November 23, 2007
The Texas A&M volleyball team celebrates ?Senior Night? Saturday as the Aggies conclude the regular season by playing host to the Baylor Bears. First serve is at 6:30 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum, and Aggie seniors Jen Moore and Kelly Stanton will be honored prior to the start of the match.
Fans who bring a ticket from the A&M-Texas football game will be admitted to the volleyball match for $2.
A&M (20-10 overall, 9-10 Big 12) reached the 20-win milestone and improved its case for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament after defeating Colorado, 3-1 (28-30, 30-17, 30-25, 30-23) Wednesday at the Coors Events Center in Boulder. Sophomore sensation Sarah Ammerman paced the Aggies with 27 kills ?- equaling her career high ?- while hitting .358. Mary Batis added 15 kills and a team-best 19 digs, and Stanton posted 10 kills and tied Kelsey Bryant for match-high honors in blocks with seven as A&M out-blocked Colorado, 15-7, and also out-hit the Buffs, .302 to .147.
Baylor, 14-16 overall and 6-13 in the Big 12, suffered its sixth consecutive loss after falling to No. 2 Nebraska, 3-0, Wednesday in Waco. The Bears, who were facing their fourth straight ranked opponent, were without the services of Katie Sanders, who leads the team with 4.28 kills per game for the full season.
A&M, which is tied with Missouri for sixth place in the Big 12, is led by Ammerman, who is averaging 4.37 kills per. Ranked sixth in the league for kills, she also ranks among the league leaders for aces (fourth, 0.37) and points (fifth, 5.03). Stanton tops the Aggies and is listed eighth in the Big 12 with a .354 hitting percentage for the full season, and Jillian Phillips leads the Aggies and ranks eighth in the league with 1.19 blocks per game.
Mary Batis, ranked eight in the Big 12 with 0.32 aces per game, leads the Aggies with 3.57 digs per game, and Moore is second with a 3.16 average. Setter Kristen Schevikhoven is averaging 11.94 assists per game.
As a team, A&M is outhitting its opponents, .270 to .204 for the full season and is averaging 16.23 kills to opponents?™ 14.88 kills per game. A&M also is averaging 2.76 blocks per game, while foes are averaging 1.86 per game.
Bears sophomore middle blocker Anna Breyfogle leads the Big 12 with 1.53 blocks per game and also leads Baylor with a .321 hitting efficiency. She is second behind Sanders with 2.81 kills per game for the full season. Freshman libero Sarah Grace is fourth in the league with 4.25 digs per game.
As a team, Baylor is out-hitting its opponents, .227 to .209, for the full season but is being out-hit, .242 to .212 in Big 12 matches only. The Bears are fourth in the league with 2.93 blocks and fifth with 16.43 digs per game.
A&M leads Baylor in the all-time series, 54-9, since 1976; however, the teams have split the season series the last two seasons with each team winning on the road both years.
A&M, 18-5 against the Bears since Big 12 play began in 1996, defeated Baylor, 3-0 (30-27, 30-24, 30-24), on Sept. 26 in Waco. Phillips led A&M with 11 kills and five blocks, and Ammerman added 10 kills for the Aggies, who out-hit the Bears, .243 to .223. Sanders led Baylor with 14 kills, and Ashlie Christenson added 13.
A&M is 22-3 against Baylor in matches played at G. Rollie, but the Bears have gone home victorious in their last two visits to College Station.
Following the match, the Aggies will have to wait until the NCAA Selection Show to see if their season will continue. The 64-team field will be broadcast Sunday at 7 p.m. on ESPNU. A&M is hoping to return to the Big Dance after missing the tournament for the first time in 14 years last season.