Sept. 17, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M travels to the Sunshine State on Saturday to take on Kansas in the Aggies' first Big 12 Conference road match of the season. First serve against the Jayhawks is slated for 6:30 p.m. at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center in Lawrence.
A&M, which has won the last seven meetings with the Jayhawks, is riding a four-match winning streak -- all sweeps -- and is 7-4 overall and 1-0 in the Big 12 after shocking No. 8 Texas, 25-22, 25-18, 25-23, on Thursday in front of 3,305 at Reed Arena. The victory snapped a 12-match losing skid against the rival Longhorns.
The Jayhawks, who won seven consecutive matches to open the season, are 9-3 overall and 0-1 in the Big 12 after falling to rival Kansas State, 25-15, 25-20, 23-25, 31-29, in Manhattan, Kan., on Wednesday.
A&M QUICK HITS:
• A&M junior outside hitter Kelsey Black has taken team-high honors in kills in all 11 matches this season and is second in the league with 4.16 kills per set. She also leads the Aggies and is ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 with 0.66 aces and 5.17 points per set. In the national stats, Black entered the week ranked seventh in the nation in aces (0.66) per set, 15th in points (5.14) per set and 33rd with 4.14 kills per set.
• Black has already twice tied the A&M all-time record for aces in a match this season for both a three-set match and a five-set match, posting six apiece against both Sam Houston State and Pacific.
• The Aggies no longer have any seniors on the roster as defensive specialist Sarah Grace was granted another of eligibility by the NCAA on Friday and is now officially a junior. Grace, who is in her first season with the Aggies, has played in every match this season, drawing three starts, and has appeared in 33 of 38 sets. She is averaging 1.27 digs per set.
• Freshman setter Allie Sawatzky, who has started every match for the Aggies this season, ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 9.89 assists per set, and sophomore libero Tori Mellinger is listed ninth in the league in both aces (0.31) and digs (3.94) per set.
• A&M is 6-0 this season when winning the first set. The Aggies also are 6-0 when outhitting their opponents.
• A&M is 5-9 when playing its first Big 12 road match of the season. Last year, A&M opened league play with a 3-0 win at Texas Tech, snapping a four-match losing streak in Big 12 road openers.
• Laurie Corbelli, the winningest coach in A&M volleyball history, is 370-173 in her 18th season at the helm of the Aggies and 470-279 in the 25th season of her head coaching career.
A&M-KU SERIES RECORDS:
• A&M leads the all-time series, 25-4, since the teams first met in 1990, including 24-4 in Big 12 matches only and 16-0 in matches played in College Station.
• A&M swept the season series each of the last three years and has won the last seven meetings.
• A&M is 10-4 in matches played in Lawrence, although Kansas has won four of the last seven meetings at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center.
• Kansas' most recent victory was Sept. 20, 2006, in Lawrence as the Jayhawks won a thriller, 28-30, 30-26, 30-28, 29-31, 17-15, at Horejsi.
• Last year, A&M kept KU winless in College Station with a 25-17, 25-22, 25-23 victory at Reed Arena. In the second meeting of the season, the Aggies dropped the first set against the Jayhawks in Lawrence, but came back to win 23-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-15 on Halloween.
MOST RECENT MEETING:
Oct. 31, 2009 - Senior outside hitter Sarah Ammerman had a then-season-high 21 kills to lead No. 25 Texas A&M to a 23-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-15 victory over Kansas on Halloween night at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center. It was the Aggies' seventh consecutive win against the Jayhawks as A&M swept the season series for the third straight season.
Ammerman hit .391 for the match as the Aggies outhit Kansas, .269 to .233. Mary Batis added 12 kills, and Jennifer Banse had 10 kills and a team-leading 15 digs. Kelsey Black drew her first career start at middle blocker and posted a career-high five blocks. Lindsey Miller tied Black for team-high honors in blocks to help lead A&M to a 10.5-5 block advantage over the Jayhawks.
Mayfield led Kansas with 20 kills, and libero Melissa Grieb had a match-high 20 digs.
A&M RECENT RESULTS:
Texas A&M started off Big 12 Conference play with a bang, stunning No. 8 Texas, 25-22, 25-18, 25-23, Thursday at Reed Arena in the year's first edition of the State Farm Lone Star Showdown.
A&M, which had not defeated the Longhorns since Oct. 16, 2004, snapped a 12-match losing skid against the rival Longhorns, who had not even dropped a set to the Aggies since 2008. The win also snapped Texas' streak of 47 consecutive wins against in-state opponents, a streak that began following A&M's 2004 victory.
A crowd of 3,305, the seventh largest home crowd in A&M history, watched as the Aggies defeated a Top-10 team in their conference home opener for the second straight year, having knocked off No. 6 Nebraska last year, 3-1.
Kelsey Black led all players with 13 kills, and Lindsey Miller added nine while hitting .533. She also had a match-high five blocks. Freshman setter Allie Sawatzky had four blocks and 32 assists.
A&M out-hit the Longhorns, .217 to .110, as Texas committed 23 attack errors to A&M's 16.
Chelsea Ringel, who was recognized as the State Farm Lone Star Scholar Athlete before the match, had a match-high 12 digs, and Tori Mellinger added 10 to lead A&M to a 43-35 advantage.
It was the fourth consecutive win and the fourth consecutive sweep for the Aggies.
KANSAS TIDBITS:
• The Jayhawks have limited their opponents to a .145 attack percentage, which ranks third in the Big 12. Nine of the Jayhawks' 12 foes have hit below .200 this season.
• Senior outside hitter Karina Garlington, a preseason all-Big 12 selection, is averaging 3.44 kills per set, which ranks eighth in the Big 12. Junior outside Allison Mayfield also ranks in the top 10, adding 3.05 kills per set. Guiding the offense is freshman setter Kara Wehrs with 9.32 assists per set, but junior Nicole Tate has seen an increased role at setter, averaging 9.38 assists per set over the last three matches.
• Head coach Ray Bechard is one win shy of his 200th career victory at KU, sporting a 199-177 record at the helm of the Jayhawks.
• The Jayhawks start three freshmen: setter Kara Wehrs, libero Brianne Riley and middle blocker Caroline Jarmoc.
• Kansas placed eighth in the Big 12 last year with an 8-12 record. It was the third consecutive eighth-place finish for the Jayhawks, whose highest finish was a tie for fourth in 2003.
UPCOMING:
The Aggies have a mid-week bye next week before returning home to host Texas Tech on Saturday, Sept. 25. First serve against the Red Raiders is 6:30 p.m. at Reed Arena. It will be Ring Day at Reed, and anyone wearing an Aggie Ring will be admitted free.