Oct. 16, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
No. 22 Texas A&M (12-4, 5-3 Big 12) begins a three-match home stand Saturday as the Aggies play host to the Colorado Buffaloes (6-11, 1-7 Big 12) at Reed Arena. First serve has been changed to 2 p.m.
The match will be A&M's "Dig Pink" breast cancer awareness event in conjunction with the Side-Out Foundation. Two Aggie moms of current players will receive special recognition for their personal and courageous battles against the disease. All donations will go to the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
Free live stats and video of the match will be available at AggieAthletics.com.
The Aggies, 6-0 in matches played at Reed Arena, are coming off a two-match road swing in which they defeated No. 17 Baylor, 3-1 (25-18, 31-29, 12-25, 25-23) Saturday in Waco and then fell to No. 13 Iowa State, 3-0 (26-24, 25-21, 26-24) Wednesday in Ames. The loss to the Cyclones ended a three-match winning streak by the Aggies.
Colorado picked up its first Big 12 victory of the season and snapped a seven-match losing skid with a 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-19, 25-17) win against last-place Texas Tech Wednesday in Boulder.
Texas A&M, which entered the week leading the nation in assists average and ranked second in the nation in kills per set, still leads the Big 12 with 14.2 assists and 15.02 kills per set. The Aggies also lead the league with 1.41 aces per set and are ranked second in the league with a .272 hitting percentage for the full season.
Aggie senior setter Kristen Schevikhoven, second in the Big 12 with 11.58 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 4.06 kills and 4.52 points per set. Senior right-side hitter Jennifer Banse is second on the team and fifth in the Big 12 with 3.40 kills per set and also ranks second on the team and sixth in the league with 3.78 points per set, and senior outside hitter Mary Batis is averaging 3.16 kills per set for the full season.
Meanwhile, freshman libero Tori Mellinger anchors the back row defense and has posted double figures in digs in 10 of the last 11 matches. The Lake Highlands High School product leads the Aggies and is ranked seventh in the Big 12 with 4.36 digs per set in league contests only. She and Batis are also listed in the top 10 in the Big 12 for ace average with 0.25 and 0.27, respectively, in Big 12 matches only.
A&M-COLORADO SERIES RECORDS
• A&M leads the all-time series, 18-9, since the teams first met in 1994, including 10-3 in matches played in College Station and 17-9 in Big 12 matches only.
• A&M has won three of the last four meetings against the Buffs.
• The teams split the season series last year with each team winning on its home court.
• Colorado's most recent victory in College Station was Oct. 25, 2006, as the Buffs upended A&M, 3-2.
• Ten of the last 21 meetings have been decided in five-sets.
• Last year in Boulder, Colorado ended a two-match losing skid to the Aggies as the Buffs overcame a two-set deficit after Aggie starting setter Kristen Schevikhoven went down with a severe ankle injury early in the third set to defeat A&M, 16-25, 23-25, 25-22, 25-20, 15-9, at the Coors Events Center on Sept. 27. Sarah Ammerman and Jennifer Banse also reached double figures in digs with 13 and 11, respectively. Alex Buth led the Buffs with 26 kills while hitting at a .429 clip. She also tied for match-high honors with 17 digs. Emilee Sisco added 20 kills for the Buffs. The overall team stats were relatively close for the match, with A&M leading in points, 80-76, and blocks, 13-5. Colorado outhit A&M, .249 to .236 and led in kills, 70-66, assists, 68-56, and digs, 57-54.
In College Station, the Aggie celebrated "Senior Night" with a convincing 25-20, 25-11, 25-21 victory over Colorado at G. Rollie White Coliseum on Nov. 22. The Aggies hit a season-high .402 for the match while holding the Buffaloes to a .162 hitting efficiency. Ammerman paced the Aggies with 14 kills and a personal season-high .545 hitting percentage. Batis added 11 kills. Donaldson had seven kills and no errors in 11 attempts for a .636 efficiency, and Schevikhoven had a match-high 10 digs and also dished out 41 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 entered the week leading the nation with 14.25 assists per set and ranked second in the country with 15.06 kills per set and 10th with a .276 hitting percentage. Since the loss at Iowa State, A&M is averaging 14.20 assists and 15.02 kills per set and is hitting .272.
