October 24, 2006
Texas A&M looks to continue its second-half surge when the Aggies host the Colorado Buffaloes on Wednesday. First serve is at 6:30 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum, and the first 1,000 fans will receive a coupon good for a FREE Chick-fil-A sandwich. (A complete release in pdf format is available at AggieAthletics.com.)
| MATCH INFO |
| Wednesday, Oct. 25, 6:30 p.m. (CDT) G. Rollie White Coliseum (7,800), College Station |
| RECORDS |
| Texas A&M: 10-9, 3-8 Big 12 (T-7th) Colorado: 11-7, 7-4 Big 12 (5th) |
| 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, 15-7 Last Meeting: (9/27/06) Last in CS: (10/16/05) |
| UP NEXT |
| A&M at (#20) Oklahoma Saturday, Oct. 28, 7 p.m. (CDT) McCasland Field House, Norman, Okla. |
Free live video and audio streaming of the match will be available on Aggies All-Access at aggieathletics.com.
A&M began the second half the Big 12 Conference schedule with a 30-28-30-24, 30-23 victory against Kansas Saturday in College Station. The Aggies improved to 10-9 overall and 3-8 in the league after posting their first Big 12 sweep of the season.
Colorado is 11-7 overall and in fifth place in the Big 12 with a 7-4 record after sweeping Texas Tech, 30-21, 30-27, 33-31, Saturday in Boulder. With the victory, the Buffs won their second consecutive Big 12 match, equaling their longest conference winning streak of the season.
Christi Hahn leads the Aggies, who are tied with Kansas and Texas Tech for seventh place in the conference standings. The senior middle blocker from Leander, Texas, leads the team and ranks third in the Big 12 with a .386 hitting percentage for the full season. She also leads the Aggies with 4.25 points and 0.33 aces per game and ranks second with 3.4 kills per game.
Amber Sutherland is Colorado's top offensive threat. The 5-10 junior outside hitter blasted 24 kills in the Buffs' three-game win against Tech to post her second consecutive 20-plus kill performance. Sutherland ranks third in the league with 4.40 kills per game in all matches. In Big 12 matches only, Sutherland ranks second in the conference for both kills (4.68) and points (5.32) per game.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES: A&M leads the all-time series against Colorado, 15-7, including 8-2 in matches played at G. Rollie. In addition, A&M is 14-7 against CU in Big 12 matches only. However, the outcome of recent matches has been much closer than the win-loss records indicate: seven of the last 11 meetings have been decided in five games, and the series is tied at 6-6 over the last 12 matches.
Colorado has won two of the last three meetings, including a 3-2 (20-30, 25-30, 30-26, 30-28, 15-7) victory in the Buffs' visit to College Station last year and a 3-0 (30-23, 30-28, 30-22) victory when the two teams met Sept. 27 in Boulder.
The Buffs took advantage of the Aggies' passing woes in Boulder, 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 led CU with 15 kills, and Austin Zimmerman added 11 kills while hitting at a .733 clip.
The teams split the season series last year with each team winning on the road in five games.
A&M QUICK HITS
* Hahn Solo: Middle blocker Christi Hahn, the Aggies' lone senior, is third in the Big 12 and 25th in the nation with a .386 hitting percentage in all matches. The preseason All-Big 12 selection and third-year starter has reached double figures in kills in 14 matches and has hit .343 or above in 12 of those matches, including 11 .400-plus performances. 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.
* Kelner willing to assist: Freshman setter Jola Kelner drew the first start of her career against Kansas on Saturday and directed the Aggies to their first 3-0 Big 12 victory in this season. Kelner, who hails from Poland and is Aggie coach Laurie Corbelli's first international player, replaced freshman setter Courtnee Rhodes, who had started the previous eight matches but sat out of the Kansas match with an injury. Kelner responded with 34 assists and led all players with six blocks.
