Aug. 27, 2005
Box Score
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - UTA head coach Diane Seymour went into this weekend's Texas A&M Fazoli's Funfest Tournament looking for something to build on for the rest of the 2005 volleyball season.
After a convincing win over Prairie View A&M earlier in the day, UTA (1-1)gave 16th-ranked Texas A&M all it wanted in a 30-21, 30-16, 30-22 loss. Despite the loss, it was mission accomplished for Seymour and Co.
"We can build from this and try and get better," said UTA head coach Diane Seymour. "This is a tough place to come and try and get a win, but I thought we battled them. It was fun to come play in a place with a crowd like this. We had nine receiving errors, but those are things we can control. It definitely mission accomplished."
Former Arlington Martin High School standout Laura Jones had a big day with 17 kills and a team-high 14 digs and two service aces to lead he Aggies, now 2-0.
With A&M's defense aimed at stopping UTA senior Ashley Van Antwerp, the Mavericks were led offensively by sophomore outside hitter Morgan Rogers' eight kills. As a team, UTA tallied an attack percentage of .089. Van Antwerp led with 15 digs. Ashley Smith and Emily Nedderman added 10 digs each.
It wasn't until a service ace by A&M's Kendra Felder that hit the tape and dribbled over the net to give A&M a 9-7 lead, did the Aggies gather a little momentum for a six-point lead midway in game one.
UTA took a quick 2-0 lead in game two before A&M reeled off 10 of the next 11 points for a 10-3 lead after a kill by Jones.
UTA trimmed the lead to 17-12 after a Van Antwerp kill, but A&M responded with three points, the last a Jones kill for a 20-12 lead before Seymour called timeout.
A&M put the match away with an 8-2 run midway through game three. Leading 8-6, A&M's Kelly Stanton began the run with a kill.
NOTES: The match was a meeting of two tradition-rich programs. Combined the programs have advanced to the NCAA Tournament 24 times - Texas A&M 16 appearances and UTA eight... Despite the loss, UTA leads the overall series 27-26-0... The A&M match marked the first meeting since UTA dropped a first round match to the Aggies at the NCAA regionals at G. Rollie White Coliseum in 2001... The match was the first regular season meeting since 1996 between the two schools.
