October 27, 2006
Texas A&M faces another tough challenge Saturday as the Aggies take on 20th-ranked Oklahoma. The match begins at 7 p.m. at McCasland Field House in Norman. (A complete release in pdf format is available at AggieAthletics.com.)
A&M is coming off a 3-2 (25-30, 30-20, 30-28, 22-30, 15-6) setback against Colorado Wednesday in College Station. With the loss, the Aggies drop to 10-10 overall and remain tied with Kansas and Texas Tech for seventh place in the Big 12 standings with a 3-9 conference record.
Oklahoma, the surprise team in the Big 12 this season, is in second place in the league with a 10-2 mark in conference matches and an 18-4 record overall. The Sooners knocked off Kansas, 30-23, 30-19, 27-30, 30-25, Wednesday in Lawrence.
Senior middle blocker Christi Hahn leads the Aggies and ranks third in the Big 12 with a .375 hitting percentage for the full season. She also leads the Aggies with 4.18 points and 0.33 aces per game and ranks second with 3.32 kills per game.
Freshman outside hitter Mary Batis leads A&M with 3.74 kills and 3.33 digs per game, and junior middle blocker Kelly Stanton is averaging a team-leading 1.32 blocks per game.
Oklahoma is loaded with upperclassmen, several of whom are ranked in the Top 10 in Big 12 statistical categories. Senior setter Rachel Jackson is second in the league in assists (13.44), and senior libero Anna Monsen ranks second in the Big 12 with 4.75 digs per game. Senior middle blocker Eliane Santos, a preseason All-Big 12 selection, is listed fourth with 1.38 blocks per game, and her counterpart, junior middle blocker Laura Tomes is hitting .375, fourth-best in the league. Joanna Schmitt, a senior outside hitter and four-year starter, ranks sixth in the league in both kills (4.16) and points (4.75) per game.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
A&M leads the all-time series against the Sooners, 29-2. OU, however, opened the 2006 Big 12 season by snapping a 26-match losing streak against A&M with a 30-28, 30-26 30-28 victory in College Station on Sept. 13. It was the Sooners?â„¢ first-ever Big 12 win against A&M and their only victory at G. Rollie White Coliseum in 11 visits.
Mary Batis led the Aggies with 15 kills and nine digs.
Joannna Schmitt also finished with 15 kills to lead the Sooners, and Laura Tomes added 11 while hitting at a .500 clip. Eliane Santos collected nine blocks to lead OU to a 14.5 to 9 advantage, and libero Anna Monsen recorded a match-high 15 digs in the win.
A&M swept the season series last year, defeating the Sooners, 3-1 (30-25, 25-30, 30-26, 30-22) in Norman, Okla., on Oct. 9 and 3-0 (30-22, 30-24, 30-18) in College Station on Oct. 28.
UPCOMING
A&M returns home Wednesday, Nov. 1 to host Baylor. Match time is 6:30 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum. It also will be ?Senior Night?. Christi Hahn, a three-year starter and the Aggies?â„¢ lone senior this season, will be honored prior to the match.
TIME CHANGE NOTICE
A&M?â„¢s match at Kansas State will begin at 1 p.m. The match was originally slated for 7 p.m., which conflicts with K-State?â„¢s home men?â„¢s basketball game.