October 19, 2004
No. 16 Texas A&M (10-5, 6-3 Big 12) concludes the first half of the Big 12 schedule Wednesday as the Aggies travel to Boulder to take on the Colorado Buffaloes (10-6, 5-4 Big 12). First serve is at 8 p.m. (CDT) at the Coors Events Center. (A complete release is available in pdf format.)
The Aggies are coming off their biggest victory of the conference season after upsetting then-No. 9 and undefeated Texas, 3-1, in College Station on Saturday. With the win, the Aggies climbed four spots to No. 16 in the Top 25 Poll and remained tied with Missouri and Kansas State for third place in the Big 12.
Colorado, on the other hand, is coming off its worst loss of the year after falling to last-place Oklahoma, 3-2, in Norman on Saturday. It was the Sooners' first Big 12 victory of the year after losing their first eight matches. Colorado entered the contest tied with A&M, Missouri and Kansas State for third place in the standings but slipped one game back to sixth following the loss.
SERIES RECORD: Although Texas A&M holds a 12-5 advantage in the all-time series against Colorado, the Aggies own only a 5-4 edge in matches played in Boulder and have gone home with a loss in three of the last four years.
Recent match-ups between these two teams have been like heavyweight fights, as they have exchanged blows for five games in each of the last four meetings and in five of the last six. Colorado won the most recent meeting, 30-25, 23-30, 31-29, 17-30, 15-12, on Nov. 12, 2003, in Boulder despite a season-high 19 blocks by the 18th-ranked Aggies. A&M outhit the Buffs, .230 to .196, for the match, but a major turning point was Colorado overcoming an early seven point deficit in Game 3 to win, 31-29. The Aggies' loss overshadowed Melissa Munsch's 18-kill performance, which gave her 1,003 career kills.
Texas A&M used a season-high 13 aces - six by Munsch to tie a school record - to win last season's earlier match-up in College Station, 24-30, 30-28, 30-28, 26-30, 15-13, despite being outhit, .290 to .209. Allie Griffin led the Buffs with 27 kills while hitting at a .351 clip.
A&M's most recent victory in Boulder was Oct. 24, 2001, as Munsch led the 14th-ranked Aggies to a 30-19, 30-23, 30-24 sweep against the No. 24 Buffs. The then-freshman set a Big 12 record and an A&M conference record with 13 blocks. She posted 11 block assists to tie the A&M all-time record for a three-game match and set the school record for block assists in a Big 12 match.
TEXAS A&M NOTES: Laura Jones, a junior 6-2 outside hitter for the Aggies, was named Sports Imports/AVCA Division I National Player of the Week, the American Volleyball Coaches Association announced Monay.
Jones, who is the first player in A&M history to earn the award, directed the Aggies to victories over Oklahoma and previously undefeated and then-ninth-ranked Texas last week. The Arlington, Texas, native averaged 6.86 points, 5.86 kills, 1.14 blocks, 4.14 digs and 0.29 aces per game in the two matches, in addition to attacking at a .352 clip.
Jones hit .393 against Oklahoma on Wednesday with 14 kills, nine digs and three blocks in a sweep of the Sooners. Jones then paced the Aggies to their second win over a top 10 opponent this season, tying a school record with 32 points against the rival Longhorns. Jones tallied 27 kills while hitting .333 and also added two aces, one block solo, four block assists and 20 digs.
Jones, who also was named Big 12 Player of the Week for the first time, improved her season averages to 5.39 points, 4.65 kills, 2.71 digs and 0.78 blocks per game.
Texas A&M jumped four spots to No. 16 in the USA Today/CSTV Top 25 Poll, released Monday by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
The Aggies went 2-0 for the week, including a 3-1 victory over No. 9 Texas in front of a season-high 3,150 at the State Farm Lone Star Showdown at G. Rollie White Coliseum on Saturday. It was A&M's second win over a top 10 opponent this season, as the Aggies also upended No. 8 California in Berkeley on Sept. 11.
Earlier in the week, A&M swept Oklahoma, 3-0, in College Station.
The Big 12 is represented by four teams in this week's Top 25. A&M is joined in the poll by No. 4 Nebraska, No. 10 Texas and No. 18 Kansas State. Missouri is receiving points and is listed 28th.