* Castillo's calling: Freshman Zanny Castillo has found her niche as the team's libero and now leads the team with 3.36 digs per game for the full season. In addition, Castillo and is tied for the team lead and tied for 10th in the conference with 3.59 digs per game in Big 12 matches only. Castillo has been the designated libero in every game since first donning the off-colored jersey in the second game against Kansas on Sept. 20. She finished that match with 12 digs and has reached double figures in all but two of the eight matches that have followed, including a career-high 21 digs at Iowa State. Castillo has posted double figures in digs in eight matches overall. She has led or tied for the team lead in digs in five matches and has posted 20 or more kills in a team-high three matches.
* Something About Mary: Aggie freshman outside hitter Mary Batis has led the Aggies in kills in a team-leading 10 matches and tops the team with 3.75 kills per game for the full season. Batis, who also leads the team with 12 double-doubles (kills and digs), has posted three 20-plus kill performances, including 21 kills against both No. 22 Minnesota and Texas Tech. In addition, the San Antonio Clark product has recorded two 20-plus dig performances and has led the team in digs in a team-high seven matches. Batis has started all 19 matches and played in all 73 games on the left side. Senior Christi Hahn is the only other Aggie to start every match and play in every game.
* Block party: Three Aggie starters are averaging one or more blocks per game in Big 12 matches only. Junior middle blocker Kelly Stanton has led the Aggies in blocks in 12 matches overall and leads the team and ranks 10th in the conference with a 1.16 average in Big 12 matches. Stanton has reached double figures in blocks twice this season: 11 in a non-conference match at Saint Louis, and 10 at Colorado. Her 10 blocks against the Buffs leads the league for blocks in a three-game Big 12 match this season.
Kelsey Bryant, a sophomore right-side hitter, is averaging 1.05 blocks in Big 12 games only. She posted a career-high eight blocks in A&M's three-game loss at Colorado earlier this season. Senior middle blocker Christi Hahn also is averaging 1.05 blocks per game in league matches.
* 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 at least 16 of A&M's 19 matches. Rookie Mary Batis has started every match and played in every game on the left and leads the team with 3.75 kills per game for the full season. Freshman outside hitter Sarah Ammerman has appeared in all but two matches and has drawn the starting nod 13 times. She has posted double figures in kills in eight matches, including a career-high 19 kills at Kansas.
Zanny Castillo has appeared in 16 matches overall and has played the libero position in each of the last nine matches. She leads the Aggies with 3.36 digs per game in all matches and is tied for the team lead with 3.59 digs per game in Big 12 matches only.
Defensive specialist Stephanie Cadavid has played in 17 matches, typically subbing for sophomore right side hitter Kelsey Bryant in the back row. Cadavid, who drew the first start of her career against No. 17 Missouri and responded with a career-high 12 digs, is averaging 1.53 digs per game.
Setter Courtnee Rhodes has appeared in 15 matches and had started eight consecutive matches before an injury against Iowa State forced her to sit out the Kansas match on Oct. 21.
Setter Jola Kelner has appeared in eight matches and drew her first career start in A&M's 3-0 victory against Kansas on Saturday. Outside hitter Jenny Banse has appeared in seven matches, and middle Cara Quayle has appeared in two matches.
* A&M 10th in home attendance: Texas A&M ranks ninth in the nation in home attendance with a 2,185 average as of Monday. A&M's largest home crowd this season is 3,555 -- the second largest home crowd in A&M history -- against No. 10 Texas on Oct. 13.
OPPONENT NOTES: Colorado has won its last two matches to equal its longest Big 12 winning streak of the year. CU defeated Baylor, 3-2, in Waco and Texas Tech, 3-0, in Boulder...The Buffs are 3-3 in away matches...CU ranks last in the league in opponent hitting percentage (.221) and blocks by opponents (3.56) for the full season...The Buffs lead the Big 12 in digs by opponents (13.15)...Junior Amber Sutherland ranks second in the league with 4.68 kills per game in Big 12 matches...Lauren Schaefer (.358) and Austin Zimmerman (.350) rank fourth and fifth in hitting percentage, and setter Ashley Nu'u is fifth in the league with 12.29 assists per game in league matches. Kristen Karlik is fifth in digs with a 4.02 average in conference games only.
UPCOMING: A&M takes on the 20th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners, Saturday in Norman. First serve is at 7 p.m. at McCasland Field House. OU entered the week in second place in the Big 12 with a 9-2 league mark.