November 28, 2003
No. 24 Texas A&M completes its regular season Saturday as the Aggies play host to the Iowa State Cyclones. 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 making their final home appearance of their careers and will be honored immediately following the match.
A&M is 20-9 overall and in a three-way tie with Colorado and Kansas for third place in the Big 12 standings with a 12-7 league mark after falling at No. 5 Kansas State in three games on Wednesday. The Cyclones (12-18, 4-15), who are experiencing their most successful season since Big 12 play began in 1996, are tied with Baylor for eighth place following a five-game victory against Oklahoma and snapping a five-game losing skid.
A&M is outhitting its opponents, .248 to .210, for the full season. Melissa Munsch leads the team with a .291 hitting efficiency, including a team-best .310 hitting percentage in Big 12 games only. Laura Jones is averaging a team-leading 3.83 kills per game for the full season, and Kendra Felder leads in blocks with a 1.07 average. Skypala is averaging a team-best 3.46 digs per game, and Lexy Beers tops the squad with 8.55 assists per game.
Renae Pruess leads the Cyclones with a 3.13 kill average, and Dalager is averaging a team-best 3.50 digs per game. Ashlie McWee leads the team and is ranked sixth in the Big 12 with 1.14 per game.
The Aggies have won the last 16 meetings against the Cyclones and own a 17-1 lead in the all-time series, including a 15-0 mark in Big 12 matches and a 7-0 record in matches played in College Station.
In the most recent meeting (Oct. 11), A&M defeated Iowa State, 30-18, 30-27, 20-30, 30-16, at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. Munsch led the Aggies with 16 kills. Skypala added 15 kills along with team-highs of 18 digs and a .367 hitting percentage, and Price also posted double figures in kills with 11.
Brittany Dalager led the Cyclones with 14 kills but was held to a .067 hitting percentage as A&M outhit ISU, .221 to .093 for the match.
A&M also outblocked the Cyclones 12-8 and tallied 83 digs to Iowa State's 65.