Oct. 7, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M senior setter Kristen Schevikhoven orchestrated a well-balanced and potent offense as the Aggies cruised to a 25-16, 25-15, 25-17 victory over Kansas State and improved to 6-0 at Reed Arena.
Schevikhoven constantly kept the Wildcat defense out of sorts as the Aggies (11-3, 4-2 Big 12) hit .374 in the match. Aggie senior right-side hitter Jennifer Banse led all players with 12 kills while hitting at a .435 clip. Freshmen middle blockers Sarah Ammerman, who was celebrating her 22nd birthday, added 11 kills and counterpart, Mary Batis pitched in eight kills as A&M ended a four-match losing skid against the Wildcats.
"[Hitting .374] is an excellent number," A&M coach Laurie Corbelli said. "It shows that even when we were able to hit in their defensive areas, they weren't able to handle it, and that we weren't making errors we have made in the past.
"Schevi played a phenomenal match, one of the best she has played in a while in terms of consistency and location. The hitters were getting her to change a few things, and she is able to do that right away and I think the hitters are only going to get better."
There were six ties early in the opening set and K-State stayed within striking distance at 11-9 before the Aggies mounted an 8-1 run. The Wildcats never got closer than seven points before Kastmo and Banse teamed for a block to clinch the set.
A&M outhit the Wildcats, .385 to .233, in the frame as Batis paced the Aggies with four kills, zero errors and a .500 hitting efficiency.
A&M turned up the heat in the second set, leading from start to finish and hitting .469 while limiting K-State to a .182 hitting percentage. The Aggies jumped out to a 5-1 lead and were ahead 15-11 when they used a 10-2 run to take a commanding 23-13 lead. The teams traded kills and A&M was up, 24-15 when K-State served long to hand A&M the set.
The Wildcats hung tough in the final set, taking their first lead at 6-5 and continuing to hold the lead at 10-9 before A&M erupted for six unanswered points that triggered a 10-1 run for the Aggies. Ammerman posted four kills during the surge and finished the set with six.
K-State cut the margin to 22-17 before Banse got a kill and an ace, and Miller finished off the match by killing an errant dig by the Wildcats.
Schevikhoven, who entered the week ranked 12th in the nation with 11.55 assists per set, finished the match with 38 assists. Freshman libero Tori Mellinger led the Aggies' back-row defense with a match-high 12 digs, and Banse and Ammerman added 11 and 10 digs, respectively as the Aggies held K-State to a .186 hitting percentage.
Kelsey Chipman led K-State with nine kills, and Kathleen Ludwig posted a team-high seven digs for the Wildcats, who fall to 6-9 overall and 0-5 in the Big 12.
The Aggies are on the road for the next two matches, taking on back-to-back ranked opponents. A&M takes a trek down Highway 6 on Saturday to face No. 17 Baylor at 7 p.m. at the Farrell Center. The Aggies then face No. 14 Iowa State at Hilton Coliseum in Ames on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., before returning to Reed to begin a three-match home stand.