October 11, 2005
Texas A&M (8-7, 1-5 Big 12) concludes a two-match road swing when the Aggies take on Iowa State (11-7, 4-3 Big 12) Wednesday in Ames. First serve is at 7 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum. The complete release in pdf format is available at www.AggieAthletics.com.
Live audio of the match will be available on the Internet at AggieAthletics.com.
The 24th-ranked Aggies, who have faced one of the most difficult schedules in the nation, are coming off a 3-1 (30-25, 25-30, 30-26, 30-22) road victory at Oklahoma on Saturday. The win snapped a six-match losing skid and gave A&M its first Big 12 victory of the season.
Iowa State, which is 0-18 against A&M in Big 12 matches and has lost the last 19 overall meetings against the Aggies, is coming off a 3-0 setback at No. 20 Kansas State on Saturday. The loss ended a three-match winning streak by the Cyclones.
All-American Laura Jones, who is averaging a league-leading 5.77 kills and 6.41 points for the full season, leads the Aggies, who are in ninth place in the Big 12 standings. Jones, who was ranked second in the nation in kills per game entering last week's matches, also is the Big 12 leader in kills (5.68) and points (6.20) in conference matches only.
Senior libero Holly Clay leads the Aggies and is second in the league with 4.32 digs per game for the full season. Junior middle blocker Christi Hahn leads the Aggie starters with a .306 hitting efficiency and is second on the squad with 2.67 kills per game.
Senior middle blocker Kendra Felder, who leads A&M with 1.0 blocks per game, is expected to miss her third consecutive match with a stress reaction in her foot.
A&M is 7-1 against unranked opponents. The loss was against Kansas, which is receiving points in the coaches poll.
Iowa State, picked to finish last in the Big 12 according to a preseason poll of the league's head coaches, is in fifth place in the conference standings. The Cyclones are 3-0 in home conference matches, including a 3-1 victory over then-No. 18 Texas on Sept. 17. Other home wins were sweeps against both Colorado and Texas Tech.
All three of the Cyclones' league losses have been 3-0 setbacks to ranked opponents, and all three have been on the road.
Junior libero Katie Churm leads ISU and the Big 12 with 4.78 digs per game for the full season, and sophomore 6-2 middle blocker Erin Boeve ranks second in the league with 1.80 blocks per game for the full season and 2.09 per game in conference matches only.
Former Nebraska two-time all-American setter Christy Johnson is in her first season as head coach of the Cyclones.
The All-Time Series:
Texas A&M leads the all-time series, 20-1, since the teams first met in 1981. The Aggies have won the last 19 meetings including all 18 Big 12 matches. Iowa State, which has taken A&M to four games in each of the last three meetings in Ames, picked up its only victory against the Aggies on Sept. 15, 1989.
In the most recent meeting, A&M swept the Cyclones, 30-23, 30-26, 30-21 on Nov. 17, 2004, in College Station. Thirteen of A&M's 14 players contributed in the sweep as the Aggies hit .336 for the match and outblocked the Cyclones, 12-2. Then-senior Melissa Munsch led the way, posting match highs of 14 kills with no errors, 14 digs and six blocks. Laura Jones and Christi Hahn added 13 and 11 kills, respectively, and the trio combined for a .415 hitting efficiency.
Nicole Lorenzen led the Cyclones with 14 kills, and Katie Jessen added 11. Brittany Daalager led the team in digs with 14.
Upcoming:
A&M returns to G. Rollie Sunday for a two-match home stand beginning Sunday, Oct. 16 against Colorado. First serve is at 2 p.m.
The Aggies then play host to the Baylor Bears, Wednesday, Oct. 19 at G. Rollie. That match begins at 6:30 p.m.