Nov. 25, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M (14-14, 9-9 Big 12) closes out the home portion of its schedule and makes its final appearance at G. Rollie White Coliseum for at least the next three years on Wednesday as the Aggies play host to the Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-24, 0-18 Big 12). The match, which also will mark the 500th match of Laurie Corbelli's A&M coaching career, begins at 6:30 p.m.
It is a must-win situation for the Aggies, who must also win at Missouri on Friday to finish above .500 and be eligible for consideration for the NCAA tournament.
Tickets can be purchased by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE or by going online at 12thManFoundation.com. Tickets also will be available at the G. Rollie White ticket window beginning one hour before the match. General admission tickets are $7 for adults and $4 for students/youth. Reserved seats are $9 each.
Live stats and video will be available free of charge at AggieAthletics.com.
A&M, which entered into a must-win situation with six matches left in the regular season, defeated both Oklahoma and Colorado last week and is now riding a four-match winning streak, its longest in Big 12 play this season. Since the start of the streak, A&M has jumped from 10th place in the Big 12 into a tie with both Baylor and Iowa State for fourth in the conference.
Texas Tech is looking to end a 16-match losing skid and pick up its first Big 12 victory of the season. The Red Raiders came close to getting their first win last Wednesday but fell to Baylor, 15-13, in the fifth set. Tech was swept at No. 3 Nebraska on Saturday.
Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week Sarah Ammerman has paced the Aggies over the last four matches. The junior outside hitter, who is hitting .199 and averaging 3.27 kills and 3.65 points per set for the full season, is hitting .327 and averaging 4.6 kills and 5.0 points per set during the winning streak. Jennifer Banse is averaging 3.47 digs over the last four matches compared to a 2.5 dig average for the full season. In addition, middle blockers Darla Donaldson and Kelsey Bryant are averaging 1.07 blocks per set over the last four matches compared to 0.96 and 0.84, respectively, for the full season. Furthermore, setter Kristen Schevikhoven is averaging 11.31 assists per set over the last two weeks, compared to 9.9 for the full season.
Junior outside hitter Mary Batis leads the Aggies and is listed ninth in the Big 12 full-season rankings with 3.36 kills per set. She also leads the Aggies with 2.82 digs and 3.78 points per set for the full season.
Aggie head coach Laurie Corbelli is 341-158 in her 16th year as head coach of the Aggies and 441-264 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.
SCOUTING THE RED RAIDERS
• Texas Tech is 5-24 overall and in last place in the Big 12 at 0-18.
• The Red Raiders are mired in a 16-match losing skid. They have not won a match since defeating Texas-Pan American, 3-0, on Sept. 20.
• Last week, Tech came close to getting its first Big 12 victory on Wednesday but fell to Baylor, 3-2 (19-15, 25-22, 21-25, 25-14, 15-13). The Red Raiders then lost at No. 3 Nebraska, 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-12).
• Freshman middle blocker Amanda Dowdy led Tech with 20 kills while hitting .429 against the Bears. She had a team-high six kills against the Huskers.
• Dowdy leads the team with 2.73 kills per set for the full season. Senior middle Brandi Hood averages a team-best 0.88 blocks per set, and junior libero Jenn Harrell leads the Red Raiders with 2.90 digs per set for the full season.
• Setter Caroline Witte, whose parents graduated from A&M, is ranked fifth in the Big 12 with 0.32 aces per set for the full season. She is in her first year at Tech, having played her first two seasons at Blinn College located in her home town of Brenham, Texas.
• Sophomore middle blocker Becca Baldwin also grew up in the shadows of Texas A&M, as she was born and raised in Bryan, Texas. Her brother, Andrew, played baseball for the Aggies, lettering in 2005 and 2005.
• Nancy Todd (Arizona State `95) is 56-124 in her sixth season as head coach of the Red Raiders.
THE A&M-TECH ALL-TIME SERIES
• A&M leads the all-time series, 47-29, since the teams first met in 1975, including 22-8 in matches played at G. Rollie and 18-7 in Big 12 matches only.
• Tech has won only three times in College Station since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996. Its most recent win at the Holler House was 2006 in five games.
