August 14, 2008
COLLEGE STATION, Texas- Texas A&M junior outside hitters Sarah Ammerman and Mary Batis have been named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team, according to a vote of the league’s head coaches and released by the conference office today. In addition, the coaches picked A&M to finish fourth in the league standings.
Ammerman (Parker, Colo.) and Batis (San Antonio, Texas) are two of five returning starters for the Aggies, who went 21-10 and tied Missouri for sixth in the Big 12 last season.
Ammerman, A&M’s top offensive player, led A&M and ranked in the top five in the Big 12 with 4.43 kills, 0.36 aces and 5.07 points per game as a sophomore. She was named to USA Volleyball’s A2 Team in the spring and won a bronze medal at the USA Volleyball Adult Open Championships.
Batis, who has started every match in her two-year career, shared A&M most valuable player honors with setter Kristen Schevikhoven last season after leading the Aggies with 3.57 digs per game and ranking second on the squad with 3.56 kills, 4.15 points and 0.31 aces per game.
Texas, the 2007 Big 12 co-champion, has been chosen as the preseason favorite to win the conference title this season. The Longhorns received the maximum 10 first-place votes ?- coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams -- tallying 100 points overall.
Nebraska was second behind Texas with 88 points. Kansas State (84), which received the only other first-place vote, was picked third, and Texas A&M (71) and Missouri (62) rounded out the top five.
Iowa State (55) was picked to finish sixth, while Colorado (38) checked in at No. 7. Baylor and Oklahoma were tied for eighth place with 37 points apiece, and Kansas (23) and Texas Tech (10) were picked to fill in the final two spots.
Nebraska’s Jordan Larson (6-2, Sr., OH) and Texas’ Juliann Faucette (6-2., So., OH) tied for preseason player of the year honors. Huskers setter Sydney Anderson, a sophomore transfer from the University of Utah, was named the preseason newcomer of the year, and Texas middle blocker Rachael Adams was named preseason freshman of the year.
The Aggies open the pre-conference season August 29 against LSU at the Bluejay Invitational in Omaha, Neb, and begin Big 12 play Sept. 17 at Iowa State.
BIG 12 PRESEASON COACHES POLL
Rank Team (First-place Votes) Points
1. Texas (10) 100
2. Nebraska 88
3. Kansas State (1) 84
4. Texas A&M 71
5. Missouri 62
6. Iowa State 55
7. Colorado 38
T-8. Baylor 37
T-8. Oklahoma 37
10. Kansas 23
11. Texas Tech 10
Ten points were awarded for first-place votes, nine for second, etc. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team.
Preseason Co-Players of the Year: Jordan Larson, Nebraska, OH, Sr. , 6-2, Hooper, Neb./Logan View
Juliann Faucette, Texas, OH, So., 6-2, San Diego, Calif./Westview
Preseason Newcomer of the Year: Sydney Anderson, Nebraska, So., S, 6-0, Salt Lake City, Utah/Utah
Preseason Freshman of the Year: Rachael Adams, Texas, MB, Fr., 6-2, Cincinnati, Ohio/Mount Notre Dame
PRESEASON ALL-BIG 12 TEAM
Name, School, Pos., Cl., Ht. , Hometown/Previous School
Taylor Barnes, Baylor, S, Jr., 5-11, Arlington, Texas/Martin
Anna Breyfogle, Baylor, MB, Jr., 6-0, Buda, Texas/Hays
Kaylee Manns, Iowa State, S, Jr., 5-10, Topeka, Kan./Washburn Rural
Natalie Uhart, Kansas, MB, Sr., 6-2, Lansing, Kan./Lansing
Megan Farr, Kansas State, MB, Sr., 5-10, Manhattan, Kan./Manhattan
Rita Liliom, Kansas State, OH, Sr., 6-0, Budapest, Hungary/Csik Ferenc
Nataly Korobkova, Kansas State, OH, Sr., 6-3, Krasnoyarsk, Russia/State Siberian Technological
Weiwen Wang, Missouri, MB, So., 6-0, Nanjing, China/Jiangsu Education Institute
Kori Cooper, Nebraska, MB, Jr., 6-2, Amarillo, Texas/Amarillo
Jordan Larson, Nebraska, OH, Sr., 6-2, Hooper, Neb./Logan View
Francie Ekwerekwu, Oklahoma, MB, So., 5-11, Arlington, Texas/Arlington
Ashley Engle, Texas, S/RS, Jr., 6-3, Yorba Linda, Calif./Esperanza
Juliann Faucette, Texas, OH, So., 6-2, San Diego, Calif./Westview
Destinee Hooker, Texas, OH, Jr., 6-4, San Antonio, Texas/Southwest
Lauren Paolini, Texas, MB, Sr., 6-5, Ann Arbor, Mich./Saline
Sarah Ammerman, Texas A&M, OH, Jr., 6-2, Parker, Colo./Chaparral
Mary Batis, Texas A&M, OH, Jr., 6-0, San Antonio, Texas/Clark

Fourteen players are named to the preseason all-conference team -- a tie occurred in voting to result in 17 members.