Oct. 8, 2010
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Texas A&M (9-7, 3-3 Big 12) makes its last Big 12 trip to Lincoln, Neb., on Saturday to face the third-ranked and conference-leading Nebraska Cornhuskers (15-1, 7-0 Big 12). First serve against the Huskers, who will be members of the Big Ten Conference beginning next year, is slated for 7 p.m. at Nebraska Coliseum.
The match will be televised live in Nebraska on NET. Live stats will be available at AggieAthletics.com.
A&M, which ended a 19-match losing streak against Nebraska last year with a 3-1 victory in College Station, has gone 2-3 since sweeping No. 8 Texas on Sept. 16 at Reed Arena. The Aggies, who have no seniors on their youth-laden roster, are coming off disappointing home losses to both Kansas State and Baylor and are in fifth place in the Big 12 standings.
Nebraska, which has never lost to A&M in 17 meetings in Lincoln and is 6-0 in home matches this season, remained undefeated in Big 12 play and improved its overall winning streak to 14 with a 3-0 victory at Missouri on Wednesday.
A&M QUICK HITS:
• A&M junior outside hitter Kelsey Black has taken team-high honors in kills in all 16 matches this season -- including a career-high 28 against Baylor on Wednesday -- and leads the Big 12 with 4.10 kills per set. She also is ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 with 0.46 aces and 4.90 points per set.
• Black entered the week ranked 25th in the nation in aces per set, 26th in points per set and 41st in kills per set.
• Black's 28 kills and 31 points against Baylor on Wednesday are the most by a Big 12 player in all matches played this season.
• Sophomore libero Tori Mellinger has posted double figures in digs in each of the last seven matches and 13 of the last 14. She is coming off a career-high 26-dig performance against Baylor on Wednesday and is listed eighth in the Big 12 with 3.98 digs per set for the full season. She has posted 20 or more digs four times this season.
• Freshman setter Allie Sawatzky, who has started every match for the Aggies this season, ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 9.67 assists per set in all matches. She is sixth in the league with 9.46 assists per set in conference matches only.
• Junior outside hitter Chelsea Ringel has posted double figures in digs in six of the last seven matches, including each of the last four. The solid all-around contributor tied her personal best with 18 in a three-set loss to Kansas State on Oct. 2.
• A&M is 8-0 this season when winning the first set. The Aggies also are 8-0 when outhitting their opponents and 8-0 when hitting .200 or above.
• A&M entered the week ranked 22nd in the nation in home attendance, averaging 1,714 per match in seven home contests. The Aggies, who are currently 4-4 in home matches this season, had a season-high 3,305 in attendance to cheer them on to a 3-0 victory against No. 8 Texas on Sept. 16.
• 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.
• Sophomore 6-2 middle blocker Lindsey Miller is ranked 10th in the Big 12 with 1.04 blocks per set in league matches only.
• Black, Miller, Sawatzky and sophomore middle blocker Stephanie Minnerly have started every match this season, and Ringel has started all but one and has played in all 59 sets. Mellinger has been the designated libero in every set.
• Aggie associate head coach John Corbelli was an assistant coach at Nebraska under former Husker head coach Terry Pettit in 1981 and helped direct the Cornhuskers to a Big Eight championship title.
• Laurie Corbelli, the winningest coach in A&M volleyball history, is 372-176 in her 18th season at the helm of the Aggies and 472-282 in the 25th season of her head coaching career.
A&M-NEBRASKA SERIES RECORDS:
• Nebraska leads the all-time series, 30-7, including 17-0 in matches played in Lincoln.
• A&M snapped a 19-match losing skid against Nebraska last season, defeating the sixth-ranked Huskers, 3-1 (28-26, 17-25, 25-19, 25-19) on Sept. 23 in an ESPNU nationally match from Reed Arena in College Station, Texas.
• The Huskers are 25-3 against A&M in Big 12 matches only. All three of A&M's wins have been in College Station.
• A&M's other two Big 12 wins against the Huskers came in 1998 and 1999, both five-set victories at G. Rollie White Coliseum in College Station.
• Nebraska has swept the Aggies in the last six meetings in Lincoln. A&M has not taken a set off the home-dominating Huskers at Nebraska Coliseum since 2003, when the Aggies fell to the Huskers in five sets.
• In the first meeting last season, Sarah Ammerman had 18 kills and Mary Batis added 14 to lead A&M to a stunning 28-26, 17-25, 25-19, 25-19 victory over No. 6 Nebraska on Sept. 23 at Reed Arena in a match that was nationally televised on ESPNU. A&M fought off three set points in the first frame to win the set.
Nebraska outhit A&M, .343 to .057 to take the second set, but the Aggies hit .333 in each of the next two sets. Although Nebraska outhit A&M, .253 to .236 and led in kills, 63-54, and blocks 8.5 to 7 for the match, the Aggies held the Huskers to a .238 hitting percentage in the third and .211 in the fourth.
