November 12, 2002
The Texas A&M (17-7, 9-6 Big 12) volleyball team aims to continue its ascent in the Big 12 standings as the Aggies face the Kansas Jayhawks (17-6, 8-6 Big 12) Wednesday in Lawrence, Kan. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center...The Aggies are riding a season-high four-match conference winning streak after defeating No. 20 Missouri on Friday and have moved from a tie for sixth place in the conference standings to a tie with Texas for fourth during the streak...Kansas dropped to a game behind the Aggies and is in sixth place after having its three-match winning streak snapped in a three-game loss at Texas Tech last Wednesday. The Jayhawks, who were idle over the weekend, are 9-2 in home matches but are 0-14 all-time against the Aggies, including a 3-0 sweep to A&M in the 2002 Big 12 opener in College Station on Sept. 18.
TEXAS A&M NOTES
- Aggie outside hitter Laura Jones is on pace to set the A&M record for kills in a season by a freshman. The Arlington, Texas, native leads the team with 324 kills and needs 35 kills to surpass the record of 358 set by Kristie Smedsrud in 1994. Smedsrud finished her illustrious four-year stint as A&M's all-time career kill leader with 1,777...Jones is ranked seventh in the Big 12 with 3.77 kills per game. She has reached double figures in kills in 18 matches, including a career-high 24 against No. 5 Nebraska, and has reached 20 or more kills in five matches.
- The Aggies are in the midst of one of the most challenging stretches of their second-half schedule. Until their upset over No. 20 Missouri last Friday, the Aggies were trailing but within striking distance of the Tigers, Kansas State, Texas and Kansas in the league standings. With the victory over Missouri, A&M moved into a tie with Texas for fourth place and passed the Jayhawks. However, the Aggies must win in Lawrence to stay ahead of Kansas in the standings. In addition, two of A&M's next three matches following the Kansas contest are against Kansas State and Texas, who both defeated A&M earlier in the season.
- A&M, who is riding a season-high four-match winning streak in Big 12 matches, needs a win against the Jayhawks to extend the Aggies' winning streak to five matches and equal the team's overall longest winning streak set at the start of the season...A&M has defeated Oklahoma, Colorado and No. 20 Missouri at G. Rollie White Coliseum and downed Baylor in Waco during the current streak.
- A&M is outhitting its opponents, .289 to .189, over the last four matches and is averaging 17.4 kills to opponents' 14.2 kills per game...Junior right-side hitter Carol Price has been leading the charge, hitting .527 with 4.33 kills per game, while sophomore setter Lexy Beers has dished out an average of 14.8 assists per game during the streak. In addition, sophomore outside hitter Melissa Munsch is averaging a team-high 4.27 digs per game in those matches.
- A&M, which is 13-1 in home matches and 3-6 on the road, is outhitting its opponents, .264 to .163 at G. Rollie White Coliseum but is being outhit .222 to .218 when playing on the road...The Aggies are outhitting their opponents, .246 to .182, for the full season and .240 to .194 in conference matches only.
- As a team, A&M is averaging 16.07 kills, 1.71 aces, 16.46 digs and 2.32 blocks per game for the full season. Opponents are averaging 13.74 kills, 1.11 aces, 14.93 digs and 1.81 blocks per game...In Big 12 matches only, A&M is averaging 16.32 kills, 1.29 aces, 16.46 digs and 2.37 blocks per game.
- 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 3.77 kills, 0.47 aces and 4.49 points per game for the full season. Munsch is second behind Jones with 3.56 kills, 0.40 aces and 4.21 points per game. In addition, the sophomore leads the Aggies with 3.49 digs per game...In conference matches only, Jones, who had a match-high 22 kills against No. 20 Missouri, leads the team with 3.93 kills, 0.35 aces and 4.56 points per game, while Munsch is averaging 3.59 kills, 0.25 aces and 4.09 points, in addition to a team-leading 3.55 digs per game.
- Munsch has reached double figures in kills - including a career-high 25 kills at Colorado - in 19 of 24 matches and also leads the team with 14 double-double performances.
- Setter Lexy Beers, who set a three-game match season high with 49 assists against Oklahoma on Oct. 30, recorded a career-high and a team season-high 73 assists in the five-game victory over Colorado on Nov. 2, ranking ninth in the A&M all-time single match records. After posting 39 assists at Baylor, Beers set a four-game team season high with 61 assists in the victory over No. 20 Missouri. In addition, the sophomore recorded a career-high and match-high 21 digs against the Tigers...The sophomore, who is averaging 14.42 assists per game in the month of November, is ranked third in the Big 12 for both assist average for the full season (12.70) and in Big 12 matches only (13.18)... 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 (1.81) and in conference matches only (1.96).
- 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 .345 hitting percentage in league matches only. She is 10th in the conference with a .333 hitting percentage for the full season...The California native also leads the Aggies with 1.0 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.
KANSAS NOTES
Kansas (17-6, 8-6 Big 12) was idle over the weekend and has not played since Texas Tech ended the Jayhawks' three-match winning streak with a 30-24, 31-29, 30-17 upset in Lubbock, Texas, on Wednesday, Nov. 6...KU's eight conference wins ties the 1999 squad for the school record for most Big 12 wins...The Jayhawks, who are in sixth place in the Big 12 standings, have never finished higher than seventh place in the conference race... Sophomore middle blocker Ashley Michaels is averaging 2.74 kills per game and leads the Jayhawks with a .372 hitting efficiency and 1.01 blocks per game...Josiane Lima, a freshman middle blocker from Sao Paulo, Brazil, is averaging a team-best 3.71 kills per game. She has 271 kills for the season and is on pace to become the first freshman to lead Kansas in kills since 1985 when Catalina Suarez had a KU freshman record 301 kills...Junior outside hitter Sarah Rome leads the squad with 3.18 digs per game...As a team, Kansas is outhitting its opponents .252 to .184 for the full season, but holds a narrow .213 to .209 edge in Big 12 matches only...The Jayhawks are 9-2 at home, including a sweep against Texas on Nov. 2...Ray Bechard (Fort Hays State '80) is 80-66 in his fifth year as head coach of the Jayhawks.
SERIES RECORD
The Aggies are 14-0 all-time against Kansas, including 6-0 in matches played in Lawrence...In the most recent meeting, then-No. 17 A&M handed Kansas its first loss of the current season, sweeping the Jayhawks, 30-24, 30-26, 30-26, in both teams' Big 12 Conference opener in College Station. Melissa Munsch posted a match-high 17 kills and Laura Jones added 15 for the Aggies, who posted 58 kills and hit .276 while holding Kansas to 40 kills and a .191 hitting efficiency. Middle blocker Tara Pulaski, who set a career high in digs before the first game ended, finished with a match-high 14 digs. A.D. Achilefu also reached double digits in digs with 13 and also added a match-high five blocks...Kansas was led by Josianne Lima's 11 kills.
UPCOMING
The Aggies return home Sunday to play host to No. 20 Kansas State. First serve is at 3 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum...Fans with a ticket stub from the Missouri-A&M football game will be admitted for $2, Post Oak Mall will giveaway an authentic Aggie volleyball jersey, and the Aggies will hold an autograph session following the match...The streaking Wildcats, who easily swept A&M in Manhattan earlier this season, enter the contest in second place in the Big 12 standings and riding an 11-match winning streak. However, just as A&M has never won at K-State, the Wildcats are winless (0-6) in matches played at G. Rollie White Coliseum.