October 25, 2002
Texas A&M (13-6, 5-5 Big 12) begins the second half of the Big 12 Conference season as the Aggies face league-leading and fourth-ranked Nebraska Saturday in Lincoln, Neb. Previously slated for a 7 p.m. start, the match time has been moved up to 3 p.m. to give audiences the opportunity to watch both the volleyball match, which will be televised in Nebraska on NETV, and the nationally televised Texas A&M-Nebraska football game, which kicks off Saturday at 6 p.m. at Kyle Field in College Station...The Aggies are coming off a 30-24, 30-20, 30-22 victory over Baylor on Wednesday in College Station. With the win, A&M evened its conference record to 5-5 and moved into a three-way tie with Colorado and Kansas for fifth place in the Big 12 standings...The four-time defending Big 12-champion Huskers ran their winning streak to 16 and remained undefeated in league play with a 30-22, 30-21, 30-20 victory at Kansas on Wednesday...Live scoring and audio of the match will be provided on the Internet at www.huskers.com.
MATCH NOTES
- Texas A&M is the only Big 12 team that has taken a game from Nebraska this season as the undefeated Huskers have swept their nine other opponents during the first half of the Big 12 season. Then-No. 5 Nebraska defeated A&M, 30-26, 28-30, 30-26, 30-20, on Oct. 6 in College Station, snapping the Aggies 17-match home winning streak and extending the Huskers' win streak against A&M to six. A&M, however, ended Nebraska's 25-game Big 12 regular-season winning streak which began on Nov. 17, 2001, as well as the Huskers' overall run of 27 consecutive games dating back to a first-game loss at Arizona Sept. 7.
- The Aggies, who are 2-5 at away matches -- including 1-4 in Big 12 road matches -- will be looking for their first victory in Lincoln as the Aggies are 0-9 at the Nebraska Coliseum. The Huskers, meanwhile, lead the nation with a 54-match home winning streak, including 52 straight victories at the Coliseum. Kansas State, who defeated Nebraska, 9-15, 14-16, 18-16, 15-7, 17-15, on Sept. 22, 1999, is the last team to defeat Nebraska at the Coliseum.
- Texas A&M's Laurie Corbelli and Colorado's Pi'i Aiu are the only current Big 12 coaches to have ever beaten Nebraska. Corbelli is 2-10 all-time against the Huskers, having defeated them in five-game matches in both the 1998 and 1999 contests held in College Station.
- Nebraska and Texas A&M are ranked first and second, respectively, in conference matches only for kills by opponents, assists by opponents and blocks by opponents. The Huskers are allowing 12.77 kills, 11.58 assists and 1.23 blocks per game in Big 12 competition, and the Aggies are allowing 13.68 kills, 12.21 assists and 2.0 blocks per game in conference play.
- Nebraska is the highest ranked opponent A&M has faced this season. The Aggies are 0-2 against Top 25 opponents this year, having dropped a four-game match at then-No. 16 Wisconsin on Sept. 7 and losing a four-game match to the Huskers in College Station on Oct. 6.
- 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.
- Nebraska has won the last four Big 12 regular-season titles and six overall. A&M has finished second or tied for second in the conference standings in each of the last three years.
TEXAS A&M NOTES
- A&M is paced by the one-two punch of outside hitters Laura Jones and Melissa Munsch. Jones, a freshman, leads the team with 3.78 kills, 0.50 aces and 4.51 points per game for the full season. Munsch is right behind Jones with 3.72 kills, 0.47 aces and 4.43 aces per game. In addition, the sophomore leads the Aggies with 3.36 digs per game...In conference matches only, Jones leads the team with 4.03 kills, 0.36 aces and 4.67 points per game, while Munsch is averaging 3.92 kills, 0.32 aces and 4.45 points, in addition to a team-leading 3.34 digs per game.
- Munsch has reached double figures in kills - including a career-high 25 kills at Colorado - in 16 of 19 matches and also leads the team with 12 double-double performances.
- Setter Lexy Beers, who posted a career-high 63 assists in the five-game victory over Texas Tech, is ranked fourth in the Big 12 with 12.71 assists per game in conference play only and fourth for the full season with a 12.34 average. With the 5-9 sophomore directing the A&M attack, the Aggies are ranked second to Nebraska in the conference for fewest blocks allowed by an opponent for the full season (1.79).
