Nov. 27, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Texas A&M (17-10, 10-9 Big 12) plays its final match of the regular season Saturday as the Aggies play host to Missouri (18-13, 9-10 Big 12) in a critical match with possible NCAA postseason implications on the line for both teams.
First serve is slated for 4 p.m. at Reed Arena, and anyone presenting a football ticket from the A&M-Texas Thanksgiving game will be admitted free.
It will be "Senior Day" at Reed, and A&M's six seniors -- Sarah Ammerman, Jennifer Banse, Mary Batis, Dylan Faulkner, Jola Kelner and Kristen Schevikhoven -- will be honored following the match.
Free audio and video of the match will be available at AggieAthletics.com, with Matt Simon calling the action.
A&M is riding a three-match winning streak and is in sixth place in the Big 12 after sweeping Colorado, 25-21, 25-19, 25-15, Wednesday in Boulder. An A&M win against the Tigers would put the Aggies in a three-way tie with Oklahoma and Baylor for fourth place in the final Big 12 standings if Oklahoma (18-10, 11-8 Big 12) loses at No. 8 Iowa State on Saturday night. Baylor (22-9, 11-9) completed its regular season on Wednesday with a 3-1 victory at Missouri.
Missouri, which enters the match having lost its last two matches, is going for only its second-ever series sweep against the Aggies after coming from two sets down to defeat A&M when the teams met earlier this season in Columbia. The Tigers will finish tied with A&M for sixth place with a win against the Aggies. A loss would keep the Tigers in seventh place.
Texas A&M entered the week leading the nation in both assists (14.12) and kills (14.9) per set and was 33rd in the country with 16.82 digs per set. In addition, the Aggies were ranked 39h in the nation and third in the Big 12 with a .247 hitting percentage.
Aggie senior setter Sarah Ammerman, who leads the team and is ranked second in the Big 12 with 4.25 kills and is third in the league with 4.66 points per set. Senior right-side hitter Jennifer Banse, who leads A&M's outside attackers with a .261 hitting efficiency, is second on the team and ninth in the Big 12 with 3.26 kills per set. She also is second on the team and eighth in the Big 12 with 3.66 points per set.
Freshmen middle blocker Alisia Kastmo leads the Aggies and is eighth in the Big 12 with a .313 hitting percentage for the full season. Freshman colleague Lindsey Miller, who has started every match, is hitting .299 and leads the team with 0.85 blocks per set.
The Aggies are third in the Big 12 with 16.98 digs per set for the full season. 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 one of three players averaging more than three digs per set with a team-leading 3.37 norm. Freshman libero Tori Mellinger is averaging 3.23 digs per set, and Ammerman averages 3.04 digs.
A&M-MU SERIES RECORDS
• A&M leads the all-time series, 21-9, including 19-8 in Big 12 matches.
• The Tigers have won only once in 13 trips to College Station. Their one victory at A&M was Sept. 16, 2005. Missouri went on to earn its one and only Big 12 series sweep against the Aggies in 2005.
• Earlier this season, Missouri snapped a three-match losing skid against A&M and evened the series at 7-7 in matches played in Columbia with a come-from-behind 3-2 (21-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-19, 15-13) victory. Julianne Klein and Paola Ampudia led the Tigers with 19 kills apiece and Lei Wang-Francisco had six blocks. Catie Wilson, Weiwen Wang and Rosa Medrano had five blocks apiece to lead the Tigers to an 18-13 advantage in blocks. Sarah Ammerman added 16 kills and a career-high 25 digs in the loss. MU outhit A&M, .122 to .111.
AGGIE QUICK HITS
• With the win against Colorado on Wednesday, the Aggies improved to 17-10 and surpassed their total number of wins from last season, when the Aggies were 16-14. The Aggies need a win against Missouri to equal last year's 11-9 Big 12 mark.
• For the second consecutive week, A&M moved up one spot in the NCAA RPI ranking, the heavily weighted tool that the NCAA Volleyball Committee uses to help determine the 33 teams that will receive an at-large berth into the 64-team NCAA Championships. A&M entered the final week of the regular season listed 40th in the NCAA RPI, released on Monday. A&M is 4-8 against teams in the NCAA Volleyball RPI top 50 and 2-5 against teams in the top 20, including wins against Nebraska and Northern Iowa.
• Sarah Ammerman, who leads the team with 4.25 kills per set this season, had seven kills at Colorado to give her 1,465 for her career and move her into sixth place in the A&M career kill records She surpassed former All-American Sherri Brinkman, who had 1,462 from 1983-86. Ammerman needs only 13 more kills to move into fifth place, and a 17-kill performance will raise her into fourth place in the career standings, passing Cheri Steensma, who had 1,477 kills from 1985-88, and former two-time All-American Melissa Munsch, who had 1,479 kills from 2001-04.
• Sarah Ammerman needs 14 digs to become the 18th player in A&M history to reach the 1,000-dig career milestone. In addition, Ammerman, who currently has 1,465 career kills, will become the 10th player in A&M history to reach the 1,000-career landmark in both digs and kills. Ammerman enters the Missouri match averaging 3.04 digs per set.
