posted 65 kills, only two more than A&M, but committed only 19 attack errors while taking 30 fewer swings (193 to 163). In addition, Baylor outblocked A&M, 15-3.
?This was a big one; there is no question,? A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. ?It is a hard one to swallow. Had we fought and played and not hit double-figure balls out and into the blocks, we would have given ourselves a chance. But we?â„¢ve been giving games away, and we have to figure how not to give games away anymore, give runs of points over and over again.?
Baylor outhit A&M .297 to .143 en route to the opening-game win. A&M held an 8-7 edge when Baylor scored four consecutive points, all on A&M errors. The Bears went on to build a 16-11 lead, but A&M came out of a time out and went on a 5-1 run to get within 17-16. Baylor called a timeout and then went on an 8-2 run to build its biggest lead at 25-18. A&M was unable to overcome the deficit, falling 30-24.
There were 13 ties and three lead changes in Game 2. A&M used a four-point rally to take a 23-20 lead. Baylor tied the score three times, the last coming at 25-all. Aggie freshman Mary Batis broke the tie with a kill, and a Baylor attack error put A&M up, 27-25. The teams exchanged points, with a tip kill by Kelsey Bryant putting A&M ahead, 29-27. Kelly Stanton then aced her serve to give A&M the 30-27 win and even the match at a game apiece.
A&M was in position to take a 2-1 lead in the match after a Christi Hahn kill put A&M at 29-26 in Game 3. Baylor, however, got a kill from Kelsey Smith, and A&M was whistled for a ball handling error. Desiree Guilliard-Young then blocked an A&M attack to tie the score. A&M scored the next point when Baylor hit into the net, but Baylor got a kill and a block to take a 31-30 lead, its first lead since 14-13. Stanton evened the score with a kill, but A&M was unable to regain the lead as the Bears got a kill from Anna Breyfogle. Lindsey Yon tied the score for the 17th time with a kill, but A&M was called for reaching over the net on the ensuing play. A&M?â„¢s next attack sailed long to give Baylor the 34-32 win.
Ahead 11-7 lead in Game 4, Baylor quickly pulled away, scoring nine unanswered points to take a 20-7 lead. The Aggies never got closer than 10 points as Baylor hit .500 in the game, while A&M managed to hit only .031.
Batis led the Aggies with 18 kills, and Hahn, who was honored before the match on ?Senior Night? added 14. Yon came off the bench and pitched in 11 kills. Courtnee Rhodes and Yon led the Aggies with 14 digs apiece, and Stephanie Cadavid contributed a career-high 13 digs. Batis completed a double-double as she added 11 digs.
Baylor had five players reach double figures in kills. Smith led the team with 14, and Guilliard-Young and Nicole LeBlanc added 12 apiece. Katie Sanders and Anna Breyfogle had 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Kristen Schramek led all players with 25 digs and Guilliard-Young tallied eight blocks. Taylor Barnes recorded five aces.
With the win, Baylor earns a split in the season series and picks up only its second Big 12 victory at G. Rollie White. A&M suffers its third consecutive loss overall and falls to 10-12 in all matches and 3-11 in the Big 12.
?It is going to be really difficult to rebound,? Corbelli said, ?but we don?â„¢t have a choice. We have to find a way. I need some of the players to step up and give a little more energy, enthusiasm, effort and trust, and all the things a team needs to pull together.?
A&M travels to Manhattan, Kan., Saturday to face the Kansas State Wildcats at Ahearn Field House. The start time of the match has been changed to 1 p.m. The Aggies defeated K-State, 3-2, in College Station on Sept. 22, but are 0-10 all-time in matches played in Manhattan.
Short Box Score
Baylor def. Texas A&M 30-24, 27-30, 34-32, 30-16
Baylor (15-10, 4-9 Big 12) (Kills-aces-blocks) - Smith, Kelsey 14-0-3; Guilliard-Young, Des 12-0-8; LeBlanc, Nicole 12-1-1; Sanders, Katie 11-0-6; Breyfogle, Anna 10-0-6; Barnes, Taylor 6-5-5; Sweeney, Deja 0-3-0; Renz, Amanda 0-1-0; Totals 65-10-15.0. (Assists) - Barnes, Taylor 47. (Dig leaders) - Schramek, Kristen 25; LeBlanc, Nicole 14; Sweeney, Deja 9
Texas A&M (10-12, 3-11 Big 12) (Kills-aces-blocks) -Batis, Mary 18-1-0; Hahn, Christi 14-1-1; Yon, Lindsey 11-0-0; Bryant, Kelsey 9-0-2; Stanton, Kelly 8-2-2; Ammerman, Sarah 3-0-0; Cadavid, Stephanie 0-3-0; Rhodes, Courtnee 0-0-1; Totals 63-7-3.0. (Assists) - Rhodes, Courtnee 52. (Dig leaders) - Rhodes, Courtnee 14; Yon, Lindsey 14; Cadavid, Stephanie 13; Batis, Mary 11; Moore, Jen 9; Castillo, Zanny 8
Site: College Station, TX (G. Rollie White Col.)
Date: Nov 01, 2006 Attend: 1286 Time: 2:05
Referees: Eric Sanders, Richard Bleau