Colorado
Texas A&M
Aggies Down Spikers in Five
November 01, 2002 | Volleyball
The University of Colorado volleyball team (11-12, 5-8 Big 12) fell to the Texas A&M Aggies (15-7, 7-6 Big 12) 24-30, 30-28, 25-30, 30-19, 5-15 Saturday afternoon at the G. Rollie White Coliseum to settle for a season split with A&M. The Buffs beat the Aggies in five games on Sept. 21 in Boulder.
"We really showed a lot of fight and desire today against the Aggies," said Colorado assistant coach Jil Thomason, who is currently filling in for head coach Pi'i Aiu. Aiu left last Wednesday to attend his father's funeral services in Hawaii. "We saw a lot of good things today, we just need to learn how to finish games."
The Buffs fell short in game one, but came out stronger in game two, hitting .261 in the second and improving on their game-one team mark of .179. The contest was close in game three with the score evenly tied six times in the A&M victory. CU broke away, stretching their legs in game four when they took a 17-3 lead on two service aces from sophomore Allison Barnes and one from Monica Vesanovic to get the 30-19 victory. A&M steamrolled to an early 8-2 lead in game five. The Buffs fought back to trail by five, 10-5, but that's as close as they would come.
Colorado out-blocked A&M 11 to seven in the match, but the Aggies out-hit Colorado, recording a .262 hitting mark to the Buffs' .228 hitting percentage. CU had four individuals hit in double-figure kill numbers, including a game-high 21 total by junior middle blocker Monique Gerlach, who finished as CU's best hitter with a .459 slate against the Aggies. Freshman right side Maragda Santillana grabbed 12 kills for the Buffs while senior middle blocker and setter Elizabeth Gower both tallied 11.
Gower grabbed her first triple-double of the season and the ninth of her career, pocketing 12 digs and 49 assists to add to her 11 kills in the match. Gower leads the Buffaloes in career triple-doubles.
Carol Price paced the Aggies as she hit .568 in the match with 23 kills and only two errors on 37 attacks.
Colorado will remain on the road when they face Texas on Wednesday, Nov. 6 in Austin. The Buffs return home to host Iowa State on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. for Autograph Night at the Coors Events/Conference Center in Boulder.
