October 06, 2006
The Texas A&M volleyball team faces its toughest challenge as the Aggies take on undefeated and No.1-ranked Nebraska Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum. (A complete release in pdf format is attached.)
Gates open at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are $9 for reserved seating, $7 adult general admission and $4 for youth (K-HS) general admission. In addition, free live stats, video and audio will be available courtesy of Aggies All Access at AggieAthletics.com.
A&M, 8-6 overall and 1-5 in the Big 12, is coming off a 3-2 setback against Texas Tech Wednesday in College Station. It was the Aggies?â„¢ fourth five-game match in their last five outings.
The Cornhuskers improved to 14-0 overall and 6-0 in the Big 12 after defeating Kansas State, 3-0, in Lincoln, Neb., on Wednesday. It was the Huskers?â„¢ 11th sweep of the season, including their fifth sweep in conference play.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Nebraska has won the last 13 meetings -- including three-game sweeps in each of the last five -- to improve to 23-6 all-time against the Aggies. The Huskers are 18-2 in Big 12 matches against A&M, with both losses occurring at G. Rollie White in 1998 and 1999. Nebraska is 9-2 when playing in College Station.
Last year, Nebraska lived up to its top billing as the No. 1 Huskers defeated A&M, 30-24, 30-21, 30-19, in Lincoln on Sept. 21. Laura Jones was the only A&M player to reach double figures in kills with 15. Then-freshman Lindsey Yon finished with nine kills after making her first career start. The Huskers, who had four players reach double figures in kills, outhit A&M, .384 to .109, for the match, recording 16 blocks to A&M?â„¢s five. Freshman Jordan Larson led Nebraska with 14 kills, and sophomore Sarah Pavan added 13 kills while hitting .550.
No. 1 Nebraska extended its season winning streak to 24 and remained undefeated with a 30-19, 30-24, 30-21 in the rematch against A&M on Nov. 9 in College Station. The Cornhuskers totaled 13.5 blocks to A&M?â„¢s 2 and hit .382 for the match while holding the Aggies to a .134 hitting efficiency. Once again, Jones was the only A&M player to reach double digits in points and/or kills with 19.0 points and 18 kills.
A&M?â„¢s most recent victory over Nebraska was a five-game match on Oct. 2, 1999, in College Station. It was the Aggies?â„¢ second consecutive home victory over the third-ranked Huskers. A&M had also upset No. 3 Nebraska in five games at G. Rollie White Coliseum in 1998. The Aggies had three freshmen on the floor in 1998, including setter Jenna Moscovic, as they handed Nebraska its only conference loss of the season.
A&M QUICK HITS
?* Birthday girls: Happy birthday to A&M freshmen Sarah Ammerman and Stephanie Cadavid, who both celebrate their 19th birthday Saturday, Oct. 7, the same day the Aggies take on No. 1 Nebraska. Ammerman has played in 13 of 14 matches on the outside, starting 11. She is averaging 2.91 kills and 2.3 digs per game. Cadavid has played in 12 matches as a defensive specialist and is averaging 1.44 digs per game.
?* Turnabout: This is the second season A&M has gone 1-5 to open Big 12 Conference play. Last year, the Aggies went 1-5 and then rallied to go 8-6 to close out the conference season and earn their 13th consecutive NCAA tournament appearance.
?* National news: Kelly Stanton entered the week ranked 22nd in the nation with 1.53 blocks per game, and Christi Hahn?â„¢s .400 hitting efficiency ranked 23rd nationally. Stanton has posted double-figure blocks twice this season, tying her career high with 11 in a four-game victory at Saint Louis and tallying 10 blocks in a three-game loss at Colorado.
Hahn hit .459 with 21 kills against Texas Tech on Wednesday to raise her hitting percentage to .406 for the full season. She has posted double figures in kills in 11 matches. In the eight matches in which she has recorded 15 or more kills, Hahn is hitting at a .456 clip.
