Nov. 6, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
No. 23 Texas A&M (14-7, 7-6 Big 12) and No. 20 Baylor (19-6, 8-6 Big 12) meet in a crucial top 25 showdown Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Reed Arena.
The Aggies, 7-2 in home contests, will hold an autograph session for all fans at courtside immediately following the match. Autograph sheets and pens will be provided. In addition, it will be Class of 2013 Appreciation Night at the match.
Both A&M and Baylor are coming off disappointing losses to unranked opponents on Wednesday, and each team is in critical need of a win to better its chances of a NCAA tournament bid with only three weeks remaining in the regular season. Baylor, which was swept at home by Oklahoma on Wednesday, enters the match in fifth place in the Big 12 Conference standings. The Aggies, who fell at Kansas State in five sets, are only a half game behind the Bears in sixth place and would position themselves ahead of Baylor with a win on Saturday.
The match against the Bears also marks the first of three consecutive Top 25 contests for the Aggies, who host No. 8 Iowa State on Wednesday, Nov. 11 and are at No. 10 Nebraska on Friday, Nov. 13.
Texas A&M entered the week leading the nation in both assists and kills per set and is currently averaging 14.05 assists and 14.81 kills per set. The Aggies also were ranked 23rd in the nation and are second in the Big 12 for hitting percentage with a .260 hitting efficiency for the full season.
Aggie senior setter Kristen Schevikhoven (10.98 assists per set) directs a well-balanced and potent offense that has three players averaging more than 2.9 kills per set, including senior outside hitter Sarah Ammerman, who leads the team and is ranked second in the Big 12 with 4.16 kills and third in the Big 12 with 4.62 points per set. Senior right-side hitter Jennifer Banse, who leads A&M's outside attackers with a .285 hitting efficiency, is second on the team and eighth in the Big 12 with 3.38 kills and 3.81 points per set, and senior outside hitter Mary Batis, who has started every match of her career and is ranked in A&M's top 10 records for career kills, points and digs, is averaging 2.91 kills per set for the full season.
Freshman middle blocker Lindsey Miller also is listed among the league's statistical leaders as her .316 hitting percentage ranks eighth in the Big 12.
Meanwhile, freshman libero Tori Mellinger leads the Aggies with 3.26 digs per set for the full season and anchors the back row defense, which ranks third in the Big 12 with 16.44 digs per set.
SERIES RECORDS
• A&M leads the all-time series against Baylor, 57-10, since 1976, including 21-6 in Big 12 matches only.
• A&M has won the last two meetings against the Bears, and four of the last five.
• A&M is 23-4 against Baylor in matches played in College Station and 24-4 all-time against the Bears in Waco.
• Last year, the teams split the two-match season series, with each team winning on the road. It was the seventh time Baylor and A&M split the Big 12 season series.
• A&M has earned a Big 12 series sweep seven times, while the Bears have yet to complete a sweep against the Aggies.
• In the most recent meeting, A&M notched its second victory against a ranked opponent and handed No. 17 Baylor its first home loss of the year with a 25-18, 31-29, 12-25, 25-23 win on Oct. 10 at the Ferrell Center in Waco. It was A&M's 10th consecutive victory over the Bears in Waco. A&M's Kristen Schevikhoven posted 51 assists.
The Bears got 20 kills from Ashlie Christenson, who hit .375. Anna Breyfogle added 12 kills and a match-high seven blocks for Baylor, which outblocked A&M, 10-2.
AGGIE QUICK HITS
• A&M moved up two spots to No. 23 in this week's AVCA Top 25. It is the fourth straight week the Aggies have been in the top 25. A&M broke into the poll for the first time this season at No. 22 on Oct. 12, marking 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 team's No. 21 ranking on Oct. 19 marked A&M's highest ranking since being ranked No. 20 on Sept. 19, 2005.
• A&M has two wins against Top 25 opponents this season and is 2-3 overall against ranked opponents. In its first match against a ranked opponent, A&M upset No. 6 Nebraska, 3-1, in a nationally televised match at Reed Arena on Sept. 23, snapping a 19-match losing skid against the Huskers. It marked A&M's first win against a top-10 team since defeating No. 9 Texas, 3-1, on Oct. 16, 2004, at G. Rollie White Coliseum in College Station. Furthermore, it was A&M's first victory against a team ranked No. 6 or higher since defeating No. 6 Wisconsin, 3-0, on Dec. 7, 2001, in the NCAA regional semifinals. The other ranked victory this season was at No. 17 Baylor, 3-1, on Oct. 10. A&M is 2-3 overall against Top 25 opponents. Losses were to No. 2 Texas twice and at then- No. 13 Iowa state on Oct. 14.
• The last time A&M defeated two ranked opponents in the same year was 2005 with victories over No. 23 Saint Mary's and No. 24 Colorado. A&M has not tallied three ranked wins in the same season since 2004, when the Aggies went 4-7 against ranked teams.
• A&M leads the Big 12 for fewest aces allowed (0.56) and is second for aces per set (1.30) for the full season. Freshman libero Jennifer Banse leads the Aggies and is ninth in the Big 12 with 0.22 aces per set in conference matches only.
