Oct. 15, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas 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' televised football game at Oklahoma, which was changed to a 6 p.m. kick.
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.
Live stats will be available on Cyclones.com. Also follow Aggie Volleyball on Twitter for updates.
The match will be a another showdown between two of the top athletic offensive powers in the Big 12 in A&M's Kelsey Black, who averages a conference-leading 4.90 points per set and is second in the league with 4.09 kills per set, and the Cyclones' Victoria Henson, who leads the Big 12 with 4.25 kills per set and is second with 4.63 points per set for the full season.
The Aggies (9-9, 3-5 Big 12) are coming off a 25-23, 20-25, 25-23, 11-25, 15-9 loss to Missouri on Wednesday at Reed Arena. A&M posted season highs in digs and blocks and led in the Tigers in every positive statistical category but still suffered its fourth consecutive loss and dropped to a three-way tie for seventh place in the Big 12.
Iowa State (12-4, 5-3 Big 12) rebounded after a suffering a 3-1 loss at Kansas last week by defeating Kansas State, 25-20, 25-22, 25-16, Wednesday in Ames. The Cyclones are tied with Oklahoma for second place in the Big 12.
A&M QUICK HITS:
• Sophomore libero Tori Mellinger recorded a career-high 34 digs on Wednesday against Missouri, the most by a Big 12 player this season. Her 34 digs also is the most by an A&M player in the rally-point scoring era -- using both the 30- and 25-point scoring cap -- and ranks fifth all-time in the Aggie record books. It is the most digs by an Aggie since Erin Gibson had 35 against Colorado in 2000 and is only four shy of tying the all-time record of 38 set by Yvonne Van Brandt in 1988 and tied by Stacy Sykora in 1998 using the side-out scoring format. Mellinger has posted double figures in digs in 14 of the last 16 matches. She has posted 20 or more digs five times this season and ranks seventh in the Big 12 with 4.15 digs per set for the full season and is sixth with 4.38 digs per set in Big 12 matches only.
• A&M junior outside hitter Kelsey Black has taken team-high honors in kills in all 18 matches this season. The Big 12 leader in points per set (4.90), Black ranks second in the league with 4.09 kills per set. She also is ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 with 0.45 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.
• Freshman setter Allie Sawatzky, who has started every match for the Aggies this season, ranks fifth in the Big 12 with 9.68 assists per set in all matches. She is eighth in the league with 9.53 assists per set in conference matches only.
• Junior outside hitter Chelsea Ringel has posted double figures in digs in seven of the last nine matches, including five of the last six. The solid all-around contributor set a career high with 21 digs against Missouri.
• A&M is 8-0 this season when winning the first set.
• The match against Missouri was the first time this season the Aggies suffered a loss when outhitting their opponent and the first time to lose this season when hitting .200 or above. A&M entered the Missouri match 8-0 in both instances.
• 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 4-5 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 30 aces in 2010, more than any player has recorded in a full season since Sarah Ammerman had 36 in 2007.
• Sophomore middle blocker Stephanie Minnerly is ranked eighth in the Big 12 with 1.06 blocks per set for the full season. She and sophomore middle blocker Lindsey Miller are tied for ninth in the conference with 1.09 blocks per set in Big 12 matches only. Both Minnerly and Miller are coming off career-high blocking performances with seven and eight total blocks, respectively, against Missouri as the Aggies tallied a season-high 16 team blocks.
• Black, Miller, Sawatzky and Minnerly have started every match this season, and Ringel has started all but one and has played in all 67 sets. Mellinger has been the designated libero in every set.
• Laurie Corbelli, the winningest coach in A&M volleyball history, is 372-178 in her 18th season at the helm of the Aggies and 472-284 in the 25th season of her head coaching career.
A&M-ISU SERIES RECORDS:
• A&M leads ISU, 24-7, since the teams first met in 1981, including 22-6 in Big 12 matches only.
• The Cyclones' six Big 12 wins against the Aggies have occurred over the last eight meetings, including each of the last four matches that have been played in Ames. A&M is 10-4 in matches played in Ames.
• After splitting the season series in 2007 and 2008, with each team winning on its home floor, ISU won both matches played in 2009 without dropping a set.
A LOOK AT IOWA STATE:
• The 13th-ranked Cyclones are 12-4 overall and tied with Oklahoma for second place in the Big 12 standings with a 5-3 mark. They are 8-1 in home matches.
• ISU returns all but one starter from last year's most successful season (27-5 record) in school history, including AVCA All-Americans Victoria Henson and Ashley Mass, who led the Cyclones to the NCAA Sweet 16.
• One of the scheduled returners, junior outside hitter Rachel Hockaday, suffered a season-ending knee injury in ISU's season opener. Hockaday was an All-Big 12 honorable mention selection in 2009 and was named to the league's preseason All-Big 12 team this fall.
• The Cyclones are coming off a 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-16) victory over Kansas State on Wednesday in Ames. Victoria Henson led all players with 15 kills, and Ashley Mass took match-high honors with 18 digs. In addition, Debbie Stadick led all players with seven blocks.
• Henson leads the Big 12 with 4.25 kills per set while hitting .305, good for eighth place in the conference. She is second in the Big 12 with 4.63 points per set for the full season.
• Sophomore setter Alison Landwehr is second in the conference with 11.40 assists per set, and senior libero Ashley Mass is fifth in the league with 4.47 digs per set. In addition, Carly Jenson ranks sixth with 0.28 aces per set.
• ISU is ranked in the top three in the Big 12 for hitting percentage (.274), opponent hitting percentage (.164), assists (13.33), kills (14.07) and digs (15.46) per set for the full season.
• The Cyclones, who placed second in the Big 12 last year, were picked to finish third this year, according to a preseason poll of the league's head coaches.
• Christy Johnson-Lynch (Nebraska `96) is in her sixth season as head coach of the Cyclones. She has led ISU to the NCAA tournament each of the last four seasons, including Sweet 16 appearances in 2007 and 2009 and a program-best Elite Eight finish in 2008.
UPCOMING:
A&M completes the first half of Big 12 play at Oklahoma on Wed., Oct. 20 in Norman, Okla. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at McCasland Field House.