October 06, 2007
Texas A&M used solid play across the board to post a convincing 30-26, 30-25, 30-19 victory against Kansas tonight at Horejsi Family Athletics Center.
The Aggies hit .395, their highest hitting efficiency in a Big 12 match this season, to snap a four-match losing skid at Kansas and improve to 13-5 overall and 3-5 in the Big 12. Kansas, which was held to a .218 hitting percentage, falls to 9-8, 2-5.
?Tonight?â„¢s serve receive was excellent with Jen Moore and Mary Batis both putting up beautiful passes to our setter,? A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. ?[Kristen] Schevikhoven distributed the ball beautifully, and those two touches determine our attack so often and give our hitters the confidence that they are in rhythm and in system. They all felt really good about being in system so much.?
Four A&M players posted double figures in kills, led by Batis, a left-side hitter who had 14 while hitting at a .500 clip. Sarah Ammerman, also a left side hitter, added 13 kills while hitting .545. Middle blockers Kelly Stanton and Jillian Phillips contributed 12 and 11 kills, respectively, hitting .370 and .381.
?Tonight we were just really on,? Corbelli said. ?Our left sides both had very few errors (3). We moved them around a little bit more than normal, from the zone out by the antenna to the middle of the court, just really trying to mix it up. They are very talented and it really worked tonight. Also our middles behind the setter were really effective tonight. We have been trying to get that going a lot faster and with more power, and that was successful.?
Schevikhoven finished with 49 assists. Defensively, Moore led all players in digs with 16, and Batis added 10. Stanton posted a match-high four blocks to lead A&M to an 8-4 advantage in total team blocks.
A&M hit .474 in game one, its highest percentage in a single Big 12 game this season. There were 13 ties, the last coming at 19-19. Phillips broke the tie with a kill, and Batis followed with a kill to put the Aggies up, 21-19. The Jayhawks were within a point at 24-23 when Stanton put down a kill on a slide attack. Ammerman put A&M up, 26-23 after registering a kill from the back row before A&M got whistled for a ball handling error on the ensuing play. Stanton quickly returned serve to the Aggies by blocking an attack by Natalie Uhart. Batis then put down an overpass by Kansas for a kill to put the Aggies up 28-24 and equal their biggest lead of the game. The teams then traded point for point until Phillips put down a kill to clinch the 30-26 win for the Aggies.
Kansas scored the first two points of the second game, but A&M answered with four straight points to take a lead it would not relinquish. A&M, which outhit Kansas, .308 to .119 in the frame, held a 16-14 advantage when the Aggies went on an 8-2 scoring run to build their biggest lead of the game. The Jayhawks mounted a comeback and cut the lead to four points at 27-23 and again at 29-25 before Batis?â„¢ roll shot fell in for the game-winning kill.
Ammerman served the Aggies to a 9-0 lead to start the third game. Kansas later used a four-point run to cut the lead to 20-14 when A&M scored five straight points, three on Batis kills and two on Stanton aces to build a commanding 25-14 lead. Eleven points would be the final margin of victory with Stanton putting down a kill to give the Aggies the 30-19 win and a three-game sweep.
A&M finished with 58 kills overall. Kansas had 47 as Jenna Kaiser was the only Jayhawk to reach double figures with 16. Emily Brown posted a team-high 11 digs for the Jayhawks, who recorded 43 total to A&M?â„¢s 41.
?To be able to start October like this with this kind of a win and this dominating is real important for the team,? Corbelli said. ?It is going to boost our confidence and gives us momentum. The team earned this win. It wasn?â„¢t the error of the opponent. To get any Big 12 win that we can get, we are celebrating. It?â„¢s a battle every night. We were just happy to dominate tonight and get the victory.?
The Aggies return to the road Wednesday as they take on Missouri in Columbia. First serve is at 6:30 p.m. at Hearnes Center. A&M returns home and concludes the first half of the Big 12 schedule Saturday, Oct. 13, as the Aggies play host to Colorado at 6:30 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum.