November 11, 2005
Texas A&M (11-12, 4-10 Big 12) plays its second match of a three-match home stand when the Aggies play host to the Kansas State Wildcats (17-8, 8-7 Big 12) Saturday at G. Rollie White Coliseum. Match time is 1 p.m., and the Aggies will host a free youth clinic following the match. (A complete release in pdf format is available at AggieAthletics.com.)
The Aggies, who are in ninth place in the Big 12 Conference, are coming off a 3-0 loss to No. 1-ranked and undefeated Nebraska on Wednesday at G. Rollie. The loss snapped A&M?â„¢s two-match winning streak.
Kansas State is fifth in the Big 12 race and is coming off a 3-1 victory at Texas Tech on Wednesday. With the win, the Wildcats won their second consecutive road match and improved to 7-3 at away matches, including 5-3 in away conference contests.
A Look at the Aggies: Laura Jones leads the Aggies and the nation with 5.89 kills per game. A second-team All-American in 2004, Jones has led or tied for the team lead in kills in 22 of 23 matches and accounts for 37 percent of the Aggies?â„¢ total kills for the season. Already A&M?â„¢s all-time leader in kills, Jones needs 89 more total kills in the remaining six matches to break the single season record of 577 kills set by Sheila Morgan in 1993. Jones also excels on defense, where she averages more than three digs per game and is 29 digs shy of breaking into A&M?â„¢s top 10 for career digs.
Junior middle blocker Christi Hahn leads the team with a .288 hitting percentage and ranks second in kills with a 2.63 average.
Libero Holly Clay anchors the A&M defense and ranks second in the Big 12 with 4.15 digs per game.
Senior setter Kari Kelley, who averages 10.95 assists per game, missed her first match of the season against Nebraska and is questionable for Saturday?â„¢s match after suffering a concussion last week in practice. Sophomore Megan Kainz replaced Kelley against the Huskers and had 31 assists in addition to three kills, six digs and two blocks.
Defensive specialist Courtney McCrocklin suffered a concussion earlier this week and also is questionable for the K-State match.
Freshman outside hitter Lindsey Yon, who has started nine matches -- including each of the last five contests -- has reached double figures in kills in six matches this season, including four out of the last six matches.
A&M must win four of its final six matches to be eligible to receive an at-large berth to the NCAA tournament and avoid its first losing season since 1990. The Aggies have four home matches remaining, as well as matches at both No. 25 Colorado and No. 12 Missouri.
A Look at the Wildcats: Outside hitters Agata Rezende and Sandy Werner, who is coming off a 23-kill performance at Texas Tech, lead K-State with 3.74 and 3.53 kills per game, respectively. Middle blocker Joy Hamlin averages a team-leading 1.46 blocks per game, which ranks fourth in the Big 12. She also leads the Wildcats with a .322 hitting efficiency. Angie Lastra, the 2004 Big 12 Libero of the Year, sports a team-best 4.09 digs per game, which also ranks fourth in the league. Suzie Fritz is in her fifth season as head coach of the Wildcats.
Skating one win above .500 entering the A&M match, the Wildcats, who have never lost more than nine matches in a Big 12 season, must win two of their remaining five matches to finish at least .500 in conference play and avoid their first Big 12 losing season. In addition to playing at A&M, other key matches remaining are against No 25 Colorado and at No. 1 Nebraska.
The All-Time Series: KSU leads the all-time series against the Aggies, 12-8, and has won seven of the last eight meetings, including a 3-0 victory in Manhattan on Oct. 1 to improve to 10-0 against the Aggies at Ahearn Field House.
In the first meeting of the season, A&M struggled to get in sync in all areas of its game, and No. 16 Kansas State jumped on the opportunity and handed the 23rd-ranked Aggies a 30-16, 30-21, 30-22 loss in front of 687 at Ahearn Field House.
The Wildcats, who improved to 10-0 against the Aggies at Ahearn, set the tone at the start, posting four service aces and two blocks while jumping out to an 8-0 lead. Laura Jones ended the run with a kill, but K-State refused to let up. The Wildcats, who hit .577 in the game, quickly built a 22-8 lead. A&M could get no closer than 11 points the remainder of the frame and was held to a season-low 16 points.
K-State hit .442 for the match, which still remains a season-high by an A&M opponent this season. Sandy Werner led the K-State attack with 14 kills and a .737 hitting efficiency. Joy Hamlin and Rezende also posted double figures in kills, combining for 22 kills and a .514 hitting percentage.
The Wildcats also tallied nine aces and 11.5 blocks against the Aggies, who were held to a .212 hitting percentage for the game and did not manage a block for the first time this season.
Jones led A&M with 18 kills and a .316 hitting percentage. She was the only Aggie to reach double figures in kills.
Upcoming: A&M concludes a three-match home stand against Kansas on Wednesday, Nov. 16. First serve is at 6:30 p.m. at G. Rollie. After a trip to Colorado on Saturday, Nov. 19, A&M returns home Monday, Nov. 21 to host Texas Tech. Match time is 6 p.m. The Aggies conclude their home schedule Wednesday, Nov. 23 against Iowa State. First serve is slated for 6:30, and A&M?â„¢s five seniors ?- Cristin Burton, Holly Clay, Kendra Felder, Laura Jones and Kari Kelley ?- will be recognized prior to the start of the match.