Nov. 9, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Texas A&M volleyball team returns to Reed Arena Wednesday to play host to the Kansas Jayhawks, who are still looking for their first-ever win in 15 trips to College Station. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m.
Tickets for the match are $9 for reserved seating; $7 for adult general admission; and $4 for youth general admission. Children under 2 are admitted free in general admission sections. Tickets can be purchased in advance at the Reed Arena entrance, online at AggieAthletics.com, or by calling 888-99-AGGIE. Also group rates are available by contacting the ticket office in advance. Tickets also can be purchased at the door beginning one hour prior to the match.
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 Aggies, who are looking to avenge a 3-2 setback to the Jayhawks in Lawrence, Kan., earlier this season, are 12-12 overall and tied with Baylor for sixth place in the Big 12 standings after falling to the Bears, 3-2 (25-22, 25-27, 25-20, 23-25, 15-8) in Waco on Saturday. The loss at Baylor ended A&M's three-match winning streak, its longest winning streak during Big 12 play this season.
The eighth-place Jayhawks are 15-11 overall and only a half game behind A&M with a 6-9 conference record. Kansas, the only Big 12 team that has never won a match in College Station, is coming off a 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-23) sweep against Colorado Saturday in Lawrence.
A&M QUICK HITS:
• A&M leads the Big 12 with 1.31 aces per set in all matches and also leads the league for fewest assists allowed (10.67) per set. The Aggies are second for fewest aces allowed (0.75) and fewest kills allowed (11.53) per set.
• In conference matches only, A&M leads the league for fewest assists allowed (11.07) per set and is second for lowest opponent hitting percentage (.175) and fewest kills allowed (11.82) per set.
• Individually, junior outside hitter Kelsey Black continues to lead the Big 12 with 4.93 points and 0.40 aces per set for the full season, and she is second with 4.20 kills per set. Sophomore libero Tori Mellinger and freshman setter Allie Sawatzky also are ranked in the top 10 in the league in digs and assists per set, respectively. Mellinger ranks eighth with 4.12 digs per set after posting back-to-back 20-plus dig performances, and Sawatzky is sixth in assists with 9.78 per set.
• In Big 12 matches only, Black is second with 4.80 points per set and fourth with 4.24 kills per set. Mellinger is seventh in digs with a 4.23 average, and Sawatzky is seventh in assists with 9.75 per set. In addition, Black and Sawatzky are tied for ninth with 0.23 aces per set, and sophomore middle blocker Lindsey Miller is ninth with 1.05 blocks per set in conference play.
• Black entered the week ranked 17th in the nation in points (4.93) per set, 24th in kills per set (4.20) and 34th in the nation with 0.40 aces per set.
• A&M is 10-0 this season when winning the first set and 10-2 when winning the third set. Conversely, A&M is 2-12 when losing the first set, and 2-10 when dropping the third set.
• A&M has played eight five-set matches this season, equaling the second most five-setters in a single season in program history and coming within one of the tying the school record of nine set in 1988 and tied in 2005. The Aggies have played eight five-set matches in a single season four times since 1976.
• Sophomore libero Tori Mellinger has posted 375 digs this season and needs only 30 more over the remaining six matches to move into A&M's top 10 for most digs in a single season. The Dallas native has posted double figures in digs in a team-leading 19 matches, including seven matches in which she has tallied 20 or more digs.
• Freshman setter Allie Sawatzky, who has started every match for the Aggies this season, has tallied 50 or more assists in five matches, including 52 assists in the win against Oklahoma.
• Kelsey Black has taken or tied for team-high honors in kills in all 24 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.
• Black's 85 attack attempts against Baylor on Saturday is the second most by an A&M player in school history. Laura Jones (2003-05) holds the school record with 88 swings in a 3-2 (28-30, 30-17, 30-28, 29-31, 15-13) victory over LSU on Sept. 10, 2005. Black has scored 449 points this season, ranking 10th in the A&M rally-scoring season records.
• Sophomore middle blocker Lindsey Miller, who hit an A&M season-high .611 (minimum 10 kills) against Colorado on Oct. 23, has posted double figures in kills nine times this season, including five times in the last seven matches. In addition, Miller has totaled seven blocks in each of the last two matches, averaging 1.55 blocks per set over the last two matches.
• 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.
• Outside hitter and primary passer Chelsea Ringel leads the Aggies with 451 service receptions. Sophomore libero Tori Mellinger is second with 438 service receptions.
• A&M entered the week ranked 21st in the nation in home attendance, averaging 1,548 per match in 11 home contests. The Aggies, who are currently 6-5 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 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, equaling the most by an A&M player since former Aggie All-American Melissa Munsch (2001-04) posted 42 aces in 2004.
• Black, Miller, Sawatzky and Stephanie Minnerly have started every match this season, and Ringel has started all but one and has played in all 91 sets. Mellinger has been the designated libero in every set.
• Laurie Corbelli, the winningest coach in A&M volleyball history, is 375-181 in her 18th season at the helm of the Aggies and 475-287 in the 25th season of her head coaching career.
A&M-KU SERIES RECORDS:
• A&M leads the all-time series, 25-5, since the teams first met in 1990, including 24-5 in Big 12 matches only and 15-0 in matches played in College Station.
• A&M, which had swept the season series each of the last three years, had its seven-match winning streak against the Jayhawks snapped earlier this season when the Aggies fell to KU, 3-2 (25-23, 18-25, 20-25, 25-22, 15-10), at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center on Sept. 18. It was the Jayhawks' first win against the Aggies since Sept. 20, 2006.
KANSAS NOTES:
• The Jayhawks have won two of their last three matches to improve to 15-11 overall and 6-9 in the Big 12, good for eighth place.
• KU is 2-6 in away matches.
• Senior outside hitter Karina Garlington, a preseason all-Big 12 selection, is averaging 3.54 kills per set, which ranks sixth in the Big 12. She is eighth in the league with 3.87 points per set for the full season.
• Junior setter Nicole Tate is fourth in the Big 12 with 9.94 assists per set, and freshman libero Brianne Riley is 10th with 3.71 digs per set for the full season.
• Most recently, KU completed a three-match home stand by defeating Colorado, 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-23) on Saturday in Lawrence. Garlington and Jenna Kaiser led the Jayhawks with 12 kills apiece, and Riley had a match-high 18 digs.
• KU's biggest win of the season came Oct. 9 as the Jayhawks upset No. 10 Iowa State, 3-1, in Lawrence. It was the first win against a top 10 opponent in program history.
• Head coach Ray Bechard, who picked up his 200th victory at the helm of the Jayhawks in the win against the Aggies earlier this season, is 205-185 in his 13th season as coach of the Jayhawks.
• Kansas placed eighth in the Big 12 last year with an 8-12 record. It was the third consecutive eighth-place finish for the Jayhawks, whose highest finish was a tie for fourth in 2003.
UPCOMING:
A&M is on the road for its next two matches, taking on Missouri on Saturday, Nov. 13 in Columbia, Mo., and facing Kansas State on Wednesday, Nov. 17 in Manhattan, Kan. First serve against the Tigers has been set for 4 p.m. at the Hearnes Center, and the match against the Wildcats will begin at 7 p.m. at Ahearn Field House.