October 09, 2007
Texas A&M hits the road again Wednesday as the Aggies travel to Columbia, Mo., to take on the streaking Missouri Tigers. First serve is slated for 6:30 p.m. at Hearnes Center. (A complete release is available at AggieAthletics.com.)
A&M (13-5, 3-5 Big 12), playing its second consecutive road match, is coming off a convincing 30-26, 30-25, 30-19 victory at Kansas on Wednesday. The Aggies hit .403 in the contest, their highest hitting percentage in a Big 12 match this season, and not only broke a two-match losing skid, but also picked up their first win in Lawrence, Kan., since 2002.
Missouri (10-6, 3-4 Big 12), which is riding a three-match winning streak, also had an impressive offensive output in its most recent match as the Tigers hit .387 and earned their first Big 12 sweep of the season with a 30-23, 31-29, 30-16 victory against Texas Tech in Columbia on Wednesday.
Missouri is in sixth place in the Big 12 standings, but A&M is only a half game behind and will overtake the Tigers with a victory on Wednesday.
LOOKING AT THE AGGIES
Sarah Ammerman, a sophomore outside hitter, leads A&M and ranks seventh in the Big 12 with 3.96 kills per game. She also averages a team-best 4.44 points per game, which ranks ninth in the league.
Mary Batis, also a sophomore outside hitter, is the A&M leader in digs and aces with 3.44 and 0.39 per game, respectively, and ranks second on the team with 3.31 kills and 4.02 points per game.
Junior middle blocker Jillian Phillips, last week?â„¢s Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, is averaging a team-leading 1.38 blocks per game for the full season and ranks second in the Big 12 with a 1.52 block average in conference games only. Phillips and senior middle Kelly Stanton lead the Aggies and are ranked fourth and fifth in the league in hitting percentage, hitting .389 and .379, respectively, for the full season.
Sophomore setter Kristen Schevikhoven is averaging 11.32 assists per game overall.
As a team, A&M ranks third in the Big 12 for both hitting percentage (.282) and opponent hitting percentage (.180) for the full season.
A&M has led its opponent in blocks in each of the last four matches and in six of eight Big 12 matches. The Aggies are averaging 3.14 blocks per game in league play, ranking second in the Big 12.
LOOKING AT THE TIGERS
Missouri (10-6, 3-4 Big 12) dropped its first four matches in Big 12 play but rebounded to win its last three, including a 3-2 victory over No. 25 Oklahoma. Most recently, the Tigers hit .387 in a sweep against Texas Tech on Saturday, Missouri?â„¢s first Big 12 sweep of the season. With a win against the Aggies, Missouri will equal its longest streak of the season.
Freshman middle blocker Weiwen Wang was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week on Monday following her performances against Colorado and Texas Tech last week. The Nanjing, China native averaged 5.62 points, 4.00 kills and 2.00 blocks while compiling a .527 hitting percentage and 1.38 digs per contest. At Colorado, Wang broke school records in blocks (13) and most kills without an error (19). Wang tallied a season-high 28 points in addition to recording the second-best attack clip (.559) in Mizzou history. Against the Red Raiders, Wang posted 13 kills on a .476 hitting percentage with five digs, three blocks and two aces.
Senior outside hitter Na Yang leads the Tigers and ranks sixth in the Big 12 with 4.22 kills per game for the full season. Senior libero Tatum Ailes averages a team-best 4.73 digs per game, ranking second in the league.
As a team, Missouri is outhitting its opponents, .255 to .199 in all matches and .233 to .225 in Big 12 matches only.
The Tigers are 4-2 in home matches. The losses were five-gamers against Florida International and Kansas, who the Aggies swept last week in Lawrence.
Wayne Kreklow is in his third season as head coach of the Tigers and his eighth season overall with the program, which has made seven consecutive NCAA appearances.
THE A&M-MIZZOU ALL-TIME SERIES
A&M leads the all-time series against Missouri, 18-7, but is 6-5 in matches played in Columbia, where the Aggies have fallen in each of their last three visits. The record in Big 12 matches only is 16-6 in favor of the Aggies.
Last year, the Aggies, playing their first Big 12 road match of the season, fell to No. 17 Missouri, 30-24, 22-30, 20-30, 30-20, 15-11, despite leading the Tigers in hitting percentage (.287 to .186), digs (86 to 69) and blocks (12 to 5). It was A&M?â„¢s third consecutive loss against the Tigers and the Aggies?â„¢ second consecutive five-gamer at Missouri.
A&M earned a split in the season series and ended the season on a winning note, sweeping the Tigers, 30-24, 30-20, 30-27, in College Station. The victory snapped A&M?â„¢s five-match losing skid. The Aggies out-hit Missouri, .259 to .151 in the match, posting 11 blocks to Missouri?â„¢s 4.5. A&M also led in kills, (54-41), digs (69-63) and aces (5-1).
A&M QUICK HITS
?* Junior middle blocker Jillian Phillips, the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week (Oct. 1) has posted double figures in kills in five matches, including four of the last six. Phillips, who is hitting a team-leading .389 for the full season, is hitting .424 when reaching double figures in kills.
?* Sophomore Sarah Ammerman has reached double figures in kills in a team-leading 14 matches, including each of the last four matches. She has recorded a double-double five times, including 22 kills and a career-high 21 digs against Oklahoma, marking the first 20-20 performance of her career. Ammerman had 21 kills against Texas Tech to mark the second time in a three-match span that she posted 20-plus kills. Last year, Ammerman had two 20-plus kill performances in the entire season.
?* Sophomore Mary Batis has reached double figures in digs in a team-leading 11 matches and also leads the Aggies with eight double-doubles.
?* A&M is ranked 12th in the nation with a .282 hitting percentage. In addition, A&M is ranked 39th in blocks per game (.2.86) and 50th in kills per game (15.80). In the individual national rankings, Jillian Phillips (.389) and Kelly Stanton (.379) are ranked 25th and 37th, respectively, in hitting percentage. Phillips also is ranked in blocks per game, as she is listed 49th with a 1.38 average.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
The Aggies conclude the first half of Big 12 Conference play Saturday as they play host to Colorado, Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum. Fans can get in for $2 by presenting a ticket stub from Friday?â„¢s Maroon Madness. Also, there will be food, face painting and many other activities for Junior Aggie Club members prior to the match.