November 05, 2002
Texas A&M (15-7, 7-6 Big 12) takes a trek down Highway 6 to take on the Baylor Bears (9-14, 2-10 Big 12), Wednesday, Nov. 6. in Waco. Match time is 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center...A&M, which has struggled on the road this season, will be aiming for only its second road victory in Big 12 play, while the Bears, who are 5-6 in home contests, are looking to end a season-high six-match Big 12 losing streak...The Aggies, who swept Baylor in College Station earlier this season, have won their last two matches, including a 30-24, 28-30, 30-25, 19-30, 15-5 victory over Colorado in College Station on Saturday, and are in sixth place in the Big 12 standings...The Bears fell to No. 24 Texas, 30-28, 30-27, 30-16, last Wednesday before capturing a win over non-conference foe Texas-San Antonio, 26-30, 30-19, 30-17, 30-12 on Friday ...Live scoring of the match will be provided on the Internet at www.gobaylorbears.com.
TEXAS A&M NOTES
- Texas A&M right-side hitter Carol Price has been named the Big 12 Volleyball Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 27-Nov. 2, the league office announced Monday. Price is the first Aggie to receive the honor this season, and it also marks the first time she has been selected for the accolade during her career...The 6-2 junior from Fenton, Mich., registered back-to-back career performances while leading the Aggies to a 2-0 record for the week. After posting match-highs and career-highs with 17 kills, 18.5 points and a .552 hitting percentage in a 3-0 victory over Oklahoma, Price continued her unstoppable pace in the following match against Colorado. She once again broke her career records and tallied match-highs of 23 kills and a .568 hitting percentage, in addition to 23.5 points in a crucial five-game victory over the Buffaloes...Price hit .561 and averaged 5.00 kills and 5.25 points per game for the week while recording a total of 40 kills and only three errors in 66 attacks.
- 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 3.71 kills, 0.46 aces and 4.41 points per game for the full season. Munsch is right behind Jones with 3.64 kills, 0.43 aces and 4.31 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 3.85 kills, 0.32 aces and 4.43 points per game, while Munsch is averaging 3.73 kills, 0.29 aces and 4.24 points, in addition to a team-leading 3.37 digs per game.
- Munsch has reached double figures in kills - including a career-high 25 kills at Colorado - in 18 of 22 matches and also leads the team with 13 double-double performances.
- Setter Lexy Beers recorded a career-high and a team season-high 73 assists in the five-game victory over Colorado on Saturday, ranking ninth in the A&M all-time single match records. She also set a three-game match season high with 49 assists against Oklahoma on Wednesday to average 15.25 assists per game for the week...The sophomore is ranked third in the Big 12 for both assist average for the full season (12.57) and in Big 12 matches only (13.02)... 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 (1.85) and in conference matches only (2.04).
- Junior middle blocker Tara Pulaski, who hit at a .363 pace during the month of October, leads the Aggies and is ranked third in the Big 12 with a .356 hitting percentage in league matches. She is ninth in the conference with a .338 hitting percentage for the full season...The California native also leads the Aggies with 1.01 blocks per game for the full season 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.
- A&M's Beth Skypala and the Bears' Tisha Schwartz were teammates at Amarillo High School where they led the Lady Sandies to the 1998 Texas 5-A high school state tournament title and a 39-0 season.
- The Aggies have won back-to-back conference matches for only the second time this season. A victory against the Bears would mark A&M's first three-match Big 12 winning streak of the season.
- A&M, which is 12-1 in home matches, has struggled on the road where the Aggies are 2-6. Their only road victories were against non-conference foe Southwest Texas and Oklahoma. A&M is outhitting its opponents, .259 to .158 at G. Rollie White Coliseum but is being outhit .234 to .213 when playing on the road...The Aggies are outhitting their opponents, .242 to .183, for the full season and .231 to .196 in conference matches only.
- As a team, A&M is averaging 16.04 kills, 1.73 aces, 16.23 digs and 2.3 blocks per game for the full season. Opponents are averaging 13.61 kills, 1.08 aces, 14.85 digs and 1.85 blocks per game...In Big 12 matches only, A&M is averaging 16.31 kills, 1.24 aces, 16.06 digs and 2.34 blocks per game.
- 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 and has never lost more than seven matches in league competition (1998).
BAYLOR NOTES
Baylor is 9-14 overall and in ninth place in the Big 12 standings with a 2-10 mark. The Bears, who have lost a season-high six consecutive conference matches, are coming off a 26-30, 30-19, 30-17, 30-12 victory over non-conference foe Texas-San Antonio on Friday. Junior outside hitter Tisha Schwartz posted a match-high 27 kills to become the third player in Baylor volleyball history to record 20 or more kills in three consecutive matches...The Bears were plagued by injuries early in the Big 12 season and have been without the services of top player Stevie Nicholas who was leading the Big 12 in kills (5.45), aces (0.95) and points (6.81) per game before suffering a season-ending knee injury (torn medial meniscus) in a four-game loss to Colorado on Sept. 18. Schwartz moved from the middle position to the outside following the loss of Nicholas and now leads the Big 12 with 4.72 kills per game for the full season and 5.23 kills per game in Big 12 games only...The Bears, who are hitting .214 for the full season and .175 in Big 12 play , are last in the league in opponent hitting percentage, allowing a .253 hitting efficiency for the full season and a .280 hitting percentage in Big 12 matches...Their two conference wins were at Iowa State and against Texas Tech in Waco...Baylor was picked to finish seventh in the big 12 standings according to a preseason poll of the league coaches. Last year, the Bears tied for sixth place and lost to Colorado State, 3-1, in the first round of the NCAA tournament...Brian Hosfeld (Long Beach State '91) is 117-103 in his seventh season at the helm of the Bears.
SERIES RECORD
A&M has won the last six meetings against the Bears and leads the all-time series, 46-7, since 1976. In addition, the Aggies are 16-4 against Baylor in matches played in Waco and 10-3 against the Bears in Big 12 matches...The two teams last met on Oct. 23, 2002, in College Station where the Aggies prevailed, 30-24, 30-20, 30-22. A&M freshman outside hitter Laura Jones posted match highs of 20 kills and a .515 hitting percentage to lead the Aggies. Sophomore outside hitter Melissa Munsch added 13 kills and led a group of five Aggies to reach double figures in digs with a match-high 20...Junior middle blocker Tara Pulaski took match-high honors with five blocks as A&M outblocked the Bears, 9.0 to 2.5...Junior outside hitter Tisha Schwartz led Baylor with 12 kills but was held to a .098 hitting percentage as A&M outhit Baylor, .284 to .131.
UPCOMING
A&M returns home on Friday, Nov. 8 for a crucial Big 12 matchup against No. 20 Missouri. Match time is 7 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum. The Tigers, who enter the week ranked third in the Big 12 race, came from behind to down the Aggies in four games in Columbia earlier this season...Promotions for the evening include a $3.50 Meal Deal (Hot Dog, Popcorn, soda); Church Night (every fan identifying themselves as a member of a church will receive $2 General Admission ticket); and Dominos Day (redeem the volleyball coupon for the Domino's Box Topper and receive a General Admission ticket for $2).