October 03, 2006
Texas A&M begins a two-match home stand Wednesday as the Aggies play host to the Texas Tech Red Raiders. First serve is slated for 6:30 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum. (A complete release in pdf format is available at AggieAthletics.com.)
| MATCH INFO |
| Wednesday, Oct. 4, 6:30 p.m. (CDT) G. Rollie White Coliseum (7,800), College Station |
| RECORDS |
| Texas A&M: 8-5, 1-4 Big 12 (8th) Texas Tech: 8-7, 1-5 Big 12 (T-9th) |
| RANKINGS |
| Neither team is ranked. |
| LIVE VIDEO |
| Matt Simon, play-by-play (broadcast time 6:15 p.m.) (audio available on 89.9 FM inside Coliseum) |
| INTERNET |
| Live Video (Free): (Aggies All-Access) Live Stats: (aggieathletics.com) |
| SERIES |
| A&M leads, 44-24 Last Meeting: (11/21/05) |
| UP NEXT |
| A&M hosts (#1) Nebraska Saturday, Oct. 7, 6:30 p.m. (CDT) G. Rollie White Coliseum, College Station Tickets: |
The first 1,000 fans will receive a free coupon from Chick-Fil-A. In addition, fans can meet the Aggies during an autograph session to be held after the match.
Fans unable to attend the match can follow the action free as Aggies All Access offers free audio and video streaming at AggieAthletics.com.
A&M, 8-5 overall and 1-4 in the Big 12, is coming off a bye weekend and has not played since falling to Colorado in three games in Boulder last Wednesday.
Texas Tech is 8-7 overall and a half game behind A&M in the league standings with a 1-5 record in Big 12 matches. The Red Raiders, 0-3 in conference road matches, went 1-1 last week, defeating Kansas, 3-1, and falling to No. 19 Missouri, 3-0, in Lubbock.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
A&M leads the all-time series, 44-24, including 21-7 in matches played in College Station and 15-5 in Big 12 matches.
The teams split the season series last year with each team winning on its home court. Tech's 30-28, 30-25, 28-30, 27-30, 17-15 victory in Lubbock snapped the Red Raiders' four-match losing streak against the Aggies. A&M, which led the Red Raiders in hitting percentage (.256 to .230), digs (70 to 55) and blocks (14.5 to 11.0) in the match, was serving for the match in the fifth game before back-to-back A&M errors followed by a kill by Tech gave the Red Raiders the win.
Texas A&M had to fight from behind in every frame to clinch a 30-28, 30-28, 30-25 victory on Nov. 21 in College Station. It marked A&M's seventh consecutive home victory against the Red Raiders. The match had originally been scheduled for Sept. 25 but was postponed because of the threat of Hurricane Rita.
A&M QUICK HITS
* Something About Mary: Aggie freshman outside hitter Mary Batis leads A&M in kills (3.88), digs (2.98) and points (4.34) per game in all matches played. Batis has started every match and played in all 50 games on the left side and has taken team-high honors in kills in a team-leading seven matches, including a team season-high 21 kills against No. 22 Minnesota. She also leads the team with seven double-doubles.
* Rhodes to success: Freshman setter Courtney Rhodes has taken over the setting duties the last three matches and has posted double-doubles in two of the three matches. In her first career start, the 5-6 spark plug from Houston had career highs of 57 assists and 10 digs and also tallied a personal-best three blocks, including her first solo, against Kansas. Rhodes had 55 assists and a career-high 15 digs in the win against Kansas State. Rhodes is averaging 11.08 assists and 2.31 digs over the last three matches.
* Stanton stuff: Middle blocker Kelly Stanton posted 10 blocks in the three-game loss at Colorado. It was the junior's second double-digit block performance of the season, as she had career high-tying 11 total blocks in the Aggies' four-game victory against Saint Louis on Sept. 2. Stanton leads the Aggies and is ranked third in the Big 12 with a 1.53 block average in all matches.
* Block party: Sophomore right-side hitter Kelsey Bryant also has posted impressive blocking performances of late, including a personal-best eight blocks in three games at Colorado. It was the second time in three matches the Austin Westlake product set a career high, as she had seven blocks at Kansas on Sept. 20. Bryant ranks eighth in the Big 12 with a 1.32 average in conference games only, just behind seventh-ranked Stanton, who averages 1.43 bocks per game in Big 12 action.
* 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 Aggies and ranks fourth in the league with a .400 hitting percentage for the full season. Earlier this season, Hahn posted a career-high .667 hitting percentage after posting 16 kills and two errors in 21 attempts in a three-game victory against McNeese State.
* Castillo's calling: Freshman Zanny Castillo has found her niche as the team's libero. She has played the position every game in the last two matches, posting a team season-high 20 digs against Kansas State and a match-high 14 digs in the three-game loss at Colorado. The CU match marked the fourth consecutive match Castillo reached double figures in digs.
* A&M 10th in home attendance: Texas A&M ranks 10th in the nation in home attendance as of Monday. The Aggies are averaging 2,017 per match after four matches. A&M had a season-high 2,588 attend the Oklahoma match on Sept. 13. The following lists the top 10 national attendance leaders entering the week:
School Avg. Total Matches
1. Hawaii 7,252 79,774 11
2. Nebraska 4,144 41,445 10
3. Wisconsin 4,000 28,002 7
4. Minnesota 3,594 17,971 5
5. Florida 2,511 17,577 7
6. Penn State 2,408 16,855 7
7. BYU 2,380 14,278 6
8. Creighton 2,243 15,700 7
9. Wichita State 2,106 14,742 7
10. Texas A&M 2,017 8,069 4
RECENT RESULTS
Texas A&M struggled to get in sync offensively and fell to Colorado, 30-23, 30-28, 30-22, Wednesday at the Coors Event Center in Boulder, Colo.
Colorado (8-4, 4-1 Big 12) took advantage of the Aggies' passing woes, posting 11 aces and outhitting A&M, .287 to .173. Christi Hahn was the only A&M player to reach double figures in kills with 11. Zanny Castillo led the Aggies with a match-high 14 digs. Kelly Stanton tallied 10 blocks, leading A&M to a 12-5 advantage in team blocks.
Amber Sutherland had 15 kills, and Austin Zimmerman added 11 digs while hitting at a .733 clip as Colorado improved to 7-0 in home matches.
OPPONENT NOTES
Texas Tech is 8-7 overall, including 1-5 in Big 12 matches. The Red Raiders' one league victory was a 3-1 decision against Kansas, a team that defeated A&M in five games in Lawrence. Tech is winless in Big 12 road matches, having been swept at No. 1 Nebraska and at No. 5 Texas and having dropped a 3-2 match at Baylor.
Tech is coming off a 30-26, 30-20, 30-24 loss against No. 19 Missouri in Lubbock on Saturday. The Red Raiders were outhit, .291 to .179. Philister Sang led Tech with 17 kills.
Sang, the 2005 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, leads the Red Raiders and is ranked second in the Big 12 in kills with a 4.50 average for the full season. The 6-3 senior from Nairobi, Kenya, is averaging 4.29 kills in Big 12 games only.
Freshmen libero Jenn Harrell leads the team with 3.14 digs per game for the full season, and junior middle blocker Amy Charlebois leads in blocks with a 1.31 average.
Tech ranks last in the league in hitting percentage (.204) and assists (12.79), kills (14.04) and digs (13.54) per game for the full season.
Nancy Todd (Arizona State '95) is in her fourth season as head coach of the Red Raiders. She spent eight seasons as associate head volleyball coach under former head coach Jeff Nelson until taking over the program in 2003. Todd is assisted by Mike Moffitt and Beth Karasek, a former standout at both Caldwell High School and SMU.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
A&M plays host to No. 1 Nebraska Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum. The Cornhuskers, who advanced to the NCAA finals last year and have won the Big 12 title eight of 10 times, enter the week 13-0 overall and 5-0 in league play. Nebraska hosts Kansas State (8-7, 0-5 Big 12) Wednesday.