Texas A&M
Missouri
Volleyball Takes Down Missouri in Five Sets
Oct 04, 2008 | Volleyball
Oct. 4, 2008
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Mary Batis had a career-high 23 kills, including seven in the deciding fifth set, to lead Texas A&M to a 25-27, 25-19, 25-18, 23-25, 15-4 victory over Missouri tonight in front of 1,205 at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
Batis, who also notched career highs with 27 points and five blocks and pitched in 11 digs, began the fifth set with back-to-back kills and then teamed with Darla Donaldson for a block to contribute to a 6-0 jumpstart by the Aggies. Julianna Klein, who led the Tigers with 20 kills for the match, finally ended the run with a kill, but Batis came right back with a kill to put A&M up, 7-1.
Missouri got another kill before Batis erupted for four kills and Jennifer Banse added two aces during a 6-0 A&M run. Weiwen Wang ended the rally with a kill, but Batis came right back with a kill to put A&M at match point. Weiwen Wang posted her 10th kill of the match before Aggie setter Jola Kelner, who drew her first start since the 2007 season opener, dumped the ball over the net for the match-winner.
A&M coach Laurie Corbelli was confident the Aggies would win the match going into the fifth set, expecting her team would ride the momentum it gained late in the fourth-set loss.
"I felt like we were going to win it, even in game four when we fought back, being down 9-4, 10-5, and we were at a big deficit for a rally-score game. They had gotten some runs of points, and we fought back and tied it up at 22s and 23s. I knew then that we had the momentum, and even though we didn't' get that last point, the team was ready to go. I didn't have any doubts that we would take the match."
A&M built its biggest lead of the first set at 10-5 and was leading 18-15 when Missouri ran off four consecutive points to take its first lead of the set. Sarah Ammerman tied the score with a kill, and the teams traded sideouts. Ammerman put down her fifth kill of the set to tie the score for the 11th time, but a block by Megan Wilson and Amanda Hantouli put the Tigers at set point. A&M, which was outhit .257 to .132 in the set, then sent an attack long, to hand the first set to Missouri.
The teams were tied at 11 in the second set when Ammerman, who entered the match needing only 6.5 points to reach 1,000 for her career, had back-to-back kills to surpass the milestone. She then teamed with Donaldson with a block to put A&M up, 14-11. Missouri got within a point three times, the last coming at 20-19 before A&M ran off five unanswered points to win the set. Donaldson and Kelner capped the set, each getting a solo block against Klein to clinch the set and even the match at a set apiece.
The Aggies, who outhit Missouri, .200 to .071 in the second set, hit .333 and held the Tigers to a .079 hitting percentage to take the third set. Banse posted six of her 10 kills for the match in the frame, three of her kills coming during an 11-2 run to give the Aggies a 12-5 lead. Missouri got within 16-13 but could get no closer. With A&M holding a 22-18 lead, Banse began a three-point, set-clinching run with a kill. Batis and Donaldson teamed for a block to put the Aggies at set point, and Donaldson ended the set with a kill.
The Tigers used an 8-1 rally to build a 9-4 lead early in the fourth set. Trailing 19-15, the Aggies scored four unanswered points to tie the set for the first time since 4-4. The teams exchanged points and the score was knotted at 23-all when A&M was whistled for being in the net. Klein then finished off the set and forced the fifth set with a kill.
Kelner, who was starting in place of Kristen Schevikhoven who suffered an ankle injury in the five-set loss at Colorado last Saturday, directed A&M to a .257 to .154 advantage in hitting percentage and also helped defensively with a career-high 13 digs.
Donaldson came within a block of tying her career high, posting a match-high eight as A&M tallied a team season-high 17 blocks. Senior middle blocker Jillian Phillips, who had missed the last 11 matches with a stress fracture, returned to action against the Tigers and finished with eight kills and three blocks, including two solos.
Freshman libero Chelsea Ringel led the Aggies in digs with a career high 18. Banse joined the group of four Aggies to reach double figures in digs with 14.
A&M improves to 7-8 overall and 2-3 in the Big 12. Missouri, which had a three-match winning streak snapped, falls to 8-7, 2-3.
A&M is on the road for the next two matches, taking on Kansas in Lawrence on Wednesday and facing Texas Tech on Saturday in Lubbock. Both matches are slated to begin at 7 p.m.
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