October 14, 2003
No. 22 Texas A&M (12-5, 4-3 Big 12) looks to extend its winning streak as the Aggies host Kansas on Wednesday and then travel to Norman to take on Oklahoma on Friday. First serve against the Jayhawks is 7 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum. The match against the Sooners has been moved to a 6 p.m. start at McCasland Field House to accommodate for OU homecoming festivities...The Aggies, who have never dropped a Big 12 match to either team, are riding a two-match winning streak and are in a four-way tie with Colorado, Kansas and Texas for fourth place in the Big 12 after defeating both Texas Tech and Iowa State last week. Kansas is coming off a 3-0 sweep at Oklahoma. The Sooners, who are in 10th place in the league standings, travel to Colorado on Wednesday mired in a three-match losing skid, including last week's loses to Iowa State and Kansas.
TEXAS A&M NEWS AND NOTES
Texas A&M (12-5, 4-3) climbed two spots to No. 22 in this week's USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Poll after defeating both Texas Tech and Iowa State last week. The ranking equals the Aggies' highest ranking of the season.
The Aggies, who were picked to finish tied with Missouri for fourth place in the Big 12 according to a preseason poll of the league coaches, are in a four-way tie with Colorado, Kansas and Texas for fourth place in the league race.
Wins against Kansas and Oklahoma this week would give A&M four consecutive wins to equal the Aggies' longest winning streak of the year, which they set at the start of the season. Two wins also would give head coach Laurie Corbelli 350 victories in her 17-plus head coaching career and her 250th victory in her 11th season at the helm of the Aggies.
A&M has held its opponents to a combined .096 hitting percentage over the last two matches. The Aggies held Texas Tech to a .102 hitting efficiency and the Cyclones to a .093 hitting percentage, the lowest by a Big 12 opponent this season and the lowest overall since Marquette's .071 performance in the season opener.
Junior middle blocker Kendra Felder leads the Aggies with a .299 hitting percentage for the full season. Her .368 hitting percentage in conference matches only ranks second in the Big 12.
Texas A&M leads the Big 12 in digs for both the full season (16.76) and in conference matches only (16.87). Individually, senior outside hitter Beth Skypala leads the Aggies with a 3.86 dig average in all games and a league-leading 4.40 digs per Big 12 game. She has led the team in digs in the last five consecutive matches.
Junior outside hitter/middle blocker Melissa Munsch is nearing the 1,000 career kill mark, needing 96 to become the 12th player in A&M history to reach the milestone. The Columbus, Texas, native ranks second on the team with 3.72 kills per game for the full season and leads the team in conference matches only with 3.67 per game and has led the team in kills in six of the last seven matches...Munsch has reached double figures in kills in nine consecutive matches and in 14 of 17 matches overall this season.
The Aggies are 124-21 (.855) at G. Rollie White Coliseum since Laurie Corbelli became head coach of the Aggies in 1993. Eighteen of the home losses have been to ranked opponents. Colorado and Texas Tech, who has won twice at G. Rollie, are the only unranked teams to win in College Station during Corbelli's tenure.
KANSAS NOTES
Kansas (8-7, 0-6 Big 12), which was picked to finish sixth in the Big 12 according to a preseason poll of the league coaches, is in a four-way tie with Colorado, Texas and Texas A&M for fourth place in the league standings...The Jayhawks went 1-1 last week, falling to No. 7 Nebraska, 3-1, in Lawrence and sweeping Oklahoma in Norman. Lindsey Morris led the Jayhawks with 15 kills and hit .357 against the Sooners. Josi Lima had 12 kills while hitting at a .300 clip, and Ashley Michaels added 11 kills with no errors in 14 attempts for a .786 hitting percentage. As a team, KU outhit OU, .381 to .205...Freshman Janaina Correa, who leads the Jayhawks with 3.88 kills per game and was the Oct. 6 Big 12 Player of the Week, suffered an undisclosed injury prior to the OU match and is listed as questionable...Sarah Rome is second on the squad with 3.58 kills per game and leads the team with 3.2 digs per game...KU is ranked last in the Big 12 with 1.94 blocks per game for the full season and 1.52 blocks per game in Big 12 matches only. The Jayhawks also are last in the league for allowing the most blocks per game (3.11) in conference matches only...The Jayhawks, who are 3-3 in road matches, are 1-2 against ranked teams, defeating then-No. 13 Minnesota, 3-2, on Sept. 5 and falling to then-No. 10 Kansas State, 3-0, on Sept. 17 and the Huskers last week.
OKLAHOMA NOTES
Oklahoma (9-10, 1-6 Big 12) enters a Wednesday contest at Colorado having lost four consecutive matches, including a home loss to Kansas in the Sooners' most recent outing. With the loss, OU fell to 0-4 in home matches...The Sooners' lone Big 12 victory was a 3-2 win at Baylor on Oct. 1...OU was hit hard by injuries last week. Starting freshman middle blocker Laura Tomes, who was leading the Sooners in hitting percentage (.291) and ranked third in kills per game (2.39), in addition to being listed sixth in the Big 12 with 1.22 blocks per game, tore her ACL against Iowa State and is out for the season. Sophomore Jennifer Adams, the other starting middle blocker and the team leader in blocks with 1.22 per game, is out indefinitely after rolling her ankle against Kansas...Joanna Schmitt leads the Sooners and is ranked fourth in the Big 12 with 4.3 kills per game. She also leads OU with a 2.61 dig average. The freshman posted a team-high 15 kills in the loss to the Jayhawks...The Sooners are being held to a .158 hitting percentage and are allowing a league-worst .308 hitting percentage in Big 12 matches. They are in 10th place in the win-loss standings.
SERIES RECORD
Texas A&M is 15-0 all-time against Kansas, including 8-0 at G. Rollie White Coliseum. Last year in College Station, the Aggies swept Kansas in both teams' conference opener. It marked the ninth time in the series A&M won in the minimum three games...Melissa Munsch led the Aggies with 17 kills, and A.D. Achilefu led in blocks with five. Setter Lexy Beers dished out 45 assists as A&M outhit the Jayhawks, .276 to .191...Josi Lima was the only Jayhawk to reach double figures in kills with 11...In the meeting in Lawrence, the Jayhawks nearly knocked off the Aggies for the first time before losing the fifth game, 15-12. A&M trailed in the decisive final game, 11-9, when the Aggies came back from a timeout and took control by scoring five consecutive points, three on consecutive blocks by Carol Price and Tara Pulaski, who finished with 10 blocks, including a career-high four solo blocks. It was the first five-game contest between the two teams since a five-gamer in the first match of the series in 1990.
Texas A&M is 23-1 all-time against Oklahoma and has won the last 20 meetings. The last 13 contests have been decided in three games...A&M has dropped only one game in Big 12 matches against the Sooners and posts a 42-1 games record in the 14 conference match-ups...None of the Aggies on the current roster were born when OU picked up its only victory against A&M with a 15-13, 15-11 win at the 1979 North Texas State Tournament.
UPCOMING
A&M concludes the first half of conference play Wednesday, Oct. 22 as the Aggies travel to Waco to take on the Baylor Bears. First serve is at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center. The Aggies own a 47-7 advantage in the all-time series and have won the last seven meetings. A&M is 11-3 against the Bears in Big 12 matches with all three losses occurring at the Ferrell Center...The Aggies will be looking for revenge when they begin the second half of conference play Friday, Oct. 24 against Texas. A&M, which blew a two-game lead and fell in five games to the rival Horns in Austin earlier this season, host Texas starting at 6 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum.