Oct. 13, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M will be aiming for its second consecutive ranked win on the road as the 22nd-ranked Aggies face No. 13 Iowa State Wednesday in Ames. First serve is slated for 6:30 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum, where the Cyclones are 5-0 this season.
Live audio of the match will be available at AggieAthletics.com with Matt Simon calling the action. Live stats and video stream (fee) also will be available at Cyclones.com
The Aggies improved to 12-3 overall and 5-2 in Big 12 matches and catapulted into the Top 25 Poll for the first time since 2007 after defeating No. 17 Baylor, 3-1, in Waco on Saturday. The win against the Bears, who were previously unbeaten at home, marked the Aggies' second victory over a top 25 team this season. A&M knocked off then-No. 6 Nebraska on Sept. 23 and is currently tied with the Huskers for fourth place in the league standings.
Iowa State won its fifth consecutive match and improved to 14-3, 6-2 Big 12, with a sweep at Kansas on Saturday. The Cyclones, off to their best start in school history after 17 matches, are a half game ahead of A&M and Nebraska in the league standings and are tied with Baylor for second place.
The match between the Aggies and the Cyclones will be an offensive battle between the nation's top two leaders in assists average, as well as two teams that are both ranked in the top five in the country for kills per set.
Texas A&M leads the nation with 14.25 assists per set and ranks second in the nation with 15.06 kills per set. In addition, the Aggies' .276 hitting percentage is 10th best across the country.
Iowa State is No. 2 in the nation with a 14.13 assist average and fifth with 14.91 kills per set. The Cyclones are hitting .243, which ranks 50th.
Aggie senior setter Kristen Schevikhoven, eighth in the nation with 11.75 assists per set, directs a well-balanced A&M offense that has three players averaging more than three kills per set, including senior outside hitter Sarah Ammerman, who leads the team and is ranked third in the Big 12 with 4.09 kills and 4.57 points per set. Senior right-side hitter Jennifer Banse is second on the team and sixth in the Big 12 with 3.34 kills per set, and senior outside hitter Mary Batis is averaging 3.2 kills per set for the full season.
Freshmen middle blockers Lindsey Miller and Alisia Kastmo lead the Aggies and are ranked eighth and ninth, respectively, in the Big 12 for hitting percentage. Miller is hitting .350, while Kastmo is hitting .347 in all matches.
Meanwhile, freshman libero Tori Mellinger has posted double figures in digs in nine of the last 10 matches and leads the Aggies and is ranked seventh in the Big 12 with 4.36 digs per set in league contests only.
A&M-ISU SERIES RECORDS
• A&M leads ISU, 24-5, since the teams first met in 1981, including 22-4 in Big 12 matches only.
• The Cyclones' four Big 12 wins against the Aggies have occurred in the last six meetings, including each of the last three matches that have been played in Ames. A&M is now 10-3 in matches played in Ames.
• The teams have split the season series the last two years with each team winning on its home floor.
• A&M is 12-1 against ISU in matches played in College Station. ISU's only win at G. Rollie White Coliseum was in 2006 as the Cyclones completed their first and only Big 12 season series sweep against the Aggies.
• Last year in each teams' Big 12 opener, A&M fell to the Cyclones, 25-16, 25-11, 26-24, on Sept. 17 at Hilton Coliseum, where the Aggies were held to a season-low .062 hitting percentage and suffered their third straight loss at ISU.
Freshman Jennifer Banse and Darla Donaldson posted a team-high four blocks.
Ashley Mass led ISU with 18 digs and three aces to lead ISU to an 8-2 advantage in aces. Victoria Henson, the only player on either team to reach double-digit kills with 18, hit .441 to lead ISU to a .214-.062 advantage in hitting percentage.
The teams met Nov. 12 in College Station, where Sarah Ammerman surpassed 1,000 career kills as she recorded a match-high 16 to lead Texas A&M to a crucial 25-23, 25-14, 18-25, 25-20 victory over Iowa State at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
A&M hit only .189 in the match but posted 12 blocks to help hold ISU, which had only five blocks, to a .126 hitting efficiency. Donaldson, who tallied a match-high six blocks, joined Ammerman and Batis (13) in double-figure kills with 10. Black and Batis tied for team-high honors in digs with 17 each, and Banse and Ammerman added 14 and 13 digs, respectively. Setter Kristen Schevikhoven finished with 46 assists.
AGGIE QUICK HITS
• A&M broke into the AVCA Top 25 Poll on Monday, coming in at No. 22. The No. 22 ranking marks A&M's first appearance in the Top 25 since the Aggies made a one-week appearance at No. 25 on Sept. 10, 2007. The No. 22 ranking also is the program's highest showing since being ranked No. 20 on Sept. 19, 2005.
• The Aggies lead the nation with 14.25 assists per set and are second in the country with 15.06 kills per set and 10th with a .276 hitting percentage.
• A&M has led or tied its opponent in aces in every match this year and is averaging a league-leading 1.47 aces per set for the full season. In addition, the Aggies are second in the league for fewest aces allowed with 0.59 per set for the full season.
• A&M has three players averaging more than three kills per set for the full season: Sarah Ammerman, 4.09 kps; Jennifer Banse, 3.34 kps; and Mary Batis, 3.20 kps. In addition, three players are averaging more than three digs per set: Tori Mellinger, 3.60 dps; Batis, 3.48 dps; and Ammerman, 3.15 dps.
• With a 5-2 Big 12 record, the Aggies are off to their best start in conference play since 2001 when they went 5-2 over the first seven matches.
• Batis had 21 digs against Baylor to give her 1,181 career digs and move her from 11th to ninth in the A&M career records.
