Oct. 3, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M returns home Saturday to play host to the Missouri Tigers. First serve is at 6:30 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum. It will be International Student Night at the Holler House, and members of A&M's international student body will be admitted free. Live stats and video streaming of the match will be available at AggieAthletics.com free of charge.
A&M, which had a midweek bye, is 6-8 overall and 1-3 in the Big 12 Conference. Most recently, the Aggies fell to Colorado, 3-2 (16-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-20, 15-9), in Boulder on Saturday, Sept. 27. Missouri is 8-6 overall and tied with Colorado for sixth place in the Big 12 standings with a 2-2 league mark, one win ahead of the Aggies. The Tigers are riding a three-match winning streak after holding off Iowa State, 3-2 (25-15, 25-15, 16-25, 22-25, 15-7), Wednesday in Columbia.
Junior outside hitter Mary Batis leads the Aggies with 3.46 kills, 3.20 digs and 3.85 points per set for the full season. She also is listed amongst the leaders in the Big 12, ranking seventh in the Big 12 in kills per set, ninth in digs per set and 10th in points per set for the full season. Junior outside hitter Sarah Ammerman, who needs only 6.5 points to reach 1,000 for her career, leads A&M with 0.20 aces per set and ranks second on the squad with 3.00 kills and 3.41 points per set. Senior Kelsey Bryant, formerly a starting right-side hitter who was moved to the middle blocker position for the first time in her collegiate career while senior middle Jillian Phillips (1.33 bps) has been out with a stress fracture in her lower right leg, is ranked 10th in the league and leads the Aggies with a .315 hitting percentage, and senior middle blocker Darla Donaldson leads the active players and is tied for 10th in the league with 0.91 blocks per set. As a team, A&M is hitting .213 and averaging 13.39 kills, 0.84 aces, 14.49 digs and 2.15 blocks per set. Opponents are hitting .207 and averaging 12.65 kills, 1.00 aces, 14.82 digs and 1.98 blocks.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS • Missouri is 8-6 overall and tied with Colorado for sixth place in the Big 12 standings with a 2-2 record in conference matches only. • Conference wins have been against Texas Tech and Iowa State. Losses have been at Oklahoma and against Baylor. • The Tigers, who are 2-3 at away matches are riding a three-match winning streak after holding off Iowa State, 3-2 (25-15, 25-15, 16-25, 22-25, 15-7), Wednesday in Columbia, Mo. • Four Mizzou players posted double-digit kills against the Cyclones, including Julianna Klein who led all players with 17 kills while hitting at a .382 clip. She also added 16 digs. Weiwen Wang added 16 kills, and Amanda Hantouli, who hit a match-high .429, and Megan Wilson pitched in 11 kills apiece. • Libero Caitlyn Vann, who had 24 digs in the win against Iowa State, leads the Big 12 with 5.15 digs per set for the full season and an outstanding 6.19 dig average in league matches only. The sophomore entered the week ranked 12th in the nation in dig average. • Klein leads Missouri and is ranked eighth in the Big 12 with 3.45 kills per set. Weiwen Wang, a preseason All-Big 12 selection, leads the team with 0.96 blocks per set and is second on the squad with 2.72 kps and a .279 hitting percentage. • The Tigers, who tied A&M for sixth place in the Big 12 with a 10-10 record and fell to BYU in the first round of the 2007 NCAA Championship, were picked to finish fifth in the league this season, according to a preseason poll of the conference head coaches. • Wayne Kreklow (Drake `80) is 68-37 in his fourth season as head coach of the Tigers.
THE A&M-MISSOURI ALL-TIME SERIES • A&M leads the all-time series, 19-8, since the teams first met in 1981, including 11-1 in matches played in College Station and 17-7 in Big 12 matches only. • The teams have split the season series in each of the last two years with each team winning on its home court. • Missouri's only win against the Aggies at G. Rollie White Coliseum was Sept. 16, 2005, as the 10th-ranked Tigers defeated A&M, 3-1 (29-31, 30-28, 30-24, 30-25). • Last year, Mizzou defeated A&M, 3-0 (30-23, 30-23, 30-28) in Columbia, Mo., on Oct. 10, and A&M defeated the Tigers, 3-1 (30-28, 27-30, 30-22, 30-22) on Nov. 17 in College Station.
• In the most recent meeting, Mary Batis tied her then-career high with 21 kills to lead Texas A&M to a 30-28, 27-30, 30-22, 30-22 victory over Missouri at G. Rollie White Coliseum. Aggie setter Kristen Schevikhoven dished out a career-high 66 assists as A&M tallied 78 kills while hitting .277. Kelly Stanton joined Ammerman and Batis in double-figure kills with 10. She also led all players with seven blocks as A&M out-blocked the Tigers, 12-8, and held Missouri to a .255 hitting percentage. Ammerman also led A&M with four aces as the Aggies tallied a season-high 11 aces, while Missouri was held to only three aces. In addition, Ammerman led a group of four Aggies to reach double digits in digs with 16. Jen Moore and Schevikhoven pitched in 15 and 13 digs, respectively, and Jennifer Banse tied her then-career high with 10. Na Yang led the Tigers with 19 kills, and Weiwen Wang and Megan Wilson added 18 and 12 kills, respectively. Libero Tatum Ailes led all players with 22 digs.
