October 30, 2003
No. 21 Texas A&M (16-5, 8-3 Big 12) returns to action Saturday as the Aggies take on No. 24 Missouri in a Top 25 billing. Match time is 7 p.m. at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo...The Aggies, who were idle on Wednesday, are a half game behind Missouri and in fourth place in the Big 12 standings. They are riding a season-high six match winning streak after sweeping Texas in College Station, Friday, Oct. 24...Missouri is 16-5 overall and 9-3 in the Big 12 after falling at Texas in four games on Wednesday. The loss knocked the Tigers out of a tie with Nebraska for second place in the Big 12 and ended Missouri's four-match winning streak...Live stats of the A&M-Missouri match will be available at www.mutigers.com.
TEXAS A&M NEWS AND NOTES
- Texas A&M and Missouri were picked to tie for fourth place in the Big 12 according to a preseason poll of the league coaches...The Aggies, who placed fifth last year, are currently in sole possession of fourth place in the conference standings, only a half game behind Missouri, which finished third last year with a 16-4 conference mark. An A&M win at Missouri would bump the Aggies into third place, while the Tigers would fall to fourth.
- A&M extended its winning streak to a season-high six matches with its three-game victory over Texas in its most recent outing. The winning streak is the longest since the Aggies won six consecutive matches Oct. 17 - Nov. 3, 2001... The last time A&M won seven or more consecutive matches was in 1999 when the Aggies won nine straight before falling to No. 6 Long Beach State in the NCAA regional finals in Hawaii.
- Texas A&M remained at No. 21 in this week's USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Poll released Monday. The ranking equals the Aggies' highest ranking since a No. 20 showing on Sept. 23, 2002.
- The Aggies are 1-3 against Top 25 opponents. After defeating No. 16 Louisville in four games on Sept. 5, A&M has fallen to No. 1 USC, 3-0, No. 8 Nebraska, 3-2 in Lincoln, and No. 12 Kansas State, 3-1, in College Station.
- The Aggies entered the week ranked 13th in the nation and second in the Big 12 with 16.59 kills per game. They also were ranked 15th in the country and first in the league with 15.12 assists per game.
- Texas A&M continues to lead the Big 12 in digs for both the full season (16.90) and in conference matches only (17.09)...Individually, senior outside hitter Beth Skypala leads the Aggies and is second in the league with a 4.12 dig average in conference games and is ranked third in the Big 12 with a 3.78 dig average for the full season.
- In addition to digs, the Aggies lead the league in assists (15.12) and kills (16.59) per game for the full season.
- A&M is outhitting its opponents, .277 to .166, during its six-match winning streak. In addition, the Aggies are averaging 16.95 kills, 18.27 digs and 3.09 blocks while holding opponents to 13.45 kills, 13.91 digs and 1.70 blocks per game during the streak.
- The Aggies are coming off their best hitting performance of the year as they hit a season-high .357 against Texas. They held the Longhorns to their second-lowest hitting percentage of the season (.126) and held an opponent below .200 for the fourth time in the last six matches.
- Four of A&M's 11 conference matches have gone five games...Last year A&M had a record five five-game matches for the entire Big 12 season. The Aggies, who were 3-2 in conference five-game matches last year, are 2-2 in Big 12 five-game matches this season. In their only non-conference five-game match this season, the Aggies came back after dropping the first two games to defeat Southwest Missouri State in the opening night of the McDonald's/Texas A&M Invitational.
- The Aggies are 5-3 in away matches, including a 3-2 mark in Big 12 road matches only...Both Big 12 road losses were in five games as the Aggies fell to No. 8 Nebraska in Lincoln and to Texas in Austin.
- The Aggies are 126-21 (.857) 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.
- Junior middle blocker Kendra Felder leads the Aggies and the Big 12 with a .378 hitting percentage in Big 12 matches. She also leads A&M starters with a .317 hitting percentage for the full season.
- Junior setter Lexy Beers is ranked seventh in the A&M career records with 2,184 assists. She needs 126 more to move into sixth place and surpass current A&M assistant coach Genny Wood-Volpe, who tallied 2,309 assists during her four-year (1990-93) A&M playing career.
- Junior outside hitter/middle blocker Melissa Munsch is nearing the 1,000 career kill mark, needing 53 to become the 13th player in A&M history to reach the milestone. The Columbus, Texas, native ranks second on the team with 3.70 kills per game for the full season and leads the team in conference matches only with 3.64 kills per game...Munsch, who after making 74 consecutive starts did not play at Oklahoma after suffering a slight concussion against Kansas, has reached double figures in kills in 16 matches this season and has led the team in kills in seven matches.