A&M's Tori Mellinger led the all players with a then-career-high 21 digs, and Batis and Ammerman added 15 and 14 digs, respectively. Freshmen Alisia Kastmo and Lindsey Miller had seven kills apiece, and Miller led the Aggies with five blocks. Tara Mueller led Nebraska with 21 kills, and Lindsey Licht added 13. Kayla Banwarth led the Huskers in digs with 20, and Kori Cooper finished with five blocks. The Huskers, however, committed 11 service errors to A&M's two.
Nebraska earned a split in the series and kept A&M winless in Lincoln with a 29-27, 25-17, 25-15 victory at Nebraska Coliseum on Nov. 13. The Aggies gave No. 9 Nebraska all it could handle in the first set, as the teams had 19 ties and seven lead changes, and neither team gained more than a two-point lead throughout the stanza. A&M fought off three set points and Nebraska fought off one before the Huskers pulled out the 29-27 win.
The Huskers, who narrowly outhit A&M, .265 to .227 in the first set, eliminated any upset bid by the Aggies for the remainder of the match, hitting above .450 in each of the next two sets while holding the Aggies to a combined .217 to complete the sweep.
Ammerman led the Aggies with 13 kills, and Jennifer Banse added 12 kills while hitting at a .409 clip. Mellinger led A&M in digs with 13, and Banse completed a double-double as she pitched in 10 digs. Kristen Schevikhoven posted 35 assists.
Cooper had 13 kills while hitting .765, and Licht also had 13 kills with a .619 efficiency to lead the Huskers to a .372 to .221 hitting percentage advantage. Brooke Delano finished with 12 kills and had a match-high five blocks as the Huskers outblocked A&M, 8-3.
A LOOK AT NEBRASKA:
• No. 3-ranked Nebraska is 15-1 overall and atop the Big 12 standings with a 7-0 league mark. Their only blemish was a 3-2 setback to then-No. 13 and currently second-ranked Florida in the second match of the season.
• The Huskers are coming off a 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 25-16) victory at Missouri on Wednesday. Junior 6-4 middle blocker Brooke Delano led the Huskers with 14 kills and zero errors in 16 attempts for a blistering .875 hitting percentage. She also had six blocks as Nebraska outhit Mizzou, .326 to .094.
• Delano, who was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, leads the Big 12 with a .446 hitting percentage and 1.48 blocks per set for the full season. On Sept. 29, she had 10 blocks at Oklahoma, the most blocks by an individual in a Big 12 match this season.
• Nebraska entered the week ranked second in the nation with 3.16 blocks per set and third with 14.87 kills per set. In addition, the Huskers were ranked fourth with 13.91 assists per set. Individually, Delano was eighth in both blocks and hitting percentage.
• The Huskers return three AVCA All-Americans -- senior setter Sydney Anderson, senior outside hitter Tara Mueller, and junior middle blocker Brooke Delano -- from last year's team that reached the NCAA regional finals. In addition to Anderson and Delano, senior libero Kayla Banwarth and sophomore outside hitter Hannah Werth were named to the 2010 Preseason All-Big 12 Team.
• Nebraska was picked to finish first in the Big 12, according to a preseason vote of the league coaches. The Huskers have won or tied for the Big 12 championship 11 of 14 seasons.
• John Cook (San Diego `79) is 483-100 in his 18th season as a head coach, including 322-27 in his 11th season at the helm of the Huskers.
UPCOMING:
A&M hosts Missouri on Wed., Oct. 13 at Reed Arena. Match time is 6:30 p.m. It is Aggies CAN night, and anyone donating a canned food item will be admitted free. It also is A&M's annual "Dig for the Cure" match for breast cancer awareness.
AGGIE NOTABLES:
• A&M-OU match on ESPNU: Texas A&M's volleyball match against Oklahoma on Nov. 3 at Reed Arena will be televised by ESPNU. The start time of the A&M-OU match has been changed to 8 p.m.
• Virtual Guide, Fact Book available online: The 2010 Texas A&M Volleyball Virtual Guide and the 2010 Texas A&M Volleyball Fact Book are available on the A&M volleyball website at AggieAthletics.com. Entertaining videos, colorful photos, informative player and coach bios, history of both the Aggie volleyball program and Texas A&M and much more are presented.
• Aggies on the Internet: Free video streaming of all A&M home matches, with the exception of televised matches, will be available at AggieAthletics.com. In addition, audio broadcasts of home and select away matches are slated with Ryne Hillenberg providing the play-by-play. Also home broadcasts can be heard on 95.1-3 on the FM dial of an HD Radio.
• Follow the Aggies on Twitter: Not following Aggie Volleyball on Twitter? Sign up or sign in now to find out what's happening. You will stay up-to-date on the latest news and receive live in-game updates of each and every match.