Texas A&M
15-10 (8-9Big 12)
Oklahoma
18-9 (11-7Big 12)
Volleyball Gets Crucial Win at Oklahoma
Nov 18, 2009 | Volleyball
Nov. 18, 2009
NORMAN, Okla. - Texas A&M got a much-needed win against one of the hottest teams in the Big 12 Conference, defeating Oklahoma, 25-23, 25-22, 22-25, 25-23, tonight at McCasland Field House.
"It was a huge one for us," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said about the win. "We are right there neck-and-neck with them in the RPI. They are in the fourth position by just a few matches ahead of us in the league. We really had this big goal to win out these last four matches and we built some good momentum for us to finish out the season the way we need to."
Sarah Ammerman had a match-high 22 kills and setter Kristen Schevikhoven had a season-high 53 assists along with a career-high and team season-high 27 digs as the Aggies ended a four-match losing streak and improve to 15-10 overall and 8-9 in league play.
Oklahoma, which swept the Aggies in College Station earlier in the season and entered tonight's match having won five of its last six matches, falls to 18-9 overall and 11-7 in the Big 12.
"We know (Oklahoma) is hot," Corbelli said. "They are capable of beating just about anybody in the league, and so I think that the vote of confidence it gives us, the team knows that they can come to OU and (get) this kind of a win, I think it is going to build up their confidence a lot."
Ammerman had eight kills, including the set-winner, and Batis had 10 digs to lead the Aggies to the first-set victory. There were 16 ties, and neither team built more than a two-point lead throughout the frame. The Sooners held an 18-16 advantage when the Aggies reeled off three consecutive kills with two kills by Batis sandwiching a kill by Banse to give A&M its second lead of the set. Oklahoma tied the score three more times, the last at 22-22. Ammerman then got a kill, and on the next play, Schevikhoven was in perfect position for the kill after the ball caromed off a block attempt, putting the Aggies at set point. Ammerman then closed out the set with a kill.
A&M, which narrowly outhit the Sooners .275 to .273 in the opening frame, was held to a .148 hitting percentage in the second set but kept OU to a .125 hitting efficiency. A&M jumped out to a 4-1 lead, but OU came back to tie the score at 5-5. A&M came back with three unanswered points and continued to pull away, building its biggest lead at 20-11 following a block by Lindsey Miller and Batis. OU rallied and got within three points at 23-20 before Ammerman put the Aggies at set point with a kill. The Sooners, however, scored two points to stay alive before Ammerman put down her seventh kill of the set to give the Aggies a 2-0 lead going into the intermission.
A&M spotted the Sooners the first four points of the third set but soon used a three-point run to tie the score at 5-5. The Aggies would tie the score six more times before taking their first lead at 15-13 after scoring four unanswered points. OU later used a three-point run to regain the lead at 17-16. A&M tied the score at 17 and 18 before the Sooners, who outhit A&M, .341 to .244 in the set, scored five consecutive points behind the serving of Caitlin Higgins to pull away. A&M made a last-ditch run, getting back-to-back thundering kills by Ammerman, but a service error put the Sooners at set point. Banse kept A&M alive with her seventh kill of the set before an A&M attack error gave the Sooners the win.
The Sooners used a four-point run to take an 18-15 lead in the fourth set, but A&M countered with its own four-point run, including three kills from freshman middle blocker Alisia Kastmo, to regain a 19-18 lead. OU got a kill to tie the score at 19, but A&M reeled off three straight points to go up, 22-19. Back-to-back Aggie errors put the Sooners within 22-21 before Kastmo got a tip kill and Batis hit high off the block for a kill to put the Aggies at set point. The Sooners fought back with two kills and were going for their third straight kill, but Higgins tripped getting into position for the attack, and the set to the sophomore outside hitter fell untouched to the floor to give the Aggies the win.
Batis and Banse both posted double-doubles as Batis finished with 16 kills and 17 digs and Banse added 13 kills and 12 digs. Kastmo also reached double figures in kills with a career-high 10 kills. Miller led A&M with three blocks.
"I thought Schevikhoven did a beautiful job on defense," Corbelli said. "I thought Kastmo had a great start, and then I wanted to get some more speed going with (Kelsey) Black. But when I realized Kastmo was really doing a great job on the attacking and they were having a hard time touching her and the height that she can reach, we let her get back out to do some damage. But overall the outside hitters, Jenny, Mary and Sarah, all really were so powerful tonight and they did a beautiful job making sure that they ended rallies when we needed to.
"The team was really feeling prepared. They were really unhappy with their game last time we played this team. They worked really hard with the scout report and figuring out what they were so not successful with last time and wanted to make that change. So they put a lot of time and a lot of thought into what they wanted to get done tonight on the court. I thought at times we were trying to give it away for a little while. We made some unforced errors, a little bit of a streak, but at the same time I knew that with the senior leadership and the belief that they have, they would be able to pull it out, and they did a super job."
The Sooners, who outhit A&M .223 to .216 in the match and also outblocked the Aggies, 9-5, were led by Suzy Boulavsky's 21 kills. Setter Brianne Barker had 21 digs.
A&M returns to Reed Arena on Sunday for a match against Texas Tech. First serve is slated for 3 p.m. A&M has only one home match remaining following the contest against the Red Raiders, as the Aggies close out the regular season at Colorado on Wednesday and against Missouri on Saturday, Nov. 28. First serve against the Tigers is at 4 p.m. at Reed, and A&M's six seniors --Ammerman, Banse, Batis, Dylan Faulkner, Jola Kelner and Schevikhoven -- will be honored following the match.
