September 12, 2002
No. 16 Texas A&M (5-1) returns home this weekend to host BYU (3-5), Louisiana-Lafayette (4-3) and Sam Houston State (6-2) in the McDonald's Texas A&M Invitational II at G. Rollie White Coliseum. Action gets underway Friday as BYU faces UL Lafayette at 5 p.m., followed by A&M and SHSU at 7 p.m. On Saturday, SHSU and BYU meet at 11 a.m., followed by A&M and UL Lafayette at 1 p.m. The tournament concludes with UL Lafayette playing SHSU at 5 p.m. and A&M facing BYU at 7 p.m...The Aggies will hold an autograph session following the BYU match.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
- Friday, September 13
5 p.m. - BYU vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
7 p.m. - No. 16 Texas A&M vs. Sam Houston State
Saturday, September 14
11 a.m. - Sam Houston State vs. BYU
1 p.m. - No. 16 Texas A&M vs. Louisiana-Lafayette
5 p.m. - Louisiana-Lafayette vs. Sam Houston State
7 p.m. - No. 16 Texas A&M vs. BYU
Live scoring for all matches will be available on the official Texas A&M Web site, www.AggieAthletics.com.
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
The Aggies, who are 3-0 at home this year and riding a 12-match home winning streak dating to last season, moved up one spot to No. 16 in this week's USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Poll after going 2-1 last week...Freshman outside hitter Laura Jones leads the Aggies and is ranked 16th in the nation with a .444 hitting percentage while averaging 3.14 kills per game. Senior middle blocker A.D. Achilefu leads the team with 3.43 kills, 1.10 blocks and 4.57 points per game. Sophomore outside hitter Melissa Munsch sports team-bests of 3.33 digs and 0.76 aces per game. Sophomore setter Lexy Beers is averaging 11.5 assists per game as the Aggies are averaging 15.18 kills per game and outhitting their opponents, .257 to .150...As a team, A&M also is averaging 2.45 aces, 14.59 digs and 2.34 blocks per game. Opponents are averaging 12.50 kills, 1.14 aces, 14.0 digs and 1.57 blocks per game...The tournament represents a final tune-up for the Aggies as they begin Big 12 Conference play against Kansas on Wednesday, Sept. 18.
OPPONENT PROFILES
BYU is 3-5 this season, but two of its losses have been to Top 10 teams USC and Florida...The Cougars return two starters from last year's team that ranked 22nd in the final poll after advancing to the first round of the NCAA tournament and finishing with a 20-9 record...BYU, which has dropped out of the Top 25 after being ranked No. 23 in the preseason poll, is coming off a 3-0 victory over Weber State on Tuesday...The Cougars have struggled offensively this season, unable to hit over .200 in a match with the exception of a .287 hitting percentage in their four-game season opener against Gonzaga. Defensively, however, BYU is averaging an impressive 3.47 blocks per game as four players are averaging more than 1.3 blocks per game...Junior middle blocker Carrie Bowers leads the team with a 1.59 block average and has a team-high .192 hitting percentage among those averaging more than two kills per game...Senior outside hitter Allison Larson is the team leader with 2.61 kills per game, and junior libero/defensive specialist Uila Crabbe is averaging a team-high 3.69 digs per game...Junior setter Karina Puikkonen is averaging 9.45 assists per game...As a team, BYU is hitting .122 and is averaging 12.72 kills, 1.0 aces, 16.38 digs and 3.47 blocks per game...Opponents are hitting .179 and averaging 14.97 kills, 1.83 aces, 16.97 digs and 2.38 blocks per game...Karen Curtis Lamb (BYU '78) is in her first season as head coach of the Cougars, taking over for legendary coach Elaine Michaelis, who retired after 40 years at the BYU helm.
Louisiana-Lafayette (4-3) is looking to snap a three-match losing skid after getting swept by Rice, Houston and TCU at the Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational last weekend...The Ragin' Cajuns, who play their first 18 matches on the road, opened the season by defeating Jackson State, Southern Mississippi, Prairie View A&M and McNeese State...UL Lafayette is tabbed to finish fourth in the Sun Belt Conference West division, behind New Mexico State, North Texas and Denver...Senior middle blocker Clarice Laires, who was a unanimous pick on the 2002 SBC preseason volleyball team, leads the Cajuns with 1.04 blocks per game and is second on the squad with 3.16 digs per game...Sophomore outside hitter Stacey Cole is the team leader with a 4.04 kill average and is second on the team with a .200 hitting percentage...As a team, the Cajuns are hitting .141 and averaging 13.64 kills, 2.2 aces, 15.92 digs and 1.86 blocks per game...Opponents are hitting .158 and averaging 11.6 kills, 1.64 aces, 14.68 digs and 2.62 blocks per game...First-year head coach Becky Madden (Purdue '89) returns four starters from last year's team that went 14-11 overall and finished second in the SBC West with an 8-7 mark.
