Dec. 3, 2009
BATTON ROUGE, La. -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Texas A&M (18-10, 11-9 Big 12) returns to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2005 after receiving its 18th overall at-large invitation. The Aggies will take on 19th-ranked Arizona (19-10, 8-10 Pac-10), also making its first return after a three-year absence, in the first round on Friday in Baton Rouge, La. First serve is slated for 5 p.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on the LSU campus.
The winner between A&M and Arizona, an at-large participant from the Pac-10 Conference and making its 22nd overall appearance, will face the winner between host and No. 15-seed LSU and Tulane on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Maravich Center.
The second-round winner advances to the Omaha Regional, to be played Dec. 11-12 at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb.
Live scoring of NCAA matches will be available at NCAA.com.
All-session tickets at LSU are $12 for reserved seating, $10 for adult general admission, $5 for students and senior citizens, and $4 for youth (2-12 years) general admission. They can be purchased online at www.LSUtix.net or by calling 800-960-TKTS. Tickets can also be purchased at the Maravich Center prior to the match.
Single-session tickets are $7 for reserved seating, $6 for adult, $5 for student and senior citizen general admission and $4 for youth general admission. Single-session tickets are not available for purchase until 3:30 p.m. on Friday.
A&M, 12-1 in NCAA opening matches under 17th-year head coach Laurie Corbelli, enters the tournament riding a four-match winning streak, including sweeps against Texas Tech, Colorado and Missouri in each of the last three matches. The Aggies finished conference play with an 11-9 mark and tied with Baylor and Oklahoma for fourth place in the Big 12, which has six teams in the NCAAs.
Arizona, making its 22nd appearance in the NCAA Tournament, finished seventh in the Pac-10, which led all conferences with eight teams selected. The Wildcats went 1-2 in their final three matches, upsetting No. 11 California, 3-1, and falling to No. 9 UCLA, 3-0, and No. 16 USC, 3-1.
LSU (24-6, 18-2 SEC) received an automatic bid and is the No. 15 seed after winning the SEC championship. The Tigers enter the tournament having lost at non-conference foe Rice, 3-0, in the final match of the regular season, snapping LSU's nine-match winning streak.
Tulane (18-9, 12-4 C-USA), which went 1-1 during the regular season against LSU, received its second consecutive at-large bid after advancing to the semifinals of the Conference USA Tournament.
TEXAS A&M TOURNAMENT NOTES
Texas A&M is making its 18 overall appearance (1981, '82, '85, '86, '93, '94, '95, '96, '97, '98,' 99, '00, `01, `02, `03, `04, `05, `09) in the NCAA tournament since the inception of the event in 1981...The Aggies are 20-17 in NCAA tournament matches, including 18-13 (.581) under 17th-year head coach Laurie Corbelli...With Corbelli at the helm, the Aggies are 12-1 in opening matches, including 11-1 in first-round matches -- A&M had a first-round bye in 1995...A&M is 13-3 all-time in first-round matches, including 5-3 in first-round matches played on the road... The Aggies last appeared in the NCAA tournament in 2005, a year before any current players joined the team. A&M was making its 13th consecutive at-large appearance in the NCAA tournament and fell to Northwestern, 30-26, 20-30, 28-30, 30-27, 15-12, in the first round at the Joyce Center on the University of Notre Dame campus. It was the first time A&M lost an opening round match in 13 years with Corbelli as head coach...A&M has never won more than one match on the road in a single NCAA tournament...A&M's best finish in the NCAA tournament were regional final, Elite Eight appearances in 1999 and 2001. Should A&M win its first two rounds this year, the Aggies would advance to the Omaha Regional, to be held at the Qwest Center in Omaha, Neb., on Dec. 11-12...The Aggies are 5-8 against the tournament field this season...The Big 12, ranked the third toughest conference in the national according to RichKern.com, had six teams selected to the tournament field: No. 2 seed Texas, No. 7 seed Iowa State and No. 10 seed Nebraska, who all join Texas A&M in the Omaha Region; Baylor, which will be competing in the Gainesville Region; and Oklahoma, playing in the Stanford Region...Texas earned the Big 12's automatic bid by winning the conference title with a 19-1 record.
NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES
Thirty-one conferences were awarded automatic qualification, and the remaining 33 slots were filled with at-large selections...The Pac-10 Conference led all conferences with eight teams selected. The Big 10 and the Big 12 garnered six teams each...The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and placed within four regions. Penn State is the No. 1 seed and heads up the Gainesville Region. No. 2 Texas was placed in the Omaha Region, No. 3 Florida State is in the Minneapolis Region and No. 4 Stanford is in the Stanford Region...Sixteen first-and second-round matches will be played Dec 3-6 on the campuses of participating institutions...Winners will advance to one of the four predetermined regional tournaments to be played Dec. 11-12...The four regional winners will meet at the Final Four, to be hosted by the University of South Florida and the Tampa Bay Sports Commission at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa Bay, Fla...Two-time defending champion Penn State is aiming to become the first team to win three consecutive national titles...For complete tournament bracket and information, visit the NCAA official Website at www.NCAA.com.
