Oct. 10, 2009
WACO, Texas - Texas A&M notched its second victory against a ranked opponent and handed No. 17 Baylor its first home loss of the year with a 25-18, 31-29, 12-25, 25-23 win in front of a record crowd of 3,022 tonight at the Ferrell Center.
"The most critical thing that I have seen is getting a win over a ranked opponent on the road," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "Those three things we haven't done in a long time, and it is not easy to do. A lot of teams aren't doing it in the Pac 10 and Big Ten, and for the Aggies to do it tonight is just an awesome, awesome feeling, and I am so proud of my team. I loved coaching my team tonight. They were so much fun."
A&M, which earned its 10th consecutive victory over the Bears in Waco, improves to 12-3 overall and 5-2 in the Big 12. Baylor, whose only other loss of the season was against No. 2 Texas in the Big 12 opener, drops to 17-2, 6-2 in the Big 12, despite outblocking the Aggies, 10-2.
A&M's Sarah Ammerman posted her fifth consecutive double-double of the season with a match-high 20 kills along with 15 digs. Jennifer Banse added 16 kills while hitting at a .311 clip. Mary Batis collected 21 digs to move into 10th place in the school records with 1,181. Setter Kristen Schevikhoven also climbed in the career record books, posting 51 assists to move into seventh.
The Bears got 20 kills from Ashlie Christenson, who hit .375. Anna Breyfogle added 12 kills and a match-high seven blocks for Baylor.
A&M used a three-point run to break away from a 5-5 tie in the opening set and would lead the remainder of the frame. Baylor was within 15-13 when A&M used its third of four three-point runs to go up 18-13. The Bears, who were outhit, .366 to .250 in the frame, never got closer than three points and trailed 22-18 when A&M mounted its final three-point rally to close out the set. Lindsey Miller got a kill and Banse served an ace before Schevikhoven won a joust at the net for the set winner.
The Aggies fought off seven set points and came from behind to win a wild second set. A&M took a 22-21 lead when Baylor got a kill and back-to-back blocks to go up, 24-22. Miller then got a kill and Baylor hit into the next on the following play to tie the score at 24-all. Katie Sanders had one of her 10 kills of the set to put Baylor at set point for the third time, but Miller tipped the ball to the deep corner for a kill to knot the score at 25. A tip kill by Breyfogle put the Bears serving for the set, but Ammerman countered with a kill. Christenson then put the Bears ahead, 27-26 with a kill, but Ammerman answered with a kill down the block. A kill by Torri Campbell put the Bears serving for the set for the sixth time, but Banse put down her fifth kill of the set to tie the set for the 17th time. Alisia Kastmo then gave the Aggies the lead by killing a Baylor overpass. Baylor made some incredible saves and got a tip kill by Ashley Bird to tie the score for the final time before a bad set to Sanders put the Aggies at set point. Miller and Banse then blocked Sanders to seal the set and give the Aggies a 2-0 lead going into the break.
"[Schevikhoven] made some great decisions and really fed Jenny Banse some beautiful sets that allowed her to get those kills at critical times," Corbelli said.
The third set was tied at 8-8 when the Bears went on a 9-0 run behind the serving of Taylor Barnes who had three aces during the surge. Baylor hit, .480 and held the Aggies to a .143 hitting efficiency to pull away.
Baylor held a 6-5 lead in the fourth set when A&M scored five unanswered points behind the strong serving of Batis. A&M built its biggest lead at 16-11 following a three-point rally, but Baylor cut the margin to a point at 21-20. Ammerman got a kill, and an attack by Campbell sailed into the linesman to put A&M up, 23-20. The teams exchanged kills, but A&M served long at match point to put Baylor within 24-22. Breyfogle kept Baylor alive and within a point with a kill before Banse tooled the Baylor block for the match winner.
"This is a challenging place to play. I thought our passing tonight was just phenomenal. That is a part of the game that if you have really confident and steady passers, you can pretty much stay with anybody, and that is where we are getting, and it is really exciting."
A&M faces its second consecutive ranked opponent Wednesday as the Aggies take on the 14th-ranked Iowa State Cyclones. First serve is slated for 6:30 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. ISU has won the last three matches against A&M in Ames.
"It is going to be a really big challenge, but our confidence is really high," Corbelli said. "The things we are doing well are becoming more consistent and we are in system more often. There is still lots of room to grow and to get better, but at this point right now we are feeling really good and ready to go to Iowa."