Jayhawks Fall to No. 12 Texas A&M 3-1
Sept. 17, 2004
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COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The No. 24 Kansas volleyball team lost its first match of the season 3-1 to No. 12 Texas A&M Friday at the G. Rollie White Coliseum. The Jayhawks (8-1, 0-1 Big 12) fell in game one 18-30 but came back strong to win game two, 30-25, only to be downed in the final games 21-30 and 26-30.
The A&M offense was nearly unstoppable in game one, getting 14 kills and just two errors in 21 attempts for a .571 attack percentage. KU managed a season-low 18 points in the setback.
KU exchanged leads with A&M in game two before pulling ahead by four on instant points from Ashley Michaels’ block and a kill from Emily Brown. With a 27-25 lead, KU took advantage of two Aggie pass-receive errors and Josi Lima ended the game with a kill to tie the match at 1-1.
Game three was full of rallies and quick runs. The Aggies took a 10-5 lead and KU scored four unanswered points to close to within one. A&M then went on an 8-1 run and ended up with a 24-16 lead. KU hit just .023 in game three as the Aggies took the 2-1 lead.
The teams exchanged leads in game four, not letting each other lead by more than two. The Jayhawks led 25-22 but could not hold on. The Aggies put up three huge blocks and got two kills from Laura Jones to come from behind and win game four, 30-26.
Lima led KU with 17 kills in 43 attempts while Paula Caten and Lindsey Morris added 10 apiece. Michaels notched eight kills and six blocks assists (one solo) and Brown had 13 digs and eight kills of her own.
Libero Jill Dorsey led the defense with 16 kills while Andi Rozum dished out 48 assists. As a team, KU hit a season-low .155 and was outblocked by the Aggies 15.0 to 9.0.
Morris came down hard on a kill in the fourth game and did not return to the match. KU was also without sophomore outside hitter Jana Correa (2.70 kills per game), who also sat out of action with a reoccurring injury.
Texas A&M’s Laura Jones led all players with 20 kills and added 14 digs. Melissa Munsch added 14 kills, 10 digs, eight block assists and two solos.
“We needed to extend to game five, but our passing game broke down at the end of the fourth,” KU head coach Ray Bechard said. “Texas A&M is very quick and physical and this is probably the most difficult place for us to play this season. We won’t dwell on this loss and will move on. We have to focus on Sunday and the three Big 12 teams coming in the next two weeks.”
Kansas will next be in action at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center at 1 p.m. Sunday as it hosts North Dakota State.
– KU –