• A&M has won the last three matches against the Red Raiders, including a convincing 25-15, 25-14, 25-16 victory at the United Spirit Arena in Lubbock on Oct. 11.
• In the most recent meeting, Jennifer Banse led A&M with 12 kills while hitting .417, and Darla Donaldson added eight kills and hit .700 to pace A&M to a then season-high .387 hitting percentage. Donaldson also posted a match-high four blocks as A&M led Tech 8-0 in team blocks and held the Lady Raiders to a .029 hitting efficiency, still the lowest by an A&M opponent this season. Aggie freshman libero Chelsea Ringel tied for match-high honors in digs with 11. Amanda Dowdy had nine kills to lead the Lady Raiders, who were without several players due to suspensions.
• A&M will be going for its seventh Big 12 season-series sweep against the Red Raiders. Tech earned its only season-series sweep against A&M in 2006. The teams have split five times.
QUICK HITS
• A&M received points in the Bison/AVCA Top 25 Poll this week and is listed No. 32. It is the first time the Aggies have been mentioned in the poll since the August 19 preseason poll.
• The Aggies will relocate to Reed Arena, home of the men's and women's basketball teams, for at least the next three seasons while the Memorial Student Center takes over G. Rollie during the massive renovation of the MSC. The future status of volleyball's return to the Holler House will be evaluated upon completion of the renovation.
• The Aggies' final home match against Texas Tech also will mark the 500th match of Laurie and John Corbelli's A&M coaching careers.
• A win against Tech will give the Aggies their fifth consecutive win, equaling their longest winning streak of the season set before Big 12 play began. It also will put the Aggies above .500 for the first time since they were 9-8 overall and 4-3 in the Big 12 following the sweep against Tech on Oct. 11.
• Sarah Ammerman was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career after leading the Big 12 in points (5.50) and kills (5.00) per set, while averaging a .356 hitting percentage in the Aggies' two victories last week. Ammerman also was named to Collegiate Volleyball Update's Top Performers list.
• Junior outside hitter Mary Batis had eight digs against Colorado on Saturday to become only the ninth player in A&M history to record both 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. Batis joined the 100-Kill Club when she posted 11 kills against Kansas on Oct. 25, giving her 1,009 kills for her career. She now has 1,100 kills, ranking 11th in the A&M career records.
• A&M is outhitting its opponents, .263 to .176, during the Aggies four-match winning streak. The Aggies also are averaging 14.13 kills, 2.2 blocks and 17.2 digs per set while allowing opponents 12.2 kills, 1.3 blocks and 15.13 digs per set.
• Senior middle blocker Darla Donaldson is the only A&M player to see action in every set this season. She leads the team and is tied for seventh in the Big 12 with 1.0 blocks per set in conference matches only.
• Freshman libero Kelsey Black has posted double figures in digs in six of the last eight matches. In addition, she has posted 20-plus digs in two of the last five matches, including a career-high 24 digs at Oklahoma to tie the team season high. Black leads the team with 2.85 digs per set in Big 12 matches only.
• The match against No. 3 Nebraska on Nov. 5 was A&M's league-leading 10th match against a ranked opponent this season.
• The Aggies hit a season-high .402 against Colorado on Saturday, equaling the highest hitting percentage by an A&M team since the Aggies hit .402 at Kansas on Oct. 6, 2007.
• A&M held Texas Tech to a .029 hitting percentage in Lubbock on Oct. 11, the lowest by an A&M Big 12 opponent since the Aggies held Iowa State to a -.016 hitting efficiency on Sept. 27, 2002.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
A&M closes out the regular season Friday, Nov. 28 at Missouri. First serve is at 6:30 p.m. at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo. GameTracker and subscription-based live video will be available at MUTigers.com A&M has not won at Missouri since 2003. The Tigers, who enter the week 13-15 overall and 7-11 in the Big 12, were mathematically eliminated from postseason contention after falling, 3-2, at Baylor on Saturday.
NCAA SELECTION SHOW
The NCAA Selection Show to announce the 64-team field is currently scheduled to air on ESPNU on Sunday, Nov. 30 from 9-9:30 p.m. (CST).