Nov. 1, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M returns to Reed Arena on Wednesday to play host to Oklahoma in a match that will be nationally televised by ESPNU at 8 p.m. Sam Gore and Elizabeth Moreau will be calling the action for the live broadcast.
A&M fans will be trying to "Super Smash" the attendance record against the Sooners. All A&M student organizations, including sororities and fraternities, get in free. All elementary school students with a special flier get in free, and their parents can purchase discounted tickets.
The Aggies (11-11, 5-7 Big 12), who had a bye on Saturday, are tied with Baylor for sixth place in the Big 12 and are riding a two-match winning streak after sweeping both Colorado and Texas Tech in their last two outings. Those are the only two matches A&M has played since falling to Oklahoma, 3-2, at McCasland Field House in Norman, Okla., on Oct. 20.
Oklahoma (17-6, 9-3 Big 12), which is receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 Poll and is listed 28th, is riding a four-match winning streak, which includes the win against A&M. The Sooners, who are coming off a 3-2 win against Baylor on Saturday, are in third place in the Big 12 standings.
A&M QUICK HITS:
• A&M junior outside hitter Kelsey Black and Oklahoma junior setter Brianne Barker were teammates at Amarillo High School and helped lead the Sandies to back-to-back 5A state titles in 2006 and 2007.
• A&M and OU tied for fourth place in the Big 12 with 11-9 records last year and received at-large invitations to the NCAA Championship. The Aggies advanced to the Sweet 16 and finished 20-11 overall and ranked No. 21 in the final coaches poll. Oklahoma finished 18-12 after being eliminated in the NCAA first round.
• A&M is 10-0 this season when winning the first set.
• A&M leads the Big 12 with 1.35 aces per set.
• Kelsey Black is the Big 12 leader and ranks 20th in the nation in both points (4.82) and aces (0.44) per set. She ranks third in the league and 33rd in the nation with 4.05 kills per set.
• The Aggies are coming off their best hitting performance in Big 12 Conference play this season after hitting .326 in a sweep at Texas Tech on Oct. 27.
• Kelsey Black has taken or tied for team-high honors in kills in all 22 matches this season. Junior outside hitter Chelsea Ringel tied Black for team-high honors in kills with 11 against Texas Tech on Oct. 27, the only time Black didn't lead the team outright.
• Sophomore middle blocker Lindsey Miller hit .611 with 12 kills and only one error in 18 attempts in the sweep against Colorado on Oct. 23. The .611 hitting percentage is the highest by an A&M player this season when posting a minimum of 10 kills. Miller leads the Aggie starters with a .261 hitting percentage for the full season and .252 in Big 12 matches only.
• 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.
• Mellinger has posted double figures in digs in a team-leading 17 matches. She has posted 20 or more digs five times this season and ranks ninth in the Big 12 with 4.04 digs per set for the full season and is eighth with 4.11 digs per set in Big 12 matches only.
• Freshman setter Allie Sawatzky, who has started every match for the Aggies this season, ranks sixth in the Big 12 with 9.65 assists per set in all matches. She is seventh in the league with 9.53 assists per set in conference matches only.
• Junior transfer utility player Elise Hendrickson has been the team's right-side hitter in each of the last six matches and twice has tallied double-figures in kills since moving into the position. She is hitting .221 and averaging 1.8 kills, 2.13 digs and 2.17 points per set in Big 12 matches only.
• 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.
• 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 Sam Houston State and Pacific. She already has 36 aces in 2010, more than any player has recorded in a full season since Sarah Ammerman also had 36 in 2007. Former Aggie All-American Melissa Munsch (2001-04) posted 42 aces in 2004.
• Middle blocker Stephanie Minnerly has led or tied for the team lead in blocks in a team-best 13 matches. The 6-2 redshirt sophomore is ranked 10th in the Big 12 with 1.07 blocks per set for the full season and is eighth in the conference with 1.11 blocks per set in Big 12 matches only.
• A&M has led or tied its opponent in blocks in each of the last five matches, with Minnerly averaging 1.20 blocks per set during that span.
• Black, Miller, Sawatzky and Minnerly have started every match this season, and Ringel has started all but one and has played in all 82 sets. Mellinger has been the designated libero in every set.
• A&M has already played in seven five-set matches this season. The school 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.
• Laurie Corbelli, the winningest coach in A&M volleyball history, is 374-180 in her 18th season at the helm of the Aggies and 474-286 in the 25th season of her head coaching career.
A&M-OKLAHOMA SERIES RECORDS
• A&M leads the all-time series, 32-7 since 1976, including 23-6 in Big 12 matches only.
• All six of OU's Big 12 wins against A&M have occurred over the last nine meetings, beginning with the Sooners' first Big 12 win against the Aggies on Sept. 13, 2006.
• The Aggies and Sooners split the season series last year with each team winning on the road.
• Four of the last seven A&M-OU meetings have been decided in the final fifth set, including the most recent meeting on Oct. 20.
• In the most recent meeting, A&M had four players post double figures in kills, but it wasn't enough as the Aggies fell to Oklahoma, 25-22, 20-25, 25-20, 24-26, 15-10 at McCasland Field House. Kelsey Black led the Aggies for the 20th consecutive match with 19 kills and also led all players with 17 digs. Freshman setter Allie Sawatzky had a career-high 12 kills while hitting at a .588 clip, and she also pitched in 46 assists. Lindsey Miller also added 12 kills, and Stephanie Minnerly a career-high 10 kills and led all players with six blocks. OU outhit A&M .278 to .224 for the match. Suzy Boulavsky led the Sooners with 20 kills.
A LOOK AT THE SOONERS:
• Oklahoma, which is receiving votes and is listed 28th in the AVCA national coaches poll, is riding a four-match winning streak and is 17-6 overall and in third place in the conference standings with a 9-3 league record.
• Oklahoma rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Baylor Bears 3-2 (25-18, 16-25, 18-25, 25-19, 15-8) Saturday at McCasland Field House. Suzy Boulavsky had 16 kills and hit .302, and Sallie McLaurin had 14 kills while hitting .370, and also added a match-high six blocks.
• Senior middle blocker Francie Ekwerekwu was a unanimous selection to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team. Junior setter Brianne Barker also was named to the preseason team.
• The Sooners, who tied A&M and Baylor for fourth place in the Big 12 with an 11-9 conference record in 2009, were picked to finish fourth in 2010, according to a preseason poll of the Big 12 coaches.
• The Sooners are 8-1 in away matches, 7-3 in home matches and 2-2 at neutral sites.
• Freshman Sallie McLaurin was named the Big 12 Conference Rookie of the Week for a third time on Monday following her performance in OU's come-from-behind 3-2 win against Baylor on Saturday. McLaurin hit .370, connecting on 14 of 27 attempts. She added a match-high six blocks and a season-best three service aces. She recorded 20.5 points in the match, her second highest total this year.
• McLaurin is third in the Big 12 and 17th in the nation with 1.33 blocks per set for the full season.
• Setter Brianne Barker is averaging 10.19 assists per set in all matches, third best in the Big 12.
• Senior Sarah Freudenrich is fourth in the league with a .345 hitting efficiency, and libero Maria Fernanda is sixth in the conference with 4.20 digs per set.
• Santiago Restrepo is 116-89 in his seventh season as head coach of the Sooners.
UPCOMING:
The Aggies face a rematch with the Baylor Bears Saturday in Waco. The Bears topped A&M, 3-2, earlier this season in College Station. First serve is slated for 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center in Waco, Texas.