September 21, 2006
The Texas A&M volleyball team returns home Friday to play host to the Kansas State Wildcats. First serve is at 6:30 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum, and anyone wearing his or her Aggie ring will be admitted free.
| MATCH INFO |
| Friday, Sept. 22, 6:30 p.m. (CDT) G. Rollie White Coliseum (7,800), College Station |
| RECORDS |
| Texas A&M: 7-4, 0-3 Big 12 Kansas State: 8-4, 0-2 Big 12 |
| RANKINGS |
| Kansas state is receiving votes in the latest AVCA Poll. |
| LIVE VIDEO |
| (broadcast time 6:20 p.m.) |
| INTERNET |
| Live Video (Free): (Aggies All-Access) Live Stats: (aggieathletics.com) |
| SERIES |
| KSU leads, 12-9 Last Meeting: (11/12/05) |
| UP NEXT |
| A&M at Colorado Wednesday, Sept. 27, 8 p.m. (CDT) Coors Events Center, Boulder, Colo. |
Both teams are mired in a three-match losing skid and are looking for their first Big 12 Conference victory of the season. The Aggies, 7-4 overall, fell to 0-3 in league play after dropping a five-game decision at Kansas on Wednesday. The Wildcats are 8-4 overall and 0-2 in the Big 12 after losing to No. 22 Missouri, 3-1, in Manhattan.
KSU leads the all-time series, 12-9, but is only 2-8 in matches played in College Station. The teams have split the season series the past two years with each team winning on its home court. Last year, the 16th-ranked Wildcats defeated A&M, 30-16, 30-21, 30-22, in Manhattan on Oct. 1. A&M avenged the loss with a 28-30, 30-23, 18-30, 30-20, 15-3 victory at G. Rollie on Nov. 12.
Mary Batis, a freshman outside hitter, leads the Aggie starters with 4.05 kills, 2.86 digs and 4.54 points per game. She has posted double figures in kills in nine of 11 matches, including a team season-high 21 kills in a four-game victory against No. 22 Minnesota.
Senior middle blocker Christi Hahn is second on the Aggie squad with 3.31 kills, 1.0 blocks and 4.14 points per game. She entered the week ranked 20th in the nation with a .410 hitting percentage but has since raised her efficiency to .415 after hitting .447 with 20 kills and three errors in 38 attempts against Kansas.
Five of the eight players who played in all five games at Kansas are freshmen, including setter Courtnee Rhodes who earned the first start of her career, replacing junior Meghan Kainz, who missed the match because of an illness. The freshmen, who were all on the court at the same time in several rotations, accounted for 34 of A&M's 66 kills (52 percent) and 64 of the team's 75 digs (85 percent).
As a team, the Aggies are outhitting their opponents, .252 to .167. In addition, A&M is averaging 15.5 kills, 14.12 assists, 1.31 aces, 15.36 digs and 2.8 blocks per game for the full season. Opponents are averaging 14.79 kills, 13.55 assists, 1.21 aces, 14.52 digs and 1.99 blocks per game.
KSU, which has never lost the first three matches of league play, is outhitting its opponents, .244 to .180. The Wildcats are averaging 15.95 kills, 14.65 assists, 1.6 aces, 16.72 digs and 3.24 blocks per game. Opponents are averaging 14.35 kills, 13.44 assists, 1.16 aces, 17.60 digs and 2.38 blocks per game.
Sandy Werner, KSU's lone senior, leads the Wildcats in the individual statistics with 3.88 kills per game. Junior libero Angie Lastra averages 5.33 digs per game and leads the Big 12 with a 6.12 average in conference matches only.
The Wildcats dropped a five-game decision to Alabama in their final pre-conference match and then lost at Baylor, 3-1, in its Big 12 opener. KSU, which dropped out of the Top 25 following the loss to the Bears, then suffered its first home loss and its third consecutive loss overall after losing to No. 22 Missouri.
The Aggies return to the road next week as they head to Boulder, Colo., to take on the Colorado Buffaloes on Wednesday. First serve is at 7 p.m. (8 p.m. Central) at the Coors Events Center.