November 24, 2007
Texas A&M celebrated Senior Night on its final match of the regular season and sent seniors Jen Moore and Kelly Stanton out with a 30-27, 33-31, 30-27 victory against Baylor in front of 1,526 at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The Aggies close out the regular season on a three-match winning streak, improving to 21-10 overall and tying Missouri for sixth place in the Big 12 with a 10-10 mark. Baylor suffers its sixth consecutive loss and falls to 14-17 overall and 6-14 in the Big 12.
Sarah Ammerman led A&M with 19 kills while hitting .350. Mary Batis and Stanton also reached double figures in kills with 17 and 11, respectively. Moore led a group of four Aggies to post double-digit digs with 15. Ammerman added 12, and Kristen Schevikhoven and Batis pitched in 11 and 10, respectively.
?Definitely defense,? A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said when asked about the key to the match. ?We struggled with our serving and passing, and as much as were going aggressive at serving, we just missed by a little. Passing was definitely not there tonight, but our defense and perseverance were absolutely necessary for this win. With 20 balls a game digging and really having to fight tooth and nail in each game to get these victories and not drop a game was a really nice sign for me to see in this team, just a nice quality in this team that it is in there, and they are starting to let it show.?
There were 14 ties and six lead changes in the opening game. Baylor used a three-point run to take its last lead at 25-23, but a service error and poor passing allowed A&M to easily post back-to-back kills on over passes and regain the lead. Baylor tied the score at 26 and again at 27. A Stanton kill put A&M ahead, 28-27, and the next two Baylor attacks sailed out of bounds to give A&M the win.
A&M outhit the Bears, .389 to .211 in the game, with Ammerman posting six of her kills while hitting at a .556 pace.
There were 12 ties and six lead changes in game two. A&M built its biggest lead at 26-22, but Baylor reeled off four unanswered points to tie the score. An attack into the net ended the run and Batis followed with a kill to put A&M up, 28-26. Anna Breyfogle got a kill for the Bears, but Stanton countered with a kill behind the setter to put the Aggies serving for the game. An A&M service error and a kill by Ashlie Christenson tied the score. Stanton, who was unstoppable on the slide attack, again put the Aggies at game point with a kill, but Baylor got back-to-back kills from Christenson and Haley Thomas to take a 31-30 lead. Ammerman knotted the score with a kill, and Kelsey Bryant and Jillian Phillips teamed to block a Christenson attack to put A&M at game point for the fourth time. A&M then got the win as Baylor?â„¢s Amanda Modglin hit into the net.
The Bears built a 20-16 lead in game three, but the lead quickly vanished as A&M went on a 5-1 scoring spurt to tie the score at 21. Baylor held onto a 23-22 advantage before Ammerman pounded back-to-back kills to give A&M its first lead since 8-7. Baylor tied the score twice, the last coming at 27-all, but a service error and consecutive attack errors by the Bears gave A&M the 30-27 win and the match.
A&M, which out-hit Baylor, .347 to .154 in the final game, hit .306 for the match while holding the Bears to a .154 hitting percentage. A&M finished with 64 kills, 56 assists, 63 digs and eight blocks. The Aggies did not register an ace for the first time this season.
Baylor, which tallied 45 kills, 43 assists, nine aces, 56 digs and seven blocks, was led by Breyfogle, who had 13 kills while hitting .478. Sarah Grace led the Bears with 18 digs, and Mady Bates had four aces.
The Aggies?â„¢ postseason fate is now in the hands of the NCAA Selection Committee, which will announce the 64-team NCAA tournament field Sunday at 7 p.m. on ESPNU. A&M is looking to return to the NCAAs after missing the 2006 tournament, snapping a streak of 13 consecutive appearances.
?I think we are going?â„¢? Corbelli said when asked about her team?â„¢s chances. ?I have nothing else in my mind but positive thoughts the direction of wherever the committee is meeting tonight and saying, ?'put A&M on the board,?â„¢ because I just feel like we have done everything we can do. We just have to hope that they?â„¢ll consider our schedule tough enough and the results of the schedule good enough to warrant a spot. I truly believe that we are one of 33 at-large teams in this nation. I think we have proven it. Playing in the Big 12 and still having a 21-win season is absolutely significant. We are feeling very good about it, very positive, and we?â„¢ll just have to wait and see tomorrow, but I refuse to think any other way at this point.?