• With her 20-kill, 20-point performance at Baylor, Ammerman narrowly passed Batis in the A&M career records in both categories. Ammerman is now ranked third for career points with 1448.5 and Batis is fourth with 1441.5. In addition, Ammerman has 1,275 kills, ranking ninth in the A&M career records. Batis is 10th with 1,273 career kills.
• Senior setter Kristen Schevikhoven had 51 assists against No. 17 Baylor to give her 2,603 for her career and move her into seventh place in the A&M career records. She surpassed Lexy Beers, who had 2,579 in her three-year career (2001-03).
• Freshman libero Tori Mellinger has posted double figures in digs in nine of the last 10 matches, including each of the last three. In A&M's two wins last week, the Dallas native took match-high honors in digs in both matches and averaged a team-leading 5.14 digs per set. Behind Mellinger's stellar defense and passing, A&M outhit its opponents, .306 to .236, for the week. Mellinger set a career high and led all players with 24 digs in the 3-1 win at No. 17 Baylor. Her 24 digs equals the most by any player in the Big 12 in a four-set conference match this season. Mellinger also had two aces and seven assists, as well as a dig that fell in for her first career kill against the Bears Earlier in the week Mellinger posted a match-high 12 digs in A&M's sweep against Kansas State. For the year, Mellinger leads the Aggies with 3.60 digs per set for the full season and 4.36 in Big 12 matches only.
• Freshmen middle blockers Lindsey Miller and Alisia Kastmo have played in every match this season and are hitting a combined .348 for thee season. Miller has started all 15 matches and leads the starters with a .350 hitting percentage. Kastmo moved into the starting lineup in the fourth match of the season after sophomore middle blocker Stephanie Minnerly went down with a torn ACL against Northern Iowa and is second among the starters with a .350 hitting efficiency.
• Ammerman's career-high 25 digs against Missouri on Sept. 26 marks 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, when the 30-point scoring system was in effect. Ammerman ranks third on the team with 3.15 digs per set for the full season and a 3.68 average in Big 12 matches only.
• A&M's .465 hitting percentage in the Big 12 opener at Texas Tech on Sept. 19 ranks ninth in the school record books and third all-time in A&M's Big 12 matches only. It also is the highest hitting percentage by a Big 12 team this season.
• The Aggies, 2-1 against Top 25 teams, are slated to play a total of eight matches against teams ranked in this week's Top 25: two matches each against No. 2 Texas, No. 7 Nebraska, No. 13 Iowa State and No. 19 Baylor. Saint Mary's, which defeated A&M, 3-1, in Moraga, Calif., also is receiving points and is listed 29th, and Northern Iowa, who A&M defeated earlier in the season, is receiving points and is 30th.
• The Aggies, who tied eventual NCAA-regional finalist Iowa State for fourth place in the Big 12 with an 11-9 league record last year, have been picked to finish fourth in the league this season, according to a preseason poll of the conference coaches. Defending Big 12 co-champions Texas and Nebraska are picked to finish first and second, respectively, with Iowa State following at third place. A&M is followed by Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and Texas Tech.
• Aggie head coach Laurie Corbelli is 355-161 in her 17th year as head coach of the Aggies and 455-267 in the 24th season of her head coaching career. She is A&M's winningest coach in terms of total victories and ranks second for winning percentage (.688). In addition, her 455 career wins leads all coaches in the Big 12 for Division I victories.
A LOOK AT THE CYCLONES
• Iowa State (14-3, 6-2 Big 12) enters the match riding a five-match winning streak. The Cyclones' most recent loss was a 3-0 setback at then-No. 24 Baylor on Sept. 23.
• ISU, which tied A&M or fourth place in the Big 12 last year with an 11-9 record and went on to the NCAA regional finals, was picked to finish fourth this season, according to a preseason poll of the league coaches. ISU is currently tied with Baylor for second in the Big 12 at 6-2.
• ISU is 5-0 in home matches and has not dropped a set at the Hilton Coliseum this season.
• ISU is coming off a 25-18, 25-16, 25-17 sweep at Kansas. Victoria Henson had 13 kills and Rachel Hockaday added 10 kills. ISU outblocked KU, 13-2 behind a six-block performance by Jamie Straube, and outhit the Jayhawks, .282 to .129.
• ISU is paced by senior setter Kaylee Manns, who leads the Big 12 and is ranked second in the nation with 12.18 assists per set. Her primary target is junior outside hitter Victoria Henson, who is second in the league and 25th in the country with 4.27 kills per set.
• Henson was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week and Manns was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Monday after leading the Cyclones to a 3-1 victory at Oklahoma and a 3-0 sweep at Kansas last week. Henson finished the week averaging 5.29 kills, 3.00 digs and 1.29 blocks. She hit .260 while producing 6.29 points per set. Manns recorded a team-high 4.57 digs per set along with 1.14 blocks and also averaged 11.43 assists and 0.29 aces per frame.
• All three of ISU's losses have been against the only three ranked opponents the Cyclones have faced, and all three losses were on the road: a 3-1 loss at No. 13 Minnesota on Sept. 5; a 3-0 loss at No. 2 Texas on Sept. 18; and the 3-0 setback at Baylor on Sept. 23.
• Christy Johnson-Lynch (Nebraska `96) is 92-56 in her fifth season as head coach of the Cyclones. She has led ISU to the NCAA tournament each of the last three seasons, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2007 and a program-best Elite Eight finish in 2008.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
The Aggies begin a three-match home stand when they return to Reed Arena on Saturday Oct. 17 to play host to the Colorado Buffaloes. First serve has been changed to 2 p.m. It will be A&M's "Dig Pink" breast cancer awareness match in conjunction with the Side-Out Foundation, and all donations will go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.