- Junior middle blocker Tara Pulaski, who tied her career high with 20 kills while hitting at a .484 clip against Texas on Oct. 9, leads the Aggies with a .321 hitting percentage for the full season. The California native also leads the squad with 1.01 blocks per game and has twice reached double figures in blocks this season. Her 11 blocks at Missouri still ranks as the most by a Big 12 player in league competition this season.
- Sophomore outside hitter Carrie Moreira, who had been sidelined by a back injury since the preseason, saw her first live game action of the season Wednesday against Baylor, subbing in for middle blocker Tara Pulaski in the back row. Moreira, who saw limited action as a freshman, collected a career-high five digs in the match.
- After hitting a season-low .087 at Kansas State on Saturday, A&M rebounded by hitting .284 - a season-high in a Big 12 match - against Baylor on Wednesday.
- As a team, A&M is hitting .240 and averaging 15.79 kills, 1.81 aces, 16.19 digs and 2.39 blocks per game for the full season. Opponents are being held to a .175 hitting percentage and are averaging 13.48 kills, 1.1 aces, 14.77 digs and 1.79 blocks per game...In Big 12 matches only, A&M is hitting .223 and averaging 15.92 kills and 15.95 digs per game.
- Five of A&M's six losses have been on the road. The Aggies are being outhit, .224 to .215, on the road but are outhitting their opponents, .255 to .150, in matches played at G. Rollie White Coliseum. All six losses have been against teams that have been ranked in the Top 25 for at least one week during the regular season.
- Texas A&M's historic streak of 111 consecutive appearances in the USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Poll came to an end on Oct. 14 as the Aggies fell out of the Top 25 for the first time since breaking in at No. 24 on Sept. 26, 1995. A&M, which held onto a No. 25 ranking on Oct. 7, toppled to No. 34 after dropping a five-game match to then-unranked Texas in Austin on Oct. 9...During the Aggies' seven-year stay in the Top 25, A&M reached an all-time high No. 9 ranking in the 1999 final poll after defeating No. 3 Hawaii to reach the NCAA regional finals for the first time in school history. The Aggies first broke the top-10 milestone in 1996, spending four consecutive weeks at No. 10 (Oct. 15-Nov. 5). A&M reached its second-highest final ranking following the 2001 season, coming it at No. 11 after reaching the Elite Eight for the second time. The Aggies began the 2002 season listed No. 17 in the preseason poll and moved up to a season-high No. 16 on Sept. 9 despite losing five starters from last year's 26-6 team.
- 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. A&M has never finished lower than fourth place (1997, 1998) in the final Big 12 standings.
NEBRASKA NOTES
The Huskers remained undefeated in Big 12 play and extended their winning streak to 16 with a sweep at Kansas on Wednesday. Senior middle blocker Amber Holmquist, who entered the week ranked second in the nation in blocks per game, led Nebraska with 14 kills and a .458 hitting percentage, as well as six blocks, including four solo blocks. Freshman Jennifer Saleaumua added 11 kills while hitting at a .450 clip as Nebraska outhit the Jayhawks, .256 to .068, and outblocked Kansas, 13-6...Holmquist is hitting a league-leading .408 in conference matches and also leads the Big 12 with 2.1 blocks per game. Freshman-redshirt Melissa Elmer is second in the conference with a .371 hitting percentage as five Nebraska starters are hitting above the .300 mark in Big 12 play...Nebraska's only loss this season was a three-game setback to now-No. 1 USC at the Ball State Tournament on Sept. 2...Coach John Cook (Univ. of San Diego '79), who directed Nebraska to the 2000 NCAA national title and a semifinal appearance in 2001, is 83-3 in his third season at Nebraska and has led the Huskers to a 50-0 Big 12 mark.
SERIES RECORD
Nebraska holds a 16-6 advantage in the all-time series and is riding a six-match winning streak against Texas A&M. The Huskers, who are 11-2 against A&M since Big 12 Conference play began in 1996, are 9-0 against the Aggies in matches played at Nebraska Coliseum...In 1998, A&M broke a 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 five-game battle. Since then, Nebraska has gone on a 6-0 roll against A&M, including a 30-26, 28-30, 30-26, 30-20 victory in College Station on Oct. 6.
UPCOMING
The Aggies return home for a two-match stand, hosting Oklahoma, Wednesday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. and then playing host to the Colorado Buffaloes, Saturday, Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. Both matches will be played at G. Rollie White Coliseum.