• The Iowa State match was the first time A&M had not led or tied its opponent in aces this year as the Cyclones edged the Aggies, 2-1, in that category. A&M still averages a league-leading 1.41 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. Individually, freshman Tori Mellinger is ranked ninth in the Big 12 with a 0.25 ace average for the full season.
• A&M has three players averaging more than three kills per set for the full season: Sarah Ammerman, 4.06 kps; Jennifer Banse, 3.40 kps; and Mary Batis, 3.16 kps. In addition, three players are averaging more than three digs per set: Tori Mellinger, 3.65 dps; Batis, 3.41 dps; and Ammerman, 3.14 dps.
• Senior right-side hitter Jennifer Banse has had the hot hand over the last three matches, hitting .407 while averaging 4.10 kills and 4.50 points per set. Against No. 13 Iowa State, the San Antonio native hit .611 with a team-leading 13 kills in three sets. Banse has posted double figures in kills in each of the last three matches and in seven matches overall this season.
• Freshman libero Tori Mellinger, who has posted double figures in digs in 10 of the last 11 matches --- including each of the last four -- has taken team-high honors in digs in each of the last three matches and is averaging 4.90 digs per set during that stretch. 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.
• With her 20-kill, 20-point performance at Baylor, Ammerman narrowly passed Batis in the A&M career records in both categories. Including the Iowa State match, Ammerman is now ranked third for career points with 1460 and Batis is fourth with 1449.5. In addition, Ammerman has 1,286 kills, ranking ninth in the A&M career records. Batis is 10th with 1,281 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).
• Freshmen middle blockers Lindsey Miller and Alisia Kastmo have played in every match this season and are hitting a combined .325 for thee season. Miller has started all 16 matches and is second among the starters with a .317 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 leads the starters and is ranked eighth in the Big 12 with a .333 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 3.14 digs per set for the full season and a 3.61 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.
• A&M is now 2-2 against Top 25 opponents with wins against No. 6 Nebraska and at No. 17 Baylor. Losses were at No. 2 Texas and at No. 13 Iowa State. The Aggies 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 355-162 in her 17th year as head coach of the Aggies and 455-268 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).
SCOUTING THE BUFFALOES
• Colorado, 6-11 overall, is 1-7 in Big 12 matches and in 10th place in the league standings.
• The Buffaloes are coming off a 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-19, 25-17) victory over Texas Tech, which dropped to 0-7 in conference play. CU, which outhit Tech .209 to .118, was led by Rosie Steinhaus and Kerra Schroeder, who had 16 and 15 kills, respectively.
• Colorado is 1-6 in away matches and 0-6 against ranked opponents.
• Sophomore outside hitter Becah Fogle, who hails from Leander, Texas (Vista Ridge H.S.), leads the Buffs and is ranked seventh in the Big 12 with 3.30 kills per set.
• The Buffs were picked to finish 10th in the Big 12 according to a preseason vote of the league coaches.
• Liz Kritza (Tulane `00) is in her first season as head coach at Colorado. Previously she served four seasons as head coach at Tulane and led the Green Wave to a 76-39 record. She was in her first season at Tulane in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina struck and forced the Green Wave to relocate to Texas A&M and play their home matches at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE The Colorado match marks the start of a three-match home stand for the Aggies. A&M hosts Oklahoma on Wednesday, Oct. 21, for Faculty Appreciation Night. First serve is at 6:30 p.m. at Reed Arena. The match concludes the first half of the Big 12 Conference schedule. The Aggies then have a week off before returning to Reed for a nationally televised match against No. 2 Texas. The match begins at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast live by ESPNU.