October 20, 2006
Texas A&M begins the second half of the Big 12 Conference schedule Saturday as the Aggies host Kansas at 6:30 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
A&M is 9-9 overall and 2-8 in the Big 12 after falling to Iowa State in Ames on Wednesday. The Aggies, who are looking to get back into the win column after suffering losses in their last two outings, are tied with Baylor for ninth place in the Big 12 standings.
Kansas (10-9) is riding a two-match winning streak and is tied with Texas Tech for seventh place in the Big 12 with a 3-7 mark, one win ahead of the Aggies. The Jayhawks, who are 1-6 in away matches, had a bye earlier in the week and have not played since defeating Baylor, 3-0, in Lawrence on Oct. 14.
A&M is 11-0 against the Jayhawks in matches played in College Station and owns an 18-4 lead in the all-time series. The teams have split the season series the previous three years with each team winning on its home court. Earlier this season, Kansas held the Aggies to a season-low.154 hitting percentage en route to its fourth consecutive victory against A&M in Lawrence. The Jayhawks held off two match points for the Aggies and won, 17-15, in the final game of a five-game thriller.
Christi Hahn, who hit .447 and posted a team-high 20 kills for the Aggies in the earlier meeting against Kansas, leads A&M with a .387 hitting percentage and 4.23 points per game for the full season. Freshman outside hitter Mary Batis continues to lead A&M with 3.76 kills per game, and junior middle blocker Kelly Stanton leads the Aggies and ranks eighth in the Big 12 with 1.35 blocks per game. Freshman libero Zanny Castillo, who had a career-high 21 digs in the loss at Iowa State, averages a team-high 3.40 digs per game.
Senior outside hitter Jana Correa leads the Jayhawks with 4.24 kills per game while hitting at a .265 clip. Emily Brown, a preseason All-Big 12 selection, is averaging 3.62 kills per game for the full season. Correa and Brown pounded 24 kills apiece in the earlier meeting against the Aggies.