October 26, 2004
No. 15 Texas A&M (12-5, 8-3 Big 12) looks to avenge a loss at Missouri earlier this season when the Aggies play host to the Tigers Wednesday at G. Rollie White Coliseum. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. (The complete release is in pdf format.)
Both teams are tied for third in the Big 12 with 8-3 marks.
The Aggies, who are 5-0 in home conference matches, have won six of their last seven matches and are riding a season-best four-match winning streak after holding off Texas Tech, 3-2, in Lubbock on Saturday to begin the second half of league play.
Missouri (13-5, 8-3 Big 12), which is receiving points in the Top 25 poll and is listed 26th, has won seven of its last eight matches, including its last three. The Tigers, who are 3-2 in away conference matches, are coming off a three-game sweep against Colorado in Columbia.
SERIES RECORD: Texas A&M leads the all-time series, 16-4, including 8-0 in matches played in College Station. The Tigers, however, snapped a three-match losing skid to the Aggies earlier this season, upsetting 15th-ranked A&M, 30-18, 30-22, 27-30, 30-21, at Hearnes Center in Columbia.The loss remains A&M?s only setback to an unranked opponent this season, and the Aggies? 18 points in the first game is the fewest points scored in a game this season, and is the second fewest since rally scoring began in 2001. A&M?s record for fewest points is 16 in a four-game loss at Missouri in 2002.
Both teams entered the Oct. 9 match tied for fourth place in the Big 12 standings. Missouri had five players reach double figures in kills, including a match-high 21 by Lisa Boyd. Boyd also had a match-high .486 hitting percentage as the Tigers outhit A&M, .331 to .203.
Laura Jones led the Aggies with 18 kills but was held to a .191 hitting efficiency. Melissa Munsch, who also was held below a .200 hitting percentage, added 13 kills and a team-leading 15 kills. Christi Hahn, who was making the second start of her career, finished with 10 kills while hitting at a team-high .429 clip. Hahn also led the Aggies with a career-high six blocks as A&M outblocked the Tigers, 12-9.
TEXAS A&M QUICK HITS: The Aggies are 8-1 in home matches, including 5-0 in Big 12 home matches. A&M?s only home loss of the season was to No. 3 UCLA on Sept. 4.
A&M ranks ninth in the nation in home attendance, averaging 1,931 per match. The Aggies drew a season-high 3,150 in their last home match, a 3-1 victory over previously undefeated and ninth-ranked Texas. A&M ranked eighth in the final 2003 national attendance records with a 1,801 average.
The Aggies are 117-3 (.975) when hosting unranked opponents since Laurie Corbelli took over the Aggie coaching reins in 1993. Two of the losses were to Texas Tech (1997 and 1998) and the other was to Colorado (2001).
A&M has outblocked its opponents in 15 of 17 matches and is ranked sixth in the nation with 3.38 blocks per game. Nebraska leads the nation and the Big 12 with 3.76 blocks per game, and the Aggies are second to the Huskers with 3.33 blocks per game in conference matches only.
Senior All-American Melissa Munsch, who had a season-high 11 blocks at Texas Tech en route to her second triple-double of the year, is tied for seventh in the nation and second in the Big 12 with 1.75 blocks per game. She also leads the Aggies with 3.38 digs per game and is second on the team with 3.75 kills, 0.40 aces and 5.10 points per game.
Junior outside hitter Laura Jones, who last week became the first player in A&M history to be named AVCA National Player of the Week, leads A&M and is ranked second in the Big 12 with 4.74 kills per game in conference games only. She has taken or tied for team-high honors in kills in 12 matches, including seven of the last eight 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 a 27-kill performance in the four-game victory over Texas and a 25-kill effort at Tech.
Jones had 12 kills at Nebraska on Sept. 25 to give her 1,011 for her career, and she became the 14th player in A&M history to surpass the 1,000-kill milestone. Her 25 kills at Tech on Saturday gave her 1,154 for her career to move into ninth in the Aggie records.
Munsch needs four aces to take over third place in the A&M career records with 132. She is currently ranked fourth in the A&M career records in block assists (341) and needs four total blocks to move into sixth in that category with 391. In addition, Munsch is listed sixth in the career records with 1,334 kills and needs 16 digs to move into seventh with 1,177.
Texas A&M climbed one spot to No. 15 in this week?s USA Today/CSTV Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Aggies made the move after going 2-0 on the road last week, defeating Colorado, 3-1, in Boulder and Texas Tech, 3-2, in Lubbock. Four teams represent the Big 12 in the Top 25. A&M is joined by No. 4 Nebraska, No. 10 Texas and No. 18 Kansas State. Missouri is receiving points and is listed 26th. The top four teams in the Top 25 remained the same with No. 1 Washington receiving 63 of 65 first-place votes. Minnesota is No. 2, followed by Hawaii, which received two first-place votes, and Nebraska. Defending national-champion Southern California rounds out the top five after moving up one spot this week.
MISSOURI NOTES: Missouri (13-5, 8-3 Big 12) is coming off a three-game sweep against Colorado in which the Tigers posted a season-high .456 hitting percentage. Nicole Wilson, a 6-3 sophomore middle blocker had a career-high 19 kills while hitting at a .562 clip to lead Missouri. With the win, the Tigers have won seven of their last eight matches, including their last three.
Missouri is ranked fourth in the nation in kills per game (17.68), sixth in the country with 16.02 assists per game and 11th in the nation with a .287 hitting percentage. Junior setter Lindsey Hunter leads the conference and is ranked fourth in the nation with 14.20 assists per game, and Lisa Boyd (.395) and Wilson (.394) are ranked 16th and 17th, respectively, in the country and lead the Big 12 in hitting percentage.
The Tigers are 4-2 in away matches for the full season, including 3-2 in Big 12 road matches. They are 3-3 against ranked opponents. Wins have been against No. 15 Texas A&M, No. 23 Wisconsin and No. 25 Colorado. Losses have been to No. 8 Nebraska, No. 9 Texas and No. 19 Kansas State each in three games.
As a team, the Tigers are outhitting their opponents .287 to .200 for the full season and .301 to .207 in Big 12 matches only.
Missouri was picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 according to a preseason poll of the league coaches. Last year, the Tigers placed sixth with a 12-8 mark, one game behind third-place finishers Colorado, Kansas and Texas A&M.
Susan Kreklow (Southwest Missouri State ?84) is 102-42 in her fifth season as coach of the Tigers. Like the coaching staff at A&M, she is assisted by her husband, Wayne Kreklow.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE: A&M travels to Oklahoma Saturday to take on the Sooners at 7 p.m. at McCasland Field House in Norman. First serve is at 7 p.m.
The Aggies swept Oklahoma in College Station on Oct. 13 to extend their winning streak to 23 against the Sooners.