- Jump server Melissa Munsch tied the school record and her career high with six aces in the three-game victory over Texas. Munsch had all six aces by the end of the second game with five of the aces coming in a single rotation at the service line while serving A&M to nine unanswered points...It was the second time this season and the third time in her career that Munsch has posted six aces in a game, having also accomplished the feat in a five-game victory over Colorado earlier this season and in a three-game sweep at Southwest Texas last year. She leads the Aggies with 0.41 aces per game for the full season and a 0.48 average in Big 12 matches only.
- Texas A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli earned her 250th A&M career victory and the 350th victory of her head coaching career with the win against Oklahoma last week.
- Tara Pulaski is ranked eighth in the A&M career records with 281 block assists. She needs five block assists to tie Kristie Smedsrud (1994-97) for seventh place with 286 and a total of six more to tie Page White (1993-96) for sixth place with 287...In addition, Pulaski is currently ranked fourth in the career books with a .311 career hitting percentage.
MISSOURI NOTES
- Missouri (16-5, 9-3 Big 12) is 8-0 at the Hearnes Center this season. A win against the Aggies will tie the 1980 and the 2000 squads for the best home start in school history.
- The Tigers are 9-3 in conference play, which matches the 2002 team for the best start in Big 12 play since the inception of the league. The 2002 squad fell to Kansas State in the 13th conference match of the season, so a win against the Aggies will mark Missouri's best Big 12 start after 13 matches.
- Missouri is 1-2 against Top 25 opponents. All three matches were on the road. The Tigers lost at then-No. 25 A&M in four games and at then-No. 12 Kansas State in five games before defeating their first ranked opponent with a five-game victory at then-No. 7 Nebraska.
- Missouri fell to Texas, 30-28, 21-30, 40-38, 32-30, in Austin on Wednesday. The loss snapped the Tigers' four-match winning streak. Sophomore outside hitter Shen Danru led the Tigers with 24 kills. Sophomore middle blocker Lisa Boyd added 14 kills, and Jessica Vander Kooi and Lindsey Noll contributed 12 kills apiece. The Longhorns, who were still without the services of their leading middle blocker Brandy McGee because of a death in her family, outhit the Tigers, .240 to .201, and posted 10 blocks to Missouri's six.
- Sophomore setter Lindsey Hunter leads the Big 12 with 12.49 assists per game for the full season and 12.76 assists per in conference matches only. Freshman middle blocker Nicole Wilson leads the Tigers with a .331 hitting percentage and 1.24 blocks per game for the full season, and Shen Danru is the team leader with 3.96 kills, 3.35 digs and 0.51 aces per game.
- As a team, Missouri is ranked second in the league in hitting percentage (.259), aces (1.78) and blocks (2.91) per game in conference play.
SERIES RECORD
A&M is 15-3 against Missouri since the teams first met in 1981...The Aggies have won the last two meetings ' both in College Station ' including a 30-21, 30-25, 25-30, 30-22 win against the Tigers on Sept. 26...A&M has lost two of the last three matches played in Columbia...Last year, A&M fell to Missouri, 25-30, 30-27, 30-28, 30-16, at the Hearnes Center and then upset the No. 20 Tigers in four games in College Station as the teams split the season series.
Most recent meeting recap: Five Aggies posted double figures in kills when the teams last met on Sept. 26 in College Station. Melissa Munsch led A&M's balanced attack with 19 kills. Beth Skypala and Laura Jones added 15 apiece, and Carol Price and Kendra Felder contributed 12 kills each. In addition, four of the five hit at a .333 clip or better with Felder leading the way with a .417 hitting percentage as the Aggies outhit Missouri, .297 to .203. A&M never trailed in the first two games and were outhitting Missouri, .262 to .132, going into the intermission with a 2-0 lead. Missouri came back strong after the break and never trailed. With the score tied at 13, the Tigers went on a 5-1 run lead to pull away. The Aggies closed the gap to 24-23 before Missouri scored four unanswered points on three kills and an ace. The teams exchanged points before Mary Lauren Smith put down a kill to end the game...The trend of the team to score the first point never trailed in the game continued into the fourth game. A&M regained its form and scored the first point on a kill by Price. The Aggies closed out the match by hitting .378 in the final frame while holding Missouri to a .179 hitting efficiency...Shen Danru led the Tigers with a match-high 20 kills, and Smith added 19 kills as Missouri saw its five-match winning streak come to an end while suffering its first Big 12 loss of the season. In addition, the Tigers remained winless in eight visits to College Station.
UPCOMING
A&M returns to G. Rollie for a two-match home stand beginning with another Top 25 showdown as the Aggies host five-time defending Big 12 champion and 12th-ranked Nebraska, Wednesday, Nov. 5...The match is being promoted as "Maroon Out Big Red!" and $.50 Slovacek Sausage on a Stick Night...The Aggies will attempt to avenge a five-game heartbreaking loss to the Huskers in Lincoln in the conference season opener...The Aggies then play host to the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday, Nov. 8...A&M swept the Sooners in Norman on Oct. 17...First serve for both matches is 7 p.m.