October 04, 2002
No. 25 Texas A&M (11-3, 3-2 Big 12) puts its 17-match home win streak on the line as the Aggies play host to No. 5 Nebraska, Sunday, Oct. 6 at 2 p.m at G. Rollie White Coliseum. Admission is $2 for high school students, as well as for anyone with a ticket stub from the Texas A&M-Texas Tech football game. In addition, UCS player cards will be provided to the first 1,000 fans...The Aggies have won their last two matches, having swept both Iowa State and Oklahoma. They enter the weekend tied with Texas and Kansas State for fourth place in the Big 12...Four-time defending Big 12-champion Nebraska, the last team to defeat A&M in College Station, extended its winning streak to 10 matches and remained tied with Missouri for first place in conference play with a 4-0 mark after sweeping Colorado on Wednesday in Lincoln.
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
The Aggies are 8-0 in home matches this season and have won 17 consecutive home matches dating to last year. They have not lost a match at G. Rollie White Coliseum since Nebraska handed A&M a four-game setback on Oct. 14, 2001. The No. 5 Huskers are the highest ranked team A&M has faced this season...A&M is led by Melissa Munsch, who leads the team in kills (3.87), aces (0.63), digs (3.31) and points (4.77) per game. The sophomore outside hitter has reached double figures in kills - including a career-high 25 kills at Colorado - in 10 consecutive matches. Freshman outside hitter Laura Jones sports a team-best .344 hitting percentage and is second on the squad with 3.5 kills, 0.56 aces and 4.29 points per game. Junior middle blocker Tara Pulaski, who tied her career high and the team's season high with 11 blocks against Missouri, is ranked second in the conference in Big 12 matches only with 1.47 blocks per game. She is hitting .321 in all matches and a .329 in conference matches only. Sophomore setter Lexy Beers is ranked second in the league with 12.44 assists per game in Big 12 matches only...As a team, A&M is hitting .258 and averaging 15.6 kills, 2.11 aces, 15.72 digs and 2.54 blocks per game for the full season. Opponents are being held to a .165 hitting percentage and are averaging 13.47 kills, 1.0 aces, 14.89 digs and 1.64 blocks per game...In Big 12 matches only, A&M is ranked second in the league with a .260 hitting percentage and 3.08 blocks per game and is listed third in opponent hitting percentage (.167), and digs (14.28) per game...The Aggies narrowly extended their streak to 110 consecutive appearances in the Top 25 after falling five spots to No. 25 in this week's USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Poll...A&M, picked to finish second in the league according to a preseason poll of the conference coaches, placed second with a 16-4 mark last year to tie the 1999 Aggies for the school's best record and equal A&M's highest finish.
NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS
Nebraska, a 2001 NCAA semifinalist and the 2000 NCAA national champion, entered the week ranked second in the nation with 3.69 blocks per game (through games as of Sept. 29), and senior middle blocker Amber Holmquist was leading the nation with 1.94 stuffs per game. Holmquist, freshman Melissa Elmer and senior setter Greichaly Cepero - -the Big 12 Preseason Player of the Year - are all ranked in the top four for blocking in the Big 12 rankings...In addition to blocking, the Huskers lead the Big 12 in hitting percentage (.322) and opponent hitting percentage (.111). In Big 12 matches only, Nebraska leads the league in hitting percentage (.353), opponent hitting percentage (.112), kills per game (17.25) and blocks per game (4.42)...Senior outside hitter Laura Pilakowski leads the Huskers with 3.78 kills per game. Cepero is hitting a team-best .426 and is averaging 11.9 assists per game. Holmquist is second on the team with a .379 hitting percentage and 3.08 kills per game. True freshman Jennifer Saleaumua, the 2000 national high school player of the year, has started every match and is hitting .288 and averaging 2.62 kills, 2.9 digs and 0.77 blocks per game...Eleven of Nebraska's 12 wins have been three-game sweeps. The Huskers, who have won 10 straight matches and 27 consecutive games, have not dropped a single game since dropping the opening game at No. 11 Arizona on Sept. 7. Nebraska's only loss this season was to now-No. 1 Southern Cal in three games on Sept. 2...John Cook (Univ. of San Diego '79) is 77-3 in his third season at the helm of the Huskers.
SERIES RECORD
Nebraska holds a 15-6 advantage in the all-time series and is riding a five-match winning streak against Texas A&M. In addition, the Huskers are 5-2 in matches played at G. Rollie White Coliseum and 10-2 overall against the Aggies since Big 12 Conference play began in 1996...In 1998, A&M broke its 10-match losing skid against the Huskers and handed Nebraska its only conference loss of the season as the Aggies stunned No. 3 Nebraska in five games in College Station. Nebraska lost its second consecutive match against the Aggies in 1999 as A&M once again took advantage of playing on its home court to defeat the No. 8 Huskers in another 5-game battle.
QUICK SETS
- Nebraska is the highest ranked opponent A&M has faced this season. The Aggies are 0-1 against Top 25 opponents this year, having dropped a four-game match at then-No. 16 Wisconsin on Sept. 7.
- The Aggies, wh
- posted a season-high 17.5 blocks against Missouri, have outblocked their opponents, 41.5 t
- 14.0, in the last three matches. In the first tw
- Big 12 matches, A&M was outblocked 18.0 t
- 14.0.
- Sophomore outside hitter Melissa Munsch has posted double figures in kills in 10 consecutive matches and in all but tw
- matches for the season. In addition, she has reached double digits in digs in 10 of 14 matches and has recorded a team-best eight double-doubles. Munsch leads the team with 3.87 kills, 0.63 aces, 3.31 digs and 4.77 points per game.
- The Aggies have won 17 consecutive matches played at G. Rollie White Coliseum dating t
- last season. Texas A&M, which is 8-0 in home contests this season, has not dropped a home contest since No. 2 Nebraska downed the Aggies, 3-1, on Oct. 14, 2001...The record for consecutive home victories is 28 set Nov. 5, 1998 t
- Nov. 8, 2000.
- A&M associate head coach John Corbelli served as an assistant coach at Nebraska in 1981, under former Huskers coach Terry Pettit. The Huskers were both Big Eight regular season and tournament champions that year.
- The Aggies are 113-17 (.900) in home matches since Laurie Corbelli became head coach in 1993. A&M is 18-14 (.563) against Top 25 opponents and 95-3 (.969) against unranked opponents at home during that span. The highest ranked team A&M has defeated at home is No. 3 Nebraska on Nov. 20, 1998...The only unranked teams A&M has lost t
- at home since Corbelli took over are Texas Tech in 1997 and 1998 and Colorad
- last year.
UPCOMING
Texas A&M faces rival Texas Wednesday, Oct. 9 in Austin. Match time is 7 p.m. at Gregory Gym. Although Texas owns a 48-19 lead in the all-time series, the Aggies have won the last six matches against the Horns, including a three-game sweep in the second round of the 2001 NCAA tournament.