November 25, 2003
No. 24 Texas A&M (20-8, 12-6 Big 12) concludes the road portion of its regular-season schedule Wednesday as the Aggies take on No. 5 Kansas State (27-3, 17-1 Big 12) in Manhattan, Kan. First serve is at 7 p.m. at Ahearn Field House. The Aggies, who are 0-7 all-time against the Wildcats at Ahearn, are tied with Colorado for third place in the Big 12 standings after defeating Baylor and falling to Kansas last week. K-State, which is riding a 15-match winning streak, clinched the Big 12's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and at least a share of the conference title by defeating both Oklahoma and Texas Tech last week. The Wildcats, who had never won or shared a Big Eight or Big 12 volleyball title, can win the championship outright by defeating either A&M on Wednesday or Texas in Austin in their regular-season finale on Saturday. Also a loss by five-time defending league champion Nebraska in its final Big 12 match at Colorado on Wednesday would secure sole possession of the title for the Wildcats. Live scoring and audio of the A&M-KSU match will be available at www.kstatesports.com.
TEXAS A&M NEWS AND NOTES
- Texas A&M continues to lead the Big 12 in digs for both the full season (17.11) and in conference matches only (17.32)...Senior Beth Skypala leads the Aggies and is ranked sixth in the Big 12 with a 3.44 dig average for the full season and a 3.45 average in conference games only.
- Texas A&M is second in the Big 12 with 16.34 kills per game for the full season. Sophomore Laura Jones leads the Aggies and is ranked eighth in the league with 3.87 kills per game for the full season, while Melissa Munsch s the team leader in conference matches only with a 3.68 kill average.
- A&M, which is 12-6 in league play, needs one more Big 12 victory to surpass last season's conference win total of 12. In addition, one more win will give the Aggies 21 wins for the full season, equaling A&M's win total from the 2002 season in which the Aggies went 21-10.
- The Aggies are 7-5 in away matches this season, including 5-4 in road conference matches...Three of A&M's last four away matches have been decided in five games.
- A&M is 2-4 against ranked opponents...The wins have been against No. 16 Louisville on Sept. 5 at the Michigan Pepsi Challenge in Ann Arbor, Mich., and at No. 24 Missouri on Nov. 1...Losses have been to No. 1 USC, No. 12 Kansas State and twice to No. 8/No. 10 Nebraska...With a current ranking of No. 5, K-State is the second-highest ranked opponent A&M has faced this season.
- The Aggies, who were picked to tie with Missouri for fourth place in the Big 12 standings according to a preseason poll of the league coaches, can finish as high as third and no lower than tied for fifth in the conference race...Last year, A&M placed an all-time low fifth with a 12-8 mark...The highest finish by an A&M team in Big 12 play is second place...The Aggies claimed sole possession of second place in 1999 and 2001 and finished in a three-way tie with Missouri and Kansas State for second in 2000.
KANSAS STATE NOTES
Kansas State (27-3, 17-1 Big 12) earned the Big 12 NCAA automatic bid and no less than a share of the Big 12 title by defeating Texas Tech, 30-20, 30-28, 30-21 in Manhattan on Saturday...The Wildcats, who had never finished higher than second place in either the Big Eight or Big 12 in the 30-year history of the program, can clinch the championship outright by winning one of their final two matches * K-State plays at Texas on Saturday. In addition, a loss by Nebraska at Colorado in the Huskers' final regular-season match on Wednesday would give the Wildcats sole possession of the championship title regardless ho K-State fares in its final two matches...The Wildcats' only Big 12 loss was a four-game setback at Baylor on Sept. 24...K-State, which leads the league with a .261 hitting percentage for the full season and a .257 hitting efficiency in Big 12 games only, outhit Tech, .343 to .144, in the victory over the Red Raiders to improve to 13-0 in home matches... Junior outside hitter Valeria Hejjas led the Wildcats with 13 kills...Senior middle blocker Lauren Goehring, who last week was ranked 14th in the nation and leads the Big 12 in hitting percentage (.405), added 10 kills while hitting .556 in the win...The victory over the Red Raiders extended K-State's winning streak to a record-15 matches...Hejjas leads K-State with a 3.48 kill average for the full season and 3.77 kills per game in Big 12 games only...Senior libero Laura Downey-Wallace leads the league with 4.06 digs per game for the full season and a 4.17 dig average in Big 12 play only...K-State, which finished second in the Big 12 last year with a 16-4 mark, was picked to place third in the league this year according to a preseason poll of the Big 12 coaches...Suzie Fritz (Florida Atlantic '94) is in her third season as head coach of the Wildcats.
SERIES RECORD
Kansas State is 9-7 all-time against A&M and has won the last four meetings...In addition, the Wildcats are 7-0 all-time against the Aggies in matches played in Manhattan...After earning the first season-series sweep by either team last year, then-No. 12 KSU won for only the second time in College Station earlier this season with a 30-28, 30-28, 19-30, 30-21 win over the 22nd-ranked Aggies at G. Rollie White Coliseum...Setter Gabby Guerre posted the second triple-double of her career with 10 kills, 57 assists and 10 digs for the Wildcats... Three other Wildcats also reached double digits in kills, with Lisa Martin posting a match-high 18...Lauren Goehring had 16 kills while hitting at a .444 clip as the Wildcats outhit A&M .240 to .206...Valeria Hejjas added 14 kills, and Cari Jensen had 10 kill to help K-State to a 73-58 advantage in kills...Libero Laura Downey-Wallace posted a match-high 18 digs...Melissa Munsch led A&M with 16 kills and a .429 hitting efficiency...Left-side hitters Laura Jones and Beth Skypala, who tallied a team-high 15 digs, added 10 kills apiece but were held to a combined .109 hitting percentage...Kendra Felder led the Aggies in blocks with a career-high eight to lead A&M to a 13 to 9 block advantage.
UPCOMING
A&M concludes the regular season with a home match against Iowa State on Saturday. First serve is at 7 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum...A&M's four seniors--Carol Price, Tara Pulaski, Beth Skypala and Rebecca Wynalda--will be honored prior to the match.
NCAA FIELD TO BE ANNOUNCED ON ESPNEWS
The 64-team field for the 2003 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship will be announced Sunday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. on ESPNews. First- and second-round matches will be played Dec. 4-7 at campus sites, and regionals will be held Dec. 11-14 at Hawaii, Florida, Long Beach State and Nebraska...The Final Four will be hosted by the Big 12 Conference and played at Reunion Arena in Dallas, Dec. 18 and 20... Semifinals are slated to begin at 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 18, and the championship match is scheduled for Saturday at 2:30 p.m...Tickets are still available and may be purchased at TICKETMASTER.COM or at any TicketMaster location...All-session ticket prices for the two-day event are $35 for adults and $25 for students. If tickets remain, single-session tickets will go on sale the day of the event. Additional information about the championship can be found at www.dallasvb2003.com...The 2003 championship marks the 23rd NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship and only the second time that the event has been held in Texas. The 1994 championship was in Austin...Texas A&M is aiming to receive its 15 at-large bid, including its 11th consecutive invitation to the tournament which began in 1982.