Before its loss to Oklahoma, Colorado was receiving points and was listed 34th.
Washington (15-0) stayed at No. 1, receiving 63 first-place votes. Minnesota (18-2), Hawaii (16-0), which received the remaining two first-place votes, Nebraska (15-1) and Penn State (16-1) round out the top five.
The Aggies are 2-3 at away matches. Wins have been at No. 8 California, 3-0, on Sept. 11 and at Iowa State, 3-1, in A&M's Big 12 opener on Sept. 15. Losses were to No. 7 Nebraska and No. 19 Kansas State, both in three matches, and a 3-1 loss at unranked Missouri. A&M is being outhit, .269 to .208 in road matches.
A&M has outblocked its opponents in 13 of 15 matches. The Aggies, who are second in the Big 12 with 3.31 blocks per game, posted a season-high 17 blocks against No. 9 Texas, while holding the Longhorns to seven.
Junior outside hitter Laura Jones leads A&M and is ranked third in the Big 12 with 4.65 kills per game for the full season. She has taken or tied for team-high honors in kills in 11 matches, including each of the last six matches. Included in that run is a 28-kill performance against Texas Tech, which is the most by an A&M player this season and is one shy of her career high, as well as her 27-kill performance in the four-game victory over Texas.
Jones had 12 kills at Nebraska on Sept. 25 to give her 1,011 for her career and make her the 14th player in A&M history to surpass the 1,000-kill milestone. She currently has 1,112 career kills and needs four more to move into 10th in the Aggie records.
Senior All-American Melissa Munsch leads the Aggies in both blocks (1.71) and digs (3.39) per game and is second on the team with 3.67 kills, 0.43 aces and 5.04 points per game. Munsch, who had an A&M season-high 10 blocks in a four-game win over No. 24 Kansas en route to her first triple double (14 kills, 10 digs) of the season and the third of her career, entered last week ranked 15th in the nation with a 1.61 block average. (Updated national stats were not available at press time.)
Sophomore right-side hitter/middle blocker Christi Hahn has become a regular in the Aggie lineup and leads A&M with a .337 hitting percentage for the full season and a .321 efficiency in Big 12 games only. Hahn, the sister of former Longhorn all-Big 12 middle blocker Kathy Hahn, has posted double figures in kills in three matches this season, including two of the last four matches, and is hitting .424 when posting 10 or more kills in a match.
COLORADO NOTES: Colorado (10-6, 5-4 Big 12) entered last weekend in a four-way tie for third place in the Big 12, but a devastating 30-24, 16-30, 22-30, 30-20, 15-11 loss to last-place Oklahoma caused the Buffs to fall to sixth place. Maragda Santillana and Allie Griffin combined for 47 kills while hitting .311 as the Buffs outhit OU, .199 to .153, but CU got outblocked, 16.5 to nine and also committed a season-high 17 service errors.
Griffin and Santillana offer a solid one-two punch for Colorado, averaging 4.33 and 4.20 kills per game, respectively. Griffin is averaging 4.41 kills in Big 12 games, while hitting .235. Santillana is averaging 4.28 kills in conference games and leads the Buffs with a .334 hitting efficiency.
As a team, the Buffs are outhitting their opponents, .261 to .189, but they are being outblocked, 3.05 to 2.79 and are last in the league with 1.18 aces per game for the full season.
CU is 7-3 in home matches, including 3-2 in home conference matches. The Buffs are 2-2 against ranked opponents, having defeated No. 20 San Diego, 3-2, on Sept. 10 and No. 16 Kansas State, 3-0, in their Big 12 opener on Sept. 15. Losses have been three-game losses to No. 10 Colorado State on Sept. 7 and No. 7 Nebraska on Sept. 22 both in Boulder.
Last year, the Buffs tied A&M and Kansas for third place in the Big 12 with a 13-7 mark and finished the full season with a 21-10 record after getting eliminated by Michigan, 3-0, in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Pi'i Aiu (Colorado '89) is 144-82 in his eighth season as coach of the Buffaloes.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE: A&M concludes a two-match road swing at Texas Tech on Saturday, Oct. 23. The match is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at the United Spirit Arena. A&M defeated the Red Raiders, 3-2, in College Station on Oct. 1.