AGGIE QUICK HITS: • Sarah Ammerman needs only 6.5 points to reach 1,000 for her career. Ammerman, who currently ranks second on the team with 3.41 points per set, currently ranks fifth in the A&M all-time records for career points.
• Mary Batis surpassed 1,000 points for her career after posting 24.5 points against Oklahoma on Sept. 21. She enters the Missouri match with 1039.5 total points, ranking fourth in the A&M records. Batis, who leads the Aggies with 3.85 points per set, needs 95.5 points to pass Christi Hahn (2003-06) for third place in the career records. Laura Jones (2002-05) is A&M's all-time career leader with 2,346.5 points.
• Both Batis and Ammerman are on pace to surpass 1,000 career kills this season. Batis, who had 377 kills last season, needs 80 to join the 1,000 Kills Club. She leads the team with 3.46 kills per set. Ammerman, who is averaging 3.00 kills per set, is currently 134 kills shy of the 1,000-kill milestone. Twelve former players are members of A&M's 1,000 Kill Club. The newest member was Laura Jones (2002-05), who is A&M's all-time kill leader with 2,064.
• Senior Jillian Phillips, who has not played since the match against Creighton on Aug. 30 due to a stress fracture in her right leg, could return to action as early as Saturday. The 6-1 middle blocker, who was averaging a team-leading 1.33 blocks per game after the first three matches of the season, returned to practice for the first time on Thursday.
• Junior setter Kristen Schevikhoven, who has started 44 consecutive matches, a streak that began in the second match of the 2007 season, is doubtful for the match against Missouri after suffering an ankle injury in the third set at Colorado.
• Junior Jola Kelner is likely to draw her first start of the season if Schevikhoven is unable to play. Kelner, who has seen action in 20 of the Aggies' 51 sets this season, has made four total starts in her A&M career.
• Jennifer Banse career-high 24 digs against Oklahoma on Sept. 21 was the most digs in a match by an A&M player since former libero Holly Clay had 28 at Texas Tech on Oct. 22, 2005. The junior outside hitter leads the Aggies with 2.94 digs per set in Big 12 matches only and is second on the team with 2.45 digs per set for the full season.
• Senior middle blocker Darla Donaldson, the only A&M player to have played in every set this season, is tied for second in the Big 12 with a 1.25 block average in conference matches only. In addition, she ranks 10th in the league with a .323 hitting efficiency in Big 12 matches only.
• A&M's win against No. 16 BYU on Sept. 6 was the Aggies' highest ranked victory since upsetting No. 9 Texas on Oct. 16, 2004, in College Station. Prior to the BYU match, A&M's most recent win against a ranked opponent was against No. 22 Minnesota on Sept. 2, 2006, at the Billiken Invitational in Saint Louis.
• A&M played four matches against ranked teams during the pre-conference schedule and went 1-3 against those teams. No other Big 12 team played more than three matches against a ranked opponent during the pre-conference season. The Aggies are now 1-4 against ranked opponents.
• Aggie head coach Laurie Corbelli is 333-152 in her 16th year as head coach of the Aggies and 433-258 in the 23rd season of her head coaching career. She is A&M's winningest coach in terms of total victories and ranks second for winning percentage. Corbelli is 17-7 against Missouri in her head coaching career.
NOTABLES • A&M-KSU to be televised on FSN: A&M's match at Kansas State on Oct. 29 will be televised by FSN Kansas City. Match time is 7 p.m. at the Ahearn Field House in Manhattan.
• Reunion set for Oct. 17 weekend: Many of A&M's former players will be converging on College Station on Friday, Oct. 17 for a volleyball reunion weekend. Activities include the Big 12 match against Baylor, Friday at 6:30 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum, as well as A&M's football game against Texas Tech on Saturday. For more information, call the Lettermen's Association at 979-846-3024.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE The Aggies are on the road for the next two matches, taking on Kansas in Lawrence on Wednesday, Oct. 8 and face Texas Tech in Lubbock on Saturday, Oct. 11. Both matches begin at 7 p.m. The Aggies return home Wednesday, Oct. 15 for volleyball's first edition of the State Farm Lone Star Showdown against No. 3 Texas. First serve is slated for 6:30 p.m. It will be "Break the Record" night at the Holler House, as fans are challenged to come to the match and break the G. Rollie attendance record of 3,778 set against the Longhorns on Oct. 24, 2003.