TEAM PROFILES
• Texas A&M enters the tournament ranked second in the nation in both assists (14.18) and kills (15.01) per set and is 26th in the country with 17.05 digs per set. In addition, the Aggies are ranked 40th in the nation with a .246 hitting percentage...The Aggies are led by All-Big 12 first-team members Sarah Ammerman, a senior outside hitter who averages a team-best 4.23 kills and 4.64 points per set, and Jennifer Banse, a senior right side hitter who ranks second on the squad with 3.27 kills and 3.66 points per set...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 3.0 kills and 3.46 points per set and leads the team with 3.36 digs and 0.23 aces per set...Senior setter Kristen Schevikhoven directs A&M's well-balanced and potent offense and is ranked 20th in the nation with 11.25 assists per set...The middle is headed up by Big 12 All-Freshman Team selection Lindsey Miller, who has started every match and leads the team with 0.84 blocks per set, and freshman Alisia Kastmo, who leads the Aggies and is eighth in the Big 12 with a .318 hitting percentage...Freshman libero Tori Mellinger leads the team with 19 double-figure dig performances and is averaging 3.29 digs per set...A&M is 7-6 at away matches and 2-0 at neutral sites this season.
• Arizona (19-10) is making its 22nd NCAA Tournament appearance, and first since 2005 when Arizona reached the regional finals...The Wildcats' best finish in the tournament was 2001 when they reached the Final Four before being eliminated by Long Beach State, 30-27, 30-25, 30-20, in the semifinals...Arizona enters the tournament ranked No. 19 in the AVCA Top 25 Poll, released on Monday...Four players garnered All-Pac-10 honorable mention laurels this season: Whitney Dosty, a 6-3 junior outside hitter who is second on the team with 2.95 kills per set; Jacy Norton, a 6-4 senior middle blocker who leads the Wildcats with 0.97 blocks per set and also leads the team in hitting percentage at .281 with a minimum of 300 attempts; junior 5-11 outside hitter Tiffany Owens, who leads the team in both kills (3.74) and digs (3.16) per set; and 5-11 junior setter Paige Weber, who averages 10.74 assists and 0.28 aces per set...Sophomore middle blocker Courtney Karst and Aggie senior setter Kristen Schevikhoven are both products of Eaglecrest High School in Centennial, Colo...Arizona is 4-7 in away matches and 3-0 at neutral sites...In its final match of the regular season, 19th-ranked Arizona fell to No. 16 USC, 3-1. Owens and Dosty led the Wildcats with 22 and 20 kills, respectively, and Karst added 11. Weber had 59 assists and Alanna Resch led Arizona with 22 digs. Stephanie Snow had a team-leading six blocks...David Rubio (Cal State Northridge `82) is 340-199 in his 18th season as head coach of the Wildcats.
• LSU (24-6) received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and is the No. 15 seed after winning the SEC with an 18-2 record...The Tigers are making their 11th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, including their fifth consecutive appearance...LSU sports an 11-10 all-time record in the NCAAs and has twice advanced to the semifinal match (1990, 1991)...Last year, LSU fell to UCLA, 3-1, in the first round...The Tigers are outhitting their opponents, .265 to .181...Senior 6-3 middle blocker Brittnee Cooper, the 2009 SEC Player of the Year, leads the Tigers and is ranked 13th in the nation with a .390 hitting percentage while averaging 3.44 kills per set. She also is 21st in the nation with 1.32 blocks per set...Senior setter Samantha Dabbs joins Cooper on the All-SEC First Team after averaging 11.23 assists per set. A transfer from Louisville, Dabbs was teammates with Texas A&M's Jennifer Banse at Churchill High School in San Antonio. In addition, Dabbs, Banse and Aggie Mary Batis were all members of the Alamo club team that won the 2003 Junior Olympic 15 Open Division... Senior outside hitter Marina Skender, also a member of the All-SEC First Team, leads the Tigers with 3.50 kills per set after posting double figures in kills in 23 of the last 25 matches...Fran Flory (Texas, 1984), the 2009 SEC Coach of the Year, is 222-138 in her 12th season as head coach of the Tigers. The former Fran Teeter-Ralston was a member of the Longhorns' AIAW national championship team in 1981 and served as an assistant volleyball coach at Texas A&M in 1987 under former Aggie head coach Al Givens.
• Tulane (18-9) is making its second overall and second consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament...Last year in its first-ever appearance, the Green Wave defeated Tennessee Tech, 3-1, in the first round and fell to Western Michigan, 3-2, in the second round...An at-large participant representing Conference USA, Tulane is 1-1 against LSU this season with each team winning on its home court...Tulane is 3-5 against the tournament field, including a loss to Arizona...Sophomore outside hitter Visnja Djurdjevic is the C-USA Co-Player of the Year. She leads the league and is ranked 17th in the nation with 4.91 points per set and is second in the league and 22nd in the country with 4.33 kills per set...Senior setter Rachel Lindelow and senior outside hitter Ksenija Vlaskovic were named to the C-USA second team, and middle blocker Marija Miolsavljevic was named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team...Sinisa Momic is in his first season as head coach of the Green Wave after spending the previous six seasons as an assistant coach.