• A&M has three players averaging more than three digs per set for the full season: Sarah Ammerman, 3.19 dps. Mellinger and Ammerman are tied for the team lead with 3.49 dps in Big 12 matches only.
• Add middle blocker to sophomore Kelsey Black's list of positions played. The 5-11 Amarillo, Texas native was the Aggies' designated libero as a freshman. This season, she as backed up both the left and right-side hitters and also come in as a defensive specialist. In the third set against No. 2 Texas on Oct. 28, the versatile Black was inserted as a middle blocker. She finished the match with two kills and a solo block. Black then drew her first start off the season at Kansas as a middle blocker and tied for the team lead with a career-high five blocks. She tied her career high and led the team with five blocks at Kansas State on Wednesday.
• A&M is ranked 22nd in the nation for home attendance, averaging 1,689 per match at Reed Arena. The Aggies set an all-time home attendance record with 3,876 at the Texas match on Oct. 28. It broke the previous record of 3,778 set against Texas on Oct. 24, 2003, at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
• A&M is listed 34th in the most recent NCAA RPI ranking. A&M is 3-3 against teams in the RPI top 30, including wins against Nebraska, Northern Iowa and Baylor, who are 16, 24 and 30, respectively, in the RPI rankings.
• Sarah Ammerman has registered more than 20 kills in each of the last two matches, averaging 4.78 kills while hitting .295 over the last week. The senior had 21 kills and hit .391 at Kansas on Saturday to give her 1,348 kills for her career and move her into eighth place in the A&M records. Ammerman then had an A&M season-high 22 kills in the loss at Kansas State on Wednesday. It was her fourth 20-plus kill performance of the season.
• Mary Batis needs one dig to tie and two digs to pass former All-American Laura Jones, who had 1,233 digs from 2002-2005 and ranks eighth in the A&M career records. Batis also needs 11 kills to tie and 12 kills to pass Elizabeth Edmiston, who ranks ninth in the A&M career records with 1,348 kills from 1989-1992.
• Senior setter Kristen Schevikhoven is seventh in the A&M career records with 2,807 assists.
• Freshman libero Tori Mellinger, who has posted double figures in digs in 13 of the last 16 matches, has taken team-high honors in digs in a team-leading eight matches. Mellinger set a career high and led all players with 24 digs in the 3-1 win at No. 17 Baylor. At the time, her 24 digs equaled the most by any player in the Big 12 in a four-set conference match this season.
• Sarah Ammerman 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 is tied for the team lead with 3.49 digs per set in Big 12 matches only and ranks third on the team with 3.19 digs per set for the full season.
• 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's .460 hitting percentage against Virginia is the second highest by a Big 12 team this season.
• 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 357-165 in her 17th year as head coach of the Aggies and 457-271 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 (.684).
A LOOK AT THE BEARS
• Baylor (19-6, 8-6 Big 12) opened the season winning 17 of its first 18 matches of the season but has gone 2-5 since then to fall to 19-6 overall, including 8-6 in the Big 12.
• The Bears need one more victory to reach the 20-win milestone for the first time since tying a school record with 26 wins in 1999.
• Baylor is 6-3 in away matches for the full season, including 3-3 in away conference matches only.
• Baylor is 2-3 against ranked opponents with wins against No. 24 Purdue (9/5) and No. 11 Iowa State (9/23) both at home. Losses have been to No. 2 Texas (9/16), No. 7 Nebraska (10/14) and No. 9 Iowa State (10/28).
• Senior middle blocker Anne Breyfogle leads the Big 12 in blocks per set (1.38) for the full season and ranks second in conference matches only (1.24). She also is second in the league with a .348 hitting percentage for the full season.
• Senior setter Taylor Barnes leads the league with 0.44 aces per set for the full season and 0.47 aps in Big 12 matches only.
• Barnes was a senior at Arlington Martin High School when A&M's Stephanie Minnerly and Chelsea Ringel were sophomores at Martin in 2005. All three were named to the Texas state all-tournament team after leading the Warriors to the 2005 high school state championship and a 38-7 record, with Barnes collecting MVP honors.
• In Baylor's most recent outing, Katie Sanders led the Bears with 11 kills, but Baylor fell to Oklahoma, 25-22, 25-20, 25-22, in Waco on Wednesday. OU had three players reach double figures in kills, including Francie Ekwerekwu, who had 18 kills and hit .654 as the Sooners outhit the Bears, .311 to .254.
• Baylor was picked to finish fifth in the Big 12 according to a preseason vote of the league coaches. Senior middle blocker Anna Breyfogle and senior setter Taylor Barnes were both named to the preseason All-Big 12 Team after receiving first-team honors at the conclusion of the 2008 season.
• Jim Barnes (McNeese State `94) is 96-87 in his sixth season as head coach of the Bears.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
The Baylor match is the first of three straight Top 25 matches for the Aggies, who host No. 8 Iowa State on Wednesday, Nov. 11 and then travel to Lincoln, Neb., to face the 10th-ranked Cornhuskers on Friday, Nov. 13.