• Mary Batis is ranked in the A&M top 10 for career points, kills and digs. She is fourth in points with 1,569, fifth in digs with 1,314 and ninth in kills with 1,382.
• Senior setter Kristen Schevikhoven posted 32 assists in the sweep against Texas Tech on Sunday to give her 2,987 for her career and move her into sixth place in the Aggie career records, surpassing Chris Zogata who had 2,982 from 1983-86. Schevikhoven had 36 assists at Colorado to raise her career total to 3,023 and become only the sixth player in A&M history to pass 3,000 assists in a career.
• Freshman libero Tori Mellinger has played in 91 of 94 sets this season and has reached double figures in digs in a team-leading 18 matches and has taken team-high honors in digs in a team-leading 10 matches. Mellinger set a career high and led all players with 24 digs in the 3-1 win at No. 17 Baylor. She is second on the team with 3.23 digs per set in all matches and 3.38 digs per set in Big 12 matches only.
• Kristen Schevikhoven career-high 27 digs in A&M's 3-1 victory at Oklahoma on Nov. 18 marks the most digs in a match by an A&M player since former libero Holly Clay had 28 in a five-set match at Texas Tech on Oct. 22, 2005, when the 30-point scoring system was in effect. The last time an A&M player recorded 27 or more digs in a four-set match was Oct. 22, 2001, when Michelle Cole tallied 32 against Kansas State. Schevikhoven's 27 digs equals the second most digs in a four-set match amongst all players in the Big 12 this season.
• A&M's six seniors have accounted for 70.7 percent of the Aggies' 1,401 kills this season and have scored 67.9 percent of A&M's 1,673.5 points.
• Aggie freshmen middle blockers Alisia Kastmo and Lindsey Miller are hitting a combined .305. Kastmo leads the team and is ranked eighth in the Big 12 with a .313 hitting percentage for the full season. Miller, who has started every match and played in a team-leading 92-of-94 sets, leads the Aggies with 0.85 blocks per set.
• 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 is the second highest hitting percentage by a Big 12 team this season. In addition, A&M's .460 hitting percentage against Virginia is the third highest by a Big 12 team this season.
• A&M leads the Big 12 for fewest aces allowed (0.54) and is second for aces per set (1.18) for the full season. Mary Batis leads the team with a 0.23 average in all matches and in Big 12 matches only. In addition, her 0.23 average ranks ninth in the Big 12 in conference matches only and 10th in the Big 12 for the full season.
• 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 has 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 of the season at Kansas as a middle blocker and tied for the team lead with a career-high five blocks. Black has started four matches this season, all at middle blocker.
• A&M has three players averaging more than three digs per set for the full season: Sarah Ammerman, 3.04 dps. Batis leads the team with 3.44 dps in Big 12 matches only.
• A&M is ranked 25th in the nation for home attendance, averaging 1,642 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.
• 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, were 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 were 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 360-168 in her 17th year as head coach of the Aggies and 460-274 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 (.682).
• Texas A&M spent four consecutive weeks ranked in the AVCA 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. The Aggies dropped out on Nov. 9 but are still receiving votes and are listed for 34th.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS
• The Tigers are 18-13 and in seventh place in the Big 12 standings at 9-10. A Missouri victory at A&M would move the Tigers into a sixth place tie with the Aggies.
• Missouri, 4-6 in road matches, entered the week listed 58th in the NCAA RPI rankings.
• The Tigers lead the Big 12 with 1.22 aces per set, while A&M leads the league for fewest sets allowed per set with a 0.54 average.
• Junior outside hitter Paola Ampudia was named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week for the fourth time this season on Monday for her play last week. The transfer from Miami Dade College, who was voted the Preseason Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, earned the honor after averaging 5.33 kills, 1.17 blocks and 3.0 digs per set in a sweep against Texas Tech and a 3-0 loss to No. 8 Iowa State.
• Ampudia is Missouri's go-to player and ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 3.76 kills and 4.26 points per set for the full season. In the loss to Baylor on Wednesday, Ampudia was the only MU player to reach double figures in kills with 19 in 53 attempts, more than twice the number of swings than the second leading attacker, Julianna Klein, who had nine kills in 21 attempts. Klein, who tied Ampudia with 19 kills in the Tigers' victory against A&M, is averaging 3.04 kills per set for the full season.
• Junior libero Caitlyn Vann is sixth in the Big 12 with 4.35 digs per set and fourth in aces with a 0.29 average.
• Last year, the Tigers finished in a three-way tie for eighth place in the Big 12 with a 7-14 record. MU was picked to finish eighth this season, according to a preseason vote of the Big 12 coaches.
• In their most recent outing, the Tigers suffered their second consecutive loss in a 16-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-19 setback against Baylor. Baylor outhit the Tigers, .255 to .176.
• Wayne Kreklow (Drake `80) is 91-61 in his fifth season as head coach of the Tigers.
NCAA SELECTION SHOW AIRS SUNDAY ON ESPNews
Texas A&M, aiming to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2005, will learn its postseason fate Sunday when the NCAA Selection Show airs on ESPNews between 2-2:30 p.m. (CST). Thirty-three at-large teams will be selected and to join 31 automatic qualifiers in the 64-team tournament field.