September 19, 2006
Texas A&M and Kansas will be fighting for their first Big 12 Conference victory of the season when the two teams meet Wednesday at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center in Lawrence. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. (A complete release in pdf format is available at AggieAthletics.com.)
Live scoring and audio of the match will be available at AggieAthletics.com.
Both teams have dropped their first two league matches of the year. The Aggies fell to Oklahoma in three games in the conference opener and then dropped a five-game decision at No. 17 Missouri on Saturday to fall to 7-3 overall.
Kansas (7-4, 0-2 Big 12) opened Big 12 play against the conference?â„¢s two toughest teams, No. 1 Nebraska and No. 5 Texas. The Jayhawks fell in three games in both matches, and their overall losing skid reached three.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Texas A&M leads the all-time series against Kansas, 18-3. The teams have split the season series the previous three years with each team winning on its home court. Kansas has swept the Aggies in each of their last three visits to Lawrence, accounting for all three of the Jayhawks all-time victories against A&M.
A&M?â„¢s most recent victory in Lawrence was a thrilling 30-26, 27-30, 26-30, 30-16, 15-12 decision on Nov. 13, 2002.
A&M QUICK HITS
?* Batisball: Aggie freshman outside hitter Mary Batis leads A&M and ranks seventh in the Big 12 with 4.19 kills per game and also leads the Aggies and ranks eighth in the league with 4.69 points per game. Batis has started every match and played in all 37 games on the left side and has taken team-high honors in kills in seven matches, including a team season-high 21 kills against No. 22 Minnesota. She also leads the team with five double-doubles.
?* Hahn solo: Middle blocker Christi Hahn is the lone senior on the squad. The preseason All-Big 12 selection and third-year starter leads the team and is ranked fourth in the conference with a .410 hitting percentage. She ranks second on the team with 3.22 kills, .97 blocks and 3.97 points per game. Hahn is coming off a 15-kill, 10-block performance at No. 17 Missouri.
?* Youth movement: Texas A&M lists eight freshmen on its 15-member roster, and six from the No. 4 recruiting class in the nation have seen action in more than half of A&M?â„¢s matches. Rookie Mary Batis has started every match and played in every game on the left and leads the team with 4.19 kills and 4.69 points per game. Freshman outside hitter Sarah Ammerman has appeared in all but one match and has drawn the starting nod seven times. She is averaging 2.93 kills and 2.41 digs per game. Defensive specialist Stephanie Cadavid played in her eighth match and drew the first start of her career against No. 17 Missouri. Setter Courtnee Rhodes and defensive specialist Zanny Castillo have appeared in seven matches overall, including each of the last six matches. Outside hitter Jenny Banse has appeared in five matches, while setter Jola Kelner and middle Cara Quayle have appeared in three and two matches, respectively.
?* More freshmen facts: Five freshmen played against No. 17 Missouri, with three -- Ammerman, Batis and Cadavid -- all appearing in the starting lineup. Castillo played in all five games in the back row, and Rhodes came in to set from the back row. Castillo and Cadavid posted career highs in digs with 13 and 12, respectively, and Rhodes tallied a career-high 19 assists. Ammerman and Batis each reached double figures in both kills and digs, and Ammerman also landed a career-high seven blocks. All-in-all, the freshmen accounted for 70 percent of A&M?â„¢s total digs (56 of 86), and 52 percent (35 of 68) of A&M?â„¢s total kills in the five-game match against the 17th-ranked Tigers.
OPPONENT NOTES
Kansas (7-4, 0-2 Big 12) will be attempting to end a three match losing skid. The Jayhawks, who fell to Arkansas in five games in Lawrence before opening Big 12 play against the two toughest teams in the league, are coming off three-game losses to No. 1 Nebraska and No. 5 Texas.
Senior outside hitter Jana Correa, who tallied 14 kills against both Nebraska and Texas, leads the Jayhawks with 3.89 kills per game. Junior Emily Brown and sophomore Savannah Noves are averaging 3.68 and 3.29 kills per game, respectively. Freshman Brittany Williams averages a team-leading .84 blocks per game, and senior libero Jamie Mathewson leads the Jayhawks with 3.76 digs per game. Freshman redshirt setter Katie Martincich is averaging 11.0 assists per game.
As a team, the Jayhawks are averaging 16.5 kills, 15.11 assists and 15.76 digs per game and are listed last in the league with 1.82 blocks per game.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
A&M returns home Friday, Sept. 22 to play host to No. 24 Kansas State (8-3, 0-1 Big 12). Match time is 6:30 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum. In celebration of all the students who received their Aggie rings earlier this week, fans wearing an Aggie ring will be admitted free.