Oct. 26, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M returns to the road to take on Texas Tech Wednesday in Lubbock. First serve is at 6:30 p.m. at the United Spirit Arena.
The Aggies (10-11, 4-7 Big 12), who have won the last seven meetings against the Red Raiders, are tied with Kansas for seventh place in the conference standings after sweeping Colorado, 25-15, 25-18, 25-12, on Saturday at Reed Arena.
Texas Tech (3-17, 1-10 Big 12) is last in the Big 12 and mired in a five-match losing skid after falling to Oklahoma, 25-20, 25-13, 28-26, Saturday in Lubbock. The Red Raiders will be playing their first match under the direction of Caldwell, Texas, native Beth (Karasek) Falls, who was named interim head coach on Monday following the immediate resignation of head coach Trish Knight.
A&M QUICK HITS:
• Freshman setter Allie Sawatzky was named the Big 12 Rookie of the Week for the second time in her career on Monday after pacing the Aggies with 10.38 assists and 1.75 kills per set while hitting .500 for the week as A&M went 1-1. The 6-2 lefty has started every match for the Aggies this season and ranks fifth in the Big 12 with 9.66 assists per set in all matches. She is eighth in the league with 9.55 assists per set in conference matches only.
• Junior outside hitter Kelsey Black has taken team-high honors in kills in all 21 matches this season. She leads the Big 12 with 4.82 points and 0.43 aces and is third in the league with 4.06 kills per set for the full season.
• Black entered the week ranked 22nd in the nation in points per set, 36th in aces per set and 36th in kills per set.
• A&M is 9-0 this season when winning the first set.
• A&M entered the week ranked 23rd in the nation in home attendance, averaging 1,568 per match in 10 home contests. The Aggies, who are currently 5-5 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.
• A&M has played in seven five-set matches this season. The record for most five-set matches in a season is nine set in 1988 and tied in 2005. The Aggies have played eight five-set matches in a single season three times, most recently in 2008.
• Sophomore middle blocker Lindsey Miller hit .611 with 12 kills and only one error in 18 attempts in the sweep against Colorado on Saturday. The .611 hitting percentage is the highest by an A&M player this season when posting a minimum of 10 kills.
• Aggie libero Tori Mellinger recorded a career-high 34 digs against Missouri on Oct. 13, the most digs 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 17 of the last 19 matches. She has posted 20 or more digs five times this season and ranks seventh in the Big 12 with 4.18 digs per set in Big 12 matches only and eighth with 4.08 digs per set for the full season.
• Junior transfer utility player Elise Hendrickson has started four of the last five matches as the right-side hitter and played in every set over the last five matches. She has tallied double-figures in kills in two of the last four matches and also tied her career high with 13 digs against Colorado on Saturday.
• Black has 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 34 aces in 2010, more than any player has recorded in a full season since Sarah Ammerman had 36 in 2007.
• Black's 20 digs against Colorado on Saturday is the most by an A&M player in a three-set match since the 25-point scoring system was instituted in 2008.
• Sophomore middle blocker Stephanie Minnerly is ranked eighth in the Big 12 with 1.08 blocks per set for the full season and eighth in the league with 1.11 blocks per set in conference matches only. A&M has led its opponent in blocks in each of the last four matches, with Minnerly averaging 1.24 and blocks per set in those matches.
• Black, Sawatzky, Minnerly and Lindsey Miller have started every match this season, and Chelsea Ringel has started all but one and has played in all 79 sets. Mellinger has been the designated libero in every set.
• Laurie Corbelli, the winningest coach in A&M volleyball history, is 373-180 in her 18th season at the helm of the Aggies and 473-286 in the 25th season of her head coaching career.
A&M-TEXAS TECH SERIES RECORDS
• A&M is 51-26 against Texas Tech since 1976, including 22-7 in Big 12 matches only.
• A&M is 19-12 against the Red Raiders in matches played in Lubbock and 25-8 in matches played in College Station.
• The Aggies have won the last seven meetings and have won 19 consecutive sets against the Red Raiders.
• A&M has swept the season series eight times since Big 12 play began in 1996, including each of the last three seasons. The teams have split the Big 12 season series five times.
• Texas Tech's most recent win against the Aggies was a 30-25, 30-23, 30-27 victory on Nov. 18, 2006, at United Spirit Arena, completing Tech's first and only Big 12 season sweep against A&M.
• In the most recent meeting, A&M hit .270 with 46 kills, 38 assists, three aces 50 digs and four blocks. Tech hit .136 with 31 kills, 28 assists one ace, 39 digs and five blocks. A&M's Kelsey Black led all players with 13 kills. Aggie libero Tori Mellinger took match-high honors in digs with 13, and Chelsea Ringel finished with eight kills and 11 digs to help A&M post its seventh consecutive victory against the Red Raiders. Amanda Dowdy had nine kills for Tech.
TEXAS TECH NOTES:
• Junior outside hitter Amanda Dowdy, a preseason all-Big 12 selection, is ranked second in the Big 12 with 4.42 kills and 4.79 points per set in conference matches only.
• Senior libero Jackie Vincent is 10th in the Big 12 with 3.79 digs per set in conference play, and junior setter Karlyn Meyers is seventh in the league with 9.65 assists per set in Big 12 play.
• Tech's lone conference win was against Kansas, which posted a 3-2 victory over A&M earlier this season. The Red Raiders nearly defeated Colorado on Oct. 13. After dropping the first two sets, 26-24, 25-20, the Buffs came back to win the next three, including a thrilling 28-26 win in the fifth and deciding set.
• Tech fell to Oklahoma, 25-20, 25-13, 28-26, in Lubbock on Saturday. Amanda Dowdy led all players with 13 kills and pitched in 11 digs for a double-double. Justine Young added 10 kills along with four blocks, and Jackie Vincent tied for match-high honors with 17 digs. The Sooners outhit Tech, .214 to .086, and also led in blocks, 14-9.
• Dowdy and A&M junior outside hitter Kelsey Black were teammates on the 2009 USA Junior National Team. A&M associate head coach John Corbelli served as an assistant coach of the team.
• Tech is picked to finish 10th in the Big 12 according to a preseason vote of the league coaches.
UPCOMING:
A&M has a bye this weekend before returning home to Reed Arena on Nov. 3 for a rematch against Oklahoma. The match against the Sooners will start at 8 p.m. and will be televised live by ESPNU. Fans will be trying to "Super Smash" the attendance record. All student organizations, including sororities and fraternities, get in free. All elementary school students with a special flier also will be admitted free and their parents will receive discounted tickets.