November 07, 2006
Texas A&M and No. 8 Texas are set to battle in a nationally televised edition of the State Farm Lone Star Showdown Wednesday in Austin. First serve is at 7 p.m. at Gregory Gym. (A complete release in pdf format is available at AggieAthletics.com.)
CSTV will broadcast the match live. Free live video of the match also will be available on the new CSTV Aggies All-Access at AggieAthletics.com.
A&M, which has dropped the last four matches against the rival Longhorns, is 11-12 overall and 4-11 in the Big 12 after sweeping Kansas State in Manhattan on Saturday. The win ended A&M?â„¢s three-match losing skid and gave the Aggies their first-ever win in 11 trips to Manhattan.
Texas is 17-5 overall and in second place in the Big 12 with a 12-3 mark. The Longhorns are riding a five match winning streak after knocking off Baylor, 3-1, Saturday in Waco.
Senior middle blocker Christi Hahn leads the Aggies and ranks fourth in the Big 12 with a .364 hitting percentage for the full season. She also leads the team with 4.12 points per game is second on the squad with 3.31 kills per game.
Freshman outside hitter Mary Batis leads A&M with 3.66 kills and is second on the team with 3.24 digs and 4.02 points per game. Freshman Sarah Ammerman, who starts opposite of Batis and led the Aggies with 17 kills and a career-high .324 hitting percentage against Kansas State, is averaging 3.12 kills, 2.29 digs and 3.61 points per game.
Junior middle blocker Kelly Stanton is averaging a team-leading 1.30 blocks per game, and freshman libero Zanny Castillo is the leader in digs with 3.33 per game.
Junior setter Michelle Moriarty directs the Texas offense and leads the Big 12 with 13.98 assists per game in conference matches. Her primary targets are freshmen Ashley Engle, who was named Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday, and Destinee Hooker. Engle is averaging 4.19 kills and Hooker is averaging 3.55 kills per game while hitting at a .294 clip.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Texas leads the series 54-22 in all-matches since 1976, but the Longhorns hold a narrow 11-10 lead in Big 12 matches only.
Texas, 28-4 against A&M in Austin, extended its winning streak to four against the Aggies after defeating A&M, 30-23, 23-30, 30-22, 30-17, at G. Rollie White Coliseum on Oct. 13. A&M?â„¢s most recent victory against the Longhorns was Oct. 16, 2004, in College Station as the 20th-ranked Aggies stunned No. 9 Texas, 32-34, 30-24, 30-27, 30-21.
UPCOMING
A&M returns home Sunday to face Iowa State. Match time is 2 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum. The Aggies are 10-0 all-time against the Cyclones in College Station but fell to Iowa State for the first time in Big 12 play when the two teams met earlier this season in Ames.
The Aggies, who only have one home match remaining after the Iowa State match, will host a free youth clinic following the match.