September 17, 2001
The 16th-ranked Texas A&M volleyball team resumes competition with a non-conference match at Houston on Tuesday. First serve is at 7:30 p.m. at Hofheinz Pavilion.
The Aggies (6-1) have not played since sweeping Florida State and dropping a four-game match to then-No. 9 Stanford at the Verizon Texas A&M Invitational on Sept. 7-8.
A&M was scheduled to open Big 12 Conference play at Oklahoma last Wednesday and host No. 22 Kansas State on Saturday, but all Big 12 contests were postponed because of the tragic terrorists attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. The matches will be rescheduled for a date to be determined.
The Aggies faced Houston earlier this season, defeating the Cougars, 30-20, 30-13, 30-25, in the second match of the season-opening Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational at Autry Court. The victory increased A&M's winning streak to eight against the Cougars and gave A&M a 30-29 lead in the all-time series since 1976.
Senior outside hitters Erin Lechler and Michelle Cole led the Aggies with 14 and 10 kills, respectively. Cole also posted a match-high 15 digs in the victory.
Senior setter Jenna Moscovic tallied 37 assists as A&M outhit the Cougars, .290 to .069. In addition, junior middle blocker A.D. Achilefu posted a career-high four aces and also led the Aggies with four blocks as A&M outblocked Houston, 8-4.
Senior 6-3 outside hitter Jennifer Wittenburg was the only Cougar to reach double digits in kills with a match-high 17, but she was held to a .170 hitting percentage.
For the season, A&M is nationally ranked in several categories: second with 18.77 kills per game; third with 17.36 assists per game; 11th with 19.09 digs per game; and 23rd with a .286 hitting percentage. A&M opponents are being held to a .141 hitting percentage and 11.64 kills, 11.0 assists, 14.27 digs and 2.32 blocks per game.
Moscovic is ranked sixth nationally with 13.86 assists per game, and Cole is 14th in the country with 4.29 digs per game. Senior right-side hitter Brandi Mount is the team leader with 4.05 kills per game, and Achilefu is averaging a team-high 0.78 blocks and 0.72 aces per game.
Houston, which has not defeated A&M since the championship match of the 1994 Southwest Conference Tournament, is 3-4 overall after defeating Arkansas in five games on Sept. 8.
Wittenburg leads the Cougars and is ranked fifth in the nation with 5.59 kills per game but is hitting only .198. She also leads the team with 4.14 digs per game. Junior middle blocker Jenny Tanneberger, who transferred from Texas, is one of only two players to be hitting above .200 with a team-best .273 efficiency.
As a team, Houston is hitting .188 and averaging 15.17 kills, 18.34 digs and 1.76 blocks per game. Opponents are hitting .192 and averaging 13.86 kills, 16.28 digs and 2.69 blocks per game.
The Aggies are slated to begin Big 12 competition at Missouri on Saturday. A&M was stunned by the Tigers in the conference opener last season, losing in three games in Columbia. Both teams ended the season tied with Kansas State for second place in the Big 12 standings with a 14-6 record.