Oct. 12, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M returns home Wednesday to play host to the Missouri Tigers at Reed Arena. Match time is 6:30 p.m.
It is "Aggies CAN" night, and anyone donating a non-perishable food item will be admitted free. It also is A&M's annual "Dig Pink" match for breast cancer awareness, and fans are encouraged to wear pink.
Free live audio, with Ryne and Lara Hillenberg calling the action, as well as free live video and stats will be available at AggieAthletics.com.
The A&M-Missouri match will be a showdown between two of the top offensive powers in the Big 12 in A&M's Kelsey Black, who averages 4.10 kills per set and a conference-leading 4.88 points per set, and Missouri's Paola Ampudia, who is tied with Black for second in the league with 4.10 kills per set and averages 4.65 points per set for the full season.
In addition, the match will showcase the top two freshmen setters in the conference. The Tigers' Molly Kreklow leads the league and is 10th in the nation with 11.77 assists per set, while Aggie rookie Allie Sawatzky averages 9.65 assists per set.
A&M and Missouri are both coming off consecutive losses and are looking to get back into the win column after losing three of their last four matches overall.
A&M is 9-8, including 3-4 in Big 12 matches only, after falling to No. 3 Nebraska, 25-21, 25-12, 27-25, Saturday in Lincoln. It was the Aggies' third consecutive loss and dropped A&M into a four-way tie for fifth place in the Big 12.
Missouri, 11-7 overall and in ninth place in the Big 12 with a 3-5 league mark, also is looking to get back into the win column after losing its last two matches and three of its last four. Most recently, the Tigers fell to Oklahoma, 25-19, 27-29, 25-19, 32-30, Saturday in Norman.
A&M QUICK HITS:
• A&M junior outside hitter Kelsey Black has taken team-high honors in kills in all 17 matches this season, including a career-high 28 against Baylor on Oct. 6. She leads all players in the Big 12 with 4.88 points per set and is tied for second in the league with 4.10 kills per set. She also is ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 with 0.44 aces per set.
• Black entered the week ranked 24th in the nation in points per set, 32nd in kills per set and 32nd in aces per set.
• Black's 28 kills and 31 points against Baylor on Wednesday are the most by a Big 12 player in a five-set match this season.
• Sophomore libero Tori Mellinger has posted double figures in digs in 13 of the last 15 matches. Her career-high 26 digs against Baylor on Oct. 6 is the most by a Big 12 player in a five-set conference match this season. She has posted 20 or more digs four times this season and ranks eighth in the Big 12 with 3.94 digs per set for the full season and is 10th with 3.93 digs per set in Big 12 matches only.
• Freshman setter Allie Sawatzky, who has started every match for the Aggies this season, ranks fourth in the Big 12 with 9.65 assists per set in all matches. She is seventh in the league with 9.44 assists per set in conference matches only.
• Junior outside hitter Chelsea Ringel has posted double figures in digs in six of the last eight matches, including four of the last five. The solid all-around contributor tied her personal best with 18 digs 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 1,650 per match in eight 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. She already has 27 aces in 2010, more than any player has recorded in a full season since Sarah Ammerman had 36 in 2007.
• Sophomore 6-2 middle blocker Stephanie Minnerly is ranked ninth in the Big 12 with 1.03 blocks per set for the full season.
• 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 62 sets. Mellinger has been the designated libero in every set.
• Laurie Corbelli, the winningest coach in A&M volleyball history, is 372-177 in her 18th season at the helm of the Aggies and 472-283 in the 25th season of her head coaching career.
A&M-MU SERIES RECORDS:
• A&M leads the all-time series, 22-9, including 20-8 in Big 12 matches.
• The Tigers have won only once in 14 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.
• Last year, 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. The teams met again in the regular season finale, and in a match with possible NCAA implications on the line for both teams, A&M earned a series split with a 25-18, 29-27, 25-20 victory on Senior Day, Nov. 28, 2009, at Reed Arena. Missouri's Paola Ampudia led all players with 26 kills while hitting at a .295 clip, but she was the only Missouri player to reach double figures. Sarah Ammerman and Jennifer Banse finished with 11 kills apiece. Kristen Schevikhoven dished out 44 assists and directed A&M to a .307 to .266 hitting percentage advantage for the match. Tori Mellinger led the Aggies with 15 digs, and Ammerman completed a double-double with 11 digs.
A LOOK AT MISSOURI:
• The Tigers are 11-7 overall and in ninth place in the Big 12 standings with a 3-5 mark. They are 3-3 in away matches.
• Missouri has lost its last two matches and three of its last four.
• The Tigers are coming off a 3-1 (25-19, 27-29, 25-19, 32-30) loss at Oklahoma on Saturday. Senior 6-1 outside hitter Paola Ampudia had 29 kills, the most by a Big 12 player this season, passing A&M's Kelsey Black, who had 28 against Baylor on Oct. 6 in College Station. The Tigers set season highs in attacks (184), total blocks (13.0), block assists (20) and digs (74) but also committed 36 attack errors for a .125 hitting efficiency.
• Paola Ampudia leads the Big 12 with 4.38 kills per set in conference matches only. She is tied with Black for second with 4.10 kills per set for the full season.
• Freshman setter Molly Kreklow, the niece of Missouri head coach Wayne Kreklow, leads the Big 12 and is ranked 10th in the nation with 11.77 assists per set.
• Missouri leads the Big 12 with 1.21 aces per set in conference matches only. Both senior libero Caitlyn Vann and senior outside hitter Julianna Klein are tied for first in the league with 0.34 aces per set in Big 12 matches only.
• The Tigers, who placed seventh in the Big 12 last year, were picked to finish fifth this year, according to a preseason poll of the league's head coaches. Senior outside hitter Paola Ampudia, the 2009 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, was named to the 2010 Preseason All-Big 12 Team, and setter Molly Kreklow was tabbed the 2010 Preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year.
• Wayne Kreklow (Drake `80) is 102-69 in his sixth season as head coach of the Tigers.
UPCOMING:
A&M heads to Ames, Iowa, on Saturday to take on 13th-ranked Iowa State. Match time, originally slated for 6:30 p.m., has been changed to 3 p.m. to avoid a scheduling conflict with the Cyclones' football game at Oklahoma, which was changed to a 6 p.m. kick so that it can be televised by FSN. The volleyball match will be played at Ames High School, because Hilton Coliseum is still undergoing repairs after suffering substantial flood damage in August. The Aggies will be looking for their first victory in Ames since 2005.