November 06, 2007
The Texas A&M volleyball team begins its toughest stretch of the second half of the season Wednesday as the Aggies (18-7, 7-7 Big 12) take on the No. 12 Kansas State Wildcats (18-7, 10-5 Big 12) at Ahearn Field House in Manhattan, Kansas. The match begins at 7 p.m. and will be televised live by FSN-Midwest (DirecTV 647; Dish 418). The match also will be carried live on FSN-Southwest (Suddenlink Channel 25) in Bryan/College Station. Check local listings for viewing opportunities in other regions. (A complete release in pdf format is available at AggieAthletics.com.)
The Wildcats are the first of three consecutive Top 15 opponents for the Aggies, who face No. 3 Texas in Austin on Friday and then host No. 2 Nebraska Wednesday, Nov. 14 in College Station. Texas and Nebraska are tied for the lead in the Big 12 Conference, and K-State is tied with Oklahoma for third place.
A&M, the winner in five of its last six matches, has climbed into sole possession of sixth place in the league standings. Most recently, the Aggies knocked off fifth-place Iowa State, 3-1 (30-18, 28-30, 36-34, 30-27), Saturday in College Station.
Kansas State has won three of its last four matches with its only loss being a 3-2 setback against second-ranked and defending national-champion Nebraska in the Wildcats?â„¢ most recent outing. K-State, which moved up one spot in the rankings despite the loss, won the first two games against the Huskers, 30-24, 30-27 but then lost the last three, 30-25, 30-19, 15-8.
LOOKING AT THE AGGIES
With an 18-7 record, Texas A&M has already surpassed its total number of victories in each of the last two seasons and needs just one more win to equal the number of wins tallied by the 2004 team, which went 19-9, advanced to the NCAA Second Round and ranked No. 20 in the final rankings. The Aggies, who are 7-7 in Big 12 matches, also have easily surpassed their five total conference victories last season.
The Aggies were 3-11 14 matches into the 2006 Big 12 season and were being outhit, .236 to .186 in conference play. This year, A&M has nearly erased the gap, as opponents are hitting .242 to A&M?â„¢s .241.
Setter Kristen Schevikhoven, who transferred after one year at the University of Northern Colorado, has made a huge impact on the Aggies?â„¢ success this season. The 5-9 sophomore directs the A&M offense, which entered last week ranked eighth in the nation and third in the Big 12 with a .283 hitting efficiency for the full season.
Middle blockers Kelly Stanton and Jillian Phillips, who were hitting a combined .185 14 matches into the 2006 Big 12 campaign, are hitting a team-leading .341 and .328, respectively, in conference matches. They are hitting .382 and .359, respectively, for the full season, ranking third and eighth in the league. Right-side hitter Kelsey Bryant also is above the .300 mark, as she is hitting .319 for the full season.
Outside hitter Sarah Ammerman leads A&M and ranks sixth in the Big 12 with 4.4 kills per game in conference matches after posting her second consecutive and fourth overall 20-plus kill performance against Iowa State. The jump server, who also ranks sixth in the Big 12 with 5.12 points per game, tallied four aces against the Cyclones, improving her average to a league-leading 0.48 aces per league game.
Mary Batis is the A&M leader in digs with 3.63 per game and ranks second on the team with 3.36 kills and 3.98 points per game for the full season. Libero Jen Moore is averaging 3.17 digs per game.
As a team, A&M is listed third in the Big 12 in digs (16.26) and blocks (2.92) in conference games (1.60) and fourth in the league in hitting percentage (.241) and aces (1.34) per game. In addition, the Aggies are fifth in kills (15.98) and assists (14.54) per game, and seventh for opponent hitting percentage (.242) in league games.
LOOKING AT THE WILDCATS
Kansas State (18-7, 10-5 Big 12) also has made a tremendous turnaround from last year in which the Wildcats went 12-18 overall and placed 10th in the Big 12 with a 4-16 record. Other than a 3-2 loss to then-unranked Oklahoma on Sept. 19, all of K-State?â„¢s losses this season have been against ranked opponents.
A key to K-State?â„¢s success has been the addition of junior opposite hitter Natalya Korobkova, who is averaging 4.48 kills per game, fourth best in the Big 12.
Senior libero Angie Lastra, K-State?â„¢s all-time leader in career digs and this week?â„¢s Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, continues to post impressive numbers in the back row. The 2004 Big 12 Libero of the Year recorded a season-high and her third-best career performance with 32 digs against No. 2 Nebraska on Saturday and is now ranked second in the league with 4.68 digs per game for the full season and 4.98 digs per game in conference action only.
Senior setter Stacey Spiegelberg ranks third in the Big 12 with 13.22 assists per game for the full season and 13.41 per game in conference games only.
Junior middle blocker Megan Farr also is listed among the league leaders, ranking third in the league with 1.36 blocks per game and sixth with a .362 hitting efficiency.
As a team, K-State is ranked fourth or above in the Big 12 for ace average (1st, 1.99), assist average (3rd, 15.18), hitting percentage (4th, .258), opponent hitting percentage (4th, .182), kill average (4th, 16.11) and block average (4th, 2.96) for the full season.
Suzie Fritz (Florida Atlantic, ?'94) is in her seventh season at the helm of the Wildcats and sports a 142-69 record.
THE A&M-KSU ALL-TIME SERIES
The all-time series is knotted at 12. K-State holds a narrow 12-11 lead in Big 12 matches only and is a lopsided 10-1 against the Aggies in Manhattan. A&M, however, has won three of the last four meetings, including a 3-0 win at Ahearn last season, marking the Aggies?â„¢ first win in Manhattan and completing A&M?â„¢s first-ever season sweep against the Wildcats.
Earlier this season, A&M tallied a season-high 23 blocks, but the Aggies fell to then-No. 18 Kansas State, 23-30, 30-24, 30-27, 30-23, on Sept. 28 at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
A&M QUICK HITS
?* A&M entered last week ranked eighth in the nation with a .283 hitting percentage. The Aggies have hit above .300 in four of the last six matches for a combined .290 hitting efficiency. Opponents have been held to a combined .182 hitting efficiency during the stretch.
?* Junior Kelsey Bryant?â„¢s career-high .812 hitting efficiency (13 kills, 0 errors, 16 attempts) against Colorado on Oct. 13 remains the highest hitting percentage by a Big 12 player this season. It also ranks second in the A&M records for 15-19 attempts, just short of the all-time record of .824 (14k-0e-17ta) set by All-American Sherri Brinkman in 1983.
?* Sophomore Sarah Ammerman has reached double figures in kills in a team-leading 20 matches, including each of the last 10 Big 12 matches. In addition, she has posted 20 or more kills four times, including each of the last two matches. Ammerman has recorded a double-double eight times, including 22 kills and a career-high 21 digs against Oklahoma on Sept. 12, marking the first 20-20 performance of her career. Last year, Ammerman had two 20-plus kill performances in the entire season.
?* Sophomore Mary Batis has earned team-high honors in digs in a team-leading 15 matches. In addition, she has reached double figures in digs in a team-leading 18 matches -- including each of the last eight matches -- and also leads the Aggies with 13 double-doubles.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
A&M stays on the road and faces its second of three consecutive ranked opponents, as the Aggies take on the No. 3 Texas Longhorns in another edition of the State Farm Lone Star Showdown Wednesday in Austin. Match time is 6:30 p.m. at Gregory Gym.
The Maroon Club is still accepting reservations for a bus trip to watch the Aggies battle the Longhorns. Cost is $20 for Maroon Club members and $25 for all other Aggie fans. The price also includes one ticket to the game, a snack bag, a media guide and a chance to win free prizes.
The bus will depart Post Oak Mall Sears parking lot at 3:30 p.m. Riders must arrive by 3:15 p.m.
For more information or to sign up, contact Marty Walton at 979-846-3024 or mwalton@athletics.tamu.edu.