?* Something About Mary: Aggie freshman outside hitter Mary Batis leads A&M in kills (3.91) and points (4.33) per game and is second in dig average (3.04) in all matches played. Batis has started every match and played in all 55 games on the left side. She has taken or tied for team-high honors in kills in a team-leading eight matches, including a team season-high 21 kills against both No. 22 Minnesota and Texas Tech. She also leads the team with eight double-doubles.
?* Rhodes to success: Freshman setter Courtney Rhodes has started the last four matches and has posted double-doubles in all but one. 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. She had a career-high 68 assists and tallied 14 digs against Texas Tech. Rhodes is averaging 11.78 assists and 2.44 digs since drawing her first start.
?* Block party: Three Aggie starters average more than one block per game in Big 12 matches. Kelly Stanton, a junior middle blocker, leads the team with a 1.42 average. Sophomore right-side hitter Kelsey Bryant has posted impressive blocking performances of late, including a personal-best eight blocks in three games at Colorado, and is averaging 1.29 blocks per game. Senior middle blocker Christi Hahn, who had a season-high 10 blocks at Missouri, is averaging 1.04 blocks per game in league play.
?* Hahn solo: Middle blocker Christi Hahn is the lone senior on the Aggie squad. The preseason All-Big 12 selection and third-year starter leads the Aggies and ranks third in the league with a .406 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. In her most recent outing, Hahn hit .459 with a season-high 21 kills against Texas Tech.
?* Castillo?â„¢s calling: Freshman Zanny Castillo has found her niche as the team?â„¢s libero. She has been the designated libero in every game since first donning the off-colored jersey in the second game against Kansas. She finished that match with 12 digs and has reached doubles figures in every match since then, including team season-high 20-dig performances against both Kansas State and Texas Tech. Castillo has reached double figures in digs in each of the five matches and now leads the Aggies with 3.23 digs per game against Big 12 opponents.
?* Youth movement: Texas A&M lists eight freshmen on its 15-member roster, and five from the fourth-ranked recruiting class in the nation have seen action in more than half of the matches, including all six Big 12 matches. Rookie Mary Batis has started every match and played in every game on the left and leads the team with 3.91 kills and 4.33 points per game. Freshman outside hitter Sarah Ammerman has appeared in all but one match and has drawn the starting nod 11 times. She has posted double figures in kills in seven matches, including a career-high 19 kills at Kansas. Defensive specialist Stephanie Cadavid has played in 12 matches and drew the first start of her career against No. 17 Missouri. Setter Courtnee Rhodes has appeared in 11, starting the last four.
Zanny Castillo also has appeared in 11 matches overall and has played the libero position in each of the last four matches. Outside hitter Jenny Banse has appeared in six matches, while setter Jola Kelner and middle Cara Quayle have appeared in five and two matches, respectively.
OPPONENT NOTES
Nebraska improved to 14-0 overall and 6-0 in the Big 12 after sweeping Kansas State on Wednesday in Lincoln. The Huskers, who join Penn State, UCLA, USC and Princeton as the only undefeated teams in the country, held K-State to a .061 hitting percentage. It was the eighth straight match the Huskers have held their opponent below .200.
Middle blocker Tracy Stalls leads the league and is in the top 10 in the country with a .438 hitting percentage. Outside hitter Sarah Pavan also is in the top 10 nationally and leads the league with 5.27 kills per game, and Jordan Larson entered the week ranked 12th in the nation and atop the Big 12 with 0.67 aces per game.
As a team, NU leads the league in hitting percentage (.297), opponent hitting percentage (.120), kills average (17.69) and dig average (17.73) in conference matches. The Huskers, who have won eight of 10 Big 12 titles, went 19-1 in the Big 12 last year and advanced to the NCAA finals.
NU has been ranked No. 1 in 21 of the last 22 polls dating back to the start of 2005 and leads all Division I programs with 61 all-time weeks at No. 1.
UPCOMING
A&M travels to Waco Wednesday to take on Baylor at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center. The Aggies return to G. Rollie Friday to face Texas at 6:30 p.m. In addition to the Texas match being the first event of the State Farm Lone Star Showdown, Aggie Athletes Involved will hold its annual Aggies Can food drive.