November 29, 2002
Texas A&M concludes the regular season with a match-up at Iowa State on Saturday. First serve is at 2 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.
The Aggies, 19-9 overall, secured a fifth-place finish in the Big 12 after defeating rival Texas, 23-30, 30-25, 31-29, 30-27, Wednesday in College Station and snapping a two-match losing skid. With a victory against Iowa State, A&M will reach the 20-victory milestone for the seventh consecutive season and the ninth overall since Laurie Corbelli became head coach in 1993.
The Cyclones (10-21, 1-18) are in last place in the conference standings after falling, 31-29, 30-22, 30-18, at Texas Tech on Wednesday.
Junior middle blocker Tara Pulaski leads the Aggies with a .317 hitting efficiency and 1.09 blocks per game for the full season. Freshman outside hitter Laura Jones is the team leader in kills (3.82), aces (0.39) and points (4.49) per game, while sophomore outside hitter Melissa Munsch sports a team-high 3.49 digs per game. Sophomore setter Lexy Beers, who posted 58 assists in the victory against Texas to give her an A&M season-record 949 assists in conference play, is averaging 12.78 assists per game for the full season.
The Aggies are outhitting their opponents, .246 to .195, for the full season and are averaging 14.94 kills per game.
The Cyclones are being outhit, .206 to .152, for the full season and are averaging 13.31 kills per game.
Senior outside hitter Mandi Harms leads Iowa State with 3.19 kills per game, and sophomore outside hitter Brittany Dalager is the top defensive player with 4.26 digs per game.
A&M holds a commanding 15-1 lead in the all-time series against Iowa State, including a 13-0 mark in Big 12 matches. The Aggies have won the last 14 matches overall against the Cyclones, and each of those contests has been decided in the minimum three games.
Earlier this season, the Aggies downed Iowa State, 30-15, 30-17, 30-26, in College Station. A&M held the Cyclones to a -.016 hitting percentage, the lowest hitting efficiency by an A&M opponent this season. In addition, A&M's A.D. Achilefu posted a match-high six blocks to lead the Aggies to a 14-3 blocking advantage.
Iowa State's lone victory against A&M was Sept. 15, 1989, at the Buckeye Invitational in Columbus, Ohio.