ALL-TIME SERIES RECORDS
• Texas A&M is a combined 27-15 against Arizona, LSU and Tulane and has a winning record against each of the three teams.
• A&M is 4-3 all-time against Arizona. The teams have not met since Nov. 17, 1990, when A&M defeated the Wildcats, 17-15, 15-12, 12-15, 15-12 in Tucson. The teams have met once in the NCAA Tournament, with Arizona topping A&M, 15-6, 15-8, 15-7, in the first round of the 1982 tournament in Tucson. The series is tied at 2-2 when meeting on a neutral court.
• A&M is 21-12 all-time against LSU, but the Tigers have won the last two meetings, including a nail biting 23-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-17, 20-18 victory in last year's season opener at the Bluejay Invitational in Omaha, Neb. A&M is 5-3 in matches played in Baton Rouge, although LSU has won the last three meetings at home against the Aggies. A&M has not played at the Maravich Center since 1992, when the Aggies fell, 15-4, 15-2, 15-10, under former head coach Al Givens.
• A&M is 2-0 against Tulane. The teams first faced each other in 1981 and have not met since 1987.
AGGIE QUICK HITS
• A&M tied Baylor and Oklahoma for fourth place in the Big 12 Conference with an 11-9 record to equal its best finish and best record in Big 12 play since 2004, when A&M went 14-6 and tied for third place. Last year, A&M tied NCAA regional finalist Iowa State for fourth in the league with an 11-9 record but did not receive and at-large berth to the NCAA tournament.
• Seniors Sarah Ammerman (OH, 6-2) and Jennifer Banse (RS, 6-0) are the first A&M players to be named to the All-Big 12 First Team since Christi Hahn received the honor in 2006. This is the first year A&M has had two selections on the first team since former All-Americans Melissa Munsch and Laura Jones were named to the 2004 squad. Freshman Lindsey Miller (MB, 6-2) is A&M's first representative on the Big 12 All-Freshman Team, which was formed in 2007.
• A&M has three players averaging three or more kills per set and three players averaging more than three digs per set for the full season. Sarah Ammerman leads all players with 4.23 kills per set, and Jennifer Banse and Mary Batis are averaging 3.27 and 3.0 kills per set, respectively. Batis leads the Aggies with 3.36 digs per set. Tori Mellinger is averaging 3.29 digs, and Ammerman is averaging 3.07 digs per set for the full season.
• Sarah Ammerman ranks sixth in the A&M career records with 1,476 career kills. She needs only two kills to move into fifth place. Only five kills separate her from fourth place in the career records. Cheri Steensma, who had 1,477 kills from 1985-88, is currently in fifth place, and former two-time All-American Melissa Munsch, who had 1,479 kills from 2001-04, currently occupies fourth place.
• Sarah Ammerman needs three digs to become the 18th player in A&M history to reach the 1,000-dig career milestone. In addition, Ammerman, who currently has 1,476 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 NCAA tournament averaging 3.07 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 1,584.5, fifth in digs with 1,323 and ninth in kills with 1,396. She needs 22 kills to move into eighth place.
• Senior setter Kristen Schevikhoven, who ranks 20th in the nation with 11.25 assists per set, is sixth in the Aggie career records with 3,067 assists. She needs 32 assists to move into fifth place, surpassing Kari Kelley, who recorded 3,098 assists from 2002-05.
• Freshman libero Tori Mellinger has played in 94 of 97 sets this season and has reached double figures in digs in a team-leading 19 matches and has taken team-high honors in digs in a team-leading 11 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 3.29 digs per set.
• 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.
• Aggie freshmen middle blockers Alisia Kastmo and Lindsey Miller are hitting a combined .309. Kastmo leads the team and is ranked eighth in the Big 12 with a .318 hitting percentage for the full season. Miller, who has started every match and played in a team-leading 95-of-97 sets, ranks ninth in the Big 12 with a .303 hitting percentage for the full season. As a team, A&M is hitting .246, ranking 40th in the nation.
• 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 (0.53) and is second for aces per set (1.186) for the full season. In the final match of the regular season, A&M held league-leader Missouri (1.19 saps) to zero aces. Mary Batis leads the team and ranks ninth in the Big 12 with a 0.23 average 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. 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. She has played in 26 of 28 matches and 68-of-97 sets and is hitting .257 and averaging 1.15 kills, 1.85 digs and 0.34 blocks per set.
• A&M ranks 24th in the nation for home attendance, averaging 1,614 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 finished its first season at Reed with a 9-4 record, including a 3-1 victory over No. 6 Nebraska in an ESPNU nationally televised match.
• Aggie head coach Laurie Corbelli is 361-168 in her 17th year as head coach of the Aggies and 461-274 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.
• A&M has two wins against Top 25 opponents this season and is 2-6 overall against ranked opponents, including 1-4 against top-10 teams. In its first match against a ranked opponent, A&M upset No. 6 Nebraska, 3-1, in College Station. 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.
• 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.