Sam Houston State is off to a 6-2 start and riding a three-match winning streak...The Bearkats went 3-0, sweeping Auburn, Sacred Heart and Marist, to win the Hartford Fall Invitational last weekend...SHSU is led by outside hitter Carrie Sartain, who is ranked 23rd in the nation (as of 9/8) with 5.0 kills per game. The junior also leads the Bearkats with 3.60 digs per game...Sophomore setter Karlee Butler is averaging 11.73 assists per game, and freshman middle blocker Chrissy Engle is averaging a team-best 0.77 blocks per game...As a team, SHSU is hitting .189 and averaging 14.53 kills, 2.67 aces, 17.6 digs and 1.93 blocks. Opponents are being held to a .142 hitting percentage and are averaging 12.47 kills, 1.37 aces, 16.2 digs and 2.25 blocks per game...Brenda Gray (SHSU '82) is in her 19th season at the helm of the Bearkats and returns six starters from last year's team that went 12-19 overall and placed seventh in the Southland Conference with an 8-12 record.
SERIES RECORDS
Texas A&M is 28-16 all-time against the tournament field.
Texas A&M holds a commanding 26-7 lead in the series against Sam Houston State, including a 12-2 mark in matches played in College Station...The teams last met on Sept. 14, 1996, with the Aggies defeating the Bearkats, 15-3, 10-15, 15-3, 15-5, en route to the championship title at the Lady Aggie Post Oak Mall Invitational held at G. Rollie White Coliseum...SHSU won the previous meeting, downing the Aggies, 10-15, 15-13, 15-1, 15-13 in Huntsville, Texas, on Sept. 7, 1994.
BYU is 9-1 against the Aggies, including 2-0 in matches played at G. Rollie White Coliseum...The Cougars have won the last two meetings, narrowly escaping with a 15-12, 7-15, 17-15, 13-15, 16-14 victory in the third round of the 1997 NCAA tournament in State College, Pa., in their most recent meeting...A&M's only win against the Cougars was Oct. 27, 1995, as the 19th-ranked Aggies came from behind to upend No. 23 BYU, 10-15, 10-15, 15-13, 15-12, 19-17, in Provo, Utah.
A&M is 1-0 against Louisiana-Lafayette...In their only meeting, the then-Southwestern Louisiana Rajun' Cajuns lost to A&M, 15-7, 15-9, at the 1977 SWAIAW regional tournament.
TEXAS A&M RECENT RESULTS
The Aggies went 3-1 last week, including a sweep against Montreal in an exhibition match. A&M began the week by sweeping Southwest Texas in San Marcos. A.D. Achilefu celebrated her 22nd birthday with a match-high 14 kills, and Melissa Munsch tied an A&M record with six aces as A&M defeated the Bobcats, 30-22, 30-24, 30-26...The Aggies then participated in the Wisconsin InnTowner Invitational. They opened the tournament by defeating Montreal, 30-19, 30-15, 30-16. Since the contest was against a foreign team, the victory is not included in A&M's win-loss record...The Aggies played their first four-game match of the season, defeating Illinois State, 30-20, 30-19, 25-30, 30-28 to improve to 5-0 overall. Achilefu led A&M with 16 kills, and Laura Jones added 13 while hitting at a match-high .435 clip. Libero Rebecca Wynalda led the Aggies with a career-high 15 digs...A&M then suffered its first loss of the season as No. 16 Wisconsin downed the Aggies, 30-23, 25-30, 30-25, 30-28, for the tournament title. Munsch and Achilefu, who were named to the all-tournament team, led A&M with 16 and 14 kills, respectively. Carol Price, who drew her first career start against Illinois State, led A&M with four blocks as the Aggies outblocked Wisconsin, 9-8.
NOTES AND TIDBITS
- The Aggies have won 12 consecutive matches played at G. Rollie White Coliseum dating to last season. Texas A&M, which is 3-0 in home contests this season, has not dropped a home contest since No. 2 Nebraska downed the Aggies, 3-1, on Oct. 14, 2001.
- A&M is scheduled to play a total of 30 matches - 16 matches at home and 14 matches on the road - during the regular season, including 14 contests against teams who participated in the 2001 NCAA tournament. In addition, eight of the matches are against opponents who were ranked in the final 2001 USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Poll.
- Junior defensive specialist/libero Kelly Smalley will be competing against her former teammates when the Aggies take the court against Sam Houston State. Smalley played two seasons at SHSU and then sat out the 2001 season before joining the Aggies in the spring of 2002. Smalley was a two-year starter for the Bearkats as an outside hitter.
- Freshman outside hitter Laura Jones is ranked 16th in the nation and third in the Big 12 with a .444 hitting percentage.
- Rebecca Wynalda, a 6-2 outside hitter, has been the starting libero in the last two matches. Against Illinois State, the junior recorded a career-high and match-high 15 digs. She added 14 digs against Wisconsin and is now ranked third on the team with 2.05 digs per game.
- Sophomore outside hitter Melissa Munsch, who leads the Aggies with 0.76 aces per game, tied an A&M record for aces in a three-game match with six at Southwest Texas State. The feat has been accomplished six times in school history, most recently by A.D. Achilefu in the three-game victory over Oklahoma on Nov. 12, 2001.
UPCOMING
The Aggies begin Big 12 Conference play at home against the Kansas Jayhawks, Wednesday, Sept. 18. Match time is 7 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum. Although A&M is 3-3 in Big 12 season openers, the Aggies have never lost their first home Big 12 match of the season.