November 01, 2002
Texas A&M (14-7, 6-6 Big 12) concludes its two-match home stand with a critical Big 12 match against the Colorado Buffaloes (11-11, 5-7 Big 12) Saturday. First serve is at 2 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum, and all scouts and scout leaders in uniform will receive free admission to the match...The Aggies, who are 11-1 in home contests and in sixth place in the Big 12, are one game ahead of the Buffaloes in the conference standings after sweeping Oklahoma Wednesday in College Station. The Buffaloes, who have won three of the last four meetings against the Aggies, fell one game back after dropping a hard-fought three-game home match to No. 4 Nebraska in Boulder on Wednesday... A&M also is one spot above Colorado in the NCAA Central Region rankings released Oct. 23, coming in at No. 8...Live scoring of the match will be provided on the Internet at www.AggieAthletics.com.
TEXAS A&M NOTES
- A&M is paced by the one-two punch of outside hitters Laura Jones and Melissa Munsch. Jones, the Big 12 Conference Preseason Freshman of the Year, leads the team with 3.73 kills, 0.49 aces and 4.46 points per game for the full season. Munsch is right behind Jones with 3.63 kills, 0.44 aces and 4.29 points per game. In addition, the sophomore leads the Aggies with 3.37 digs per game...In conference matches only, Jones leads the team with 3.90 kills, 0.36 aces and 4.55 points per game, while Munsch is averaging 3.73 kills, 0.27 aces and 4.23 points, in addition to a team-leading 3.36 digs per game.
- Munsch has reached double figures in kills - including a career-high 25 kills at Colorado - in 17 of 21 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 and set a team season high for a three-game match with 49 assists against Oklahoma, moved up to third in the Big 12 with 12.44 assists per game for the full season. In conference play only, the sophomore is listed fourth with a 12.84 average. With Beers 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 (1.82).
- 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, who hit at a .363 pace during the month of October, 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.
- Freshman setter Kari Kelley made her collegiate debut Wednesday in the second game against the Sooners with the Aggies leading, 26-16. Kelley's first set went to freshman Laura Jones, who put down the ball for a kill. A&M went on to win the game, 30-21, as Kelley posted three assists.
- A&M, which is 11-1 in home matches, is outhitting its opponents, .259 to .151 at G. Rollie White Coliseum but is being outhit .234 to .213 when playing on the road, where the Aggies are 2-6...The Aggies are outhitting their opponents, .240 to .180, for the full season and .227 to .193 in conference matches only.
- As a team, A&M is averaging 16.01 kills, 1.76 aces, 16.32 digs and 2.36 blocks per game for the full season. Opponents are averaging 13.61 kills, 1.05 aces, 14.84 digs and 1.82 blocks per game...In Big 12 matches only, A&M is averaging 16.3 kills, 1.25 aces, 16.2 digs and 2.44 blocks per game.
- All seven of A&M's losses have been against teams that have been ranked in the Top 25 for at least one week during the regular season. Colorado was ranked No. 21 in the preseason poll and has been listed once in the regular-season Top 25 Poll, coming in at No. 23 on Sept. 23...The Aggies are 0-3 against teams that were ranked at the time the match was played.
- 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.
COLORADO NOTES
Colorado is in seventh place in the Big 12 after losing its last two matches, both in three games. On Wednesday, the Buffaloes lost a hard-fought match to No. 4 Nebraska, 30-23, 30-20, 30-26 in Boulder. Senior middle blocker Meghan Barkman led Colorado with 12 kills and 14 digs. The Buffaloes, however, were outhit, .260 to .056 and were outblocked, 14 to 5...Colorado is 3-4 in road matches and 2-9 against opponents who have been ranked in the Top 25 Poll for at least one week during the regular season...Junior middle blocker Monique Gerlach leads the Buffs with 3.73 kills per game and a .337 hitting percentage for the full season and 4.09 kills and a .317 hitting percentage in conference matches only...As a team, Colorado leads its opponents in kills per game (15.49 to 14.95) but is being outhit, .225 to .205, outblocked, 2.53 to 2.27, and outaced, 1.41 to 1.32, for the full season...In Big 12 matches only, Colorado is being outhit, .235 to .187...The Buffaloes placed fourth in the Big 12 last season with a 13-7 record and finished the season ranked 23rd with a 19-11 mark after falling to rival Colorado State in five games in the second round of the NCAA tournament...Pii Aiu (Colorado '85), who is 109-68 in his sixth season as head coach of the Buffaloes, will not be in attendance when Colorado takes on Texas A&M due to the death of his father earlier this week.
SERIES RECORD
Texas A&M leads Colorado, 10-4, in the all-time series. The Buffs, however, have won three of the last four meetings. Colorado downed the then-No. 17 Aggies in five games earlier this season in Boulder despite a career-high 25-kill performance by Melissa Munsch. A&M led in hitting percentage (.267 to .214) and digs (63-58), but also led in service errors (12-6). The Buffs, who were led by Monique Gerlach's 19 kills and six blocks, out-aced the Aggies (10-7) and also posted 12 blocks to A&M's 6. ..Last year at G. Rollie White Coliseum, Colorado fought back from a two-game deficit to get its first victory at the Holler House. The Buffs are now 4-1 in matches played in College Station.
UPCOMING
The Aggies take a trek down Highway 6 to take on the Baylor Bears, Wednesday, Nov. 6. Match time is 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center. A&M, which has struggled on the road, will be aiming for only its second road victory in Big 12 play. The Aggie swept Baylor in College Station earlier this season..A&M returns home on Friday, Nov. 8 to play host to Missouri. The Tigers, who are in fourth place in the Big 12 race and ranked 21st in the nation, came from behind to down the Aggies in four games in Columbia earlier this season. Match time is 7 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum.