Nov. 12, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas A&M returns to the road Saturday as the Aggies take on a streaking Missouri team, which has won its last five matches. First serve against the Tigers is set for 4 p.m. at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo.
A&M (12-13, 6-9 Big 12) is looking to get back into the win after suffering back-to-back five-set losses at Baylor last Saturday and against Kansas at home on Wednesday. The Aggies are now tied with Baylor for seventh place in the Big 12 standings.
Missouri (18-8, 10-6 Big 12) has climbed into fifth place in the conference and is only a half game out of third place after winning its last five matches and six of its last seven, including a 3-1 win at No. 12 Iowa State. Most recently, the Tigers disposed of Texas Tech, 23-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-19, on Wednesday in Columbia.
The A&M-Missouri match will be another showdown between two of the top offensive powers in the Big 12 in A&M's junior outside hitter Kelsey Black, who averages a conference-leading 4.91 points per set and ranks second in the league with 4.17 kills per set, and Missouri's senior outside hitter Paola Ampudia, who is third in the Big 12 with 4.12 kills and 4.59 points per set for the full season.
In addition, the match will showcase two of the top freshmen setters in the conference. The Tigers' Molly Kreklow leads the Big 12 with 11.71 assists per match and entered the week ranked 11th in the nation. Aggie rookie Allie Sawatzky, who has started every match for the Aggies, averages 9.66 assists per set.
A&M QUICK HITS:
• Sophomore libero Tori Mellinger has posted 393 digs this season and needs only 16 more to move into ninth place in the A&M record books for most digs in a single season. The Dallas native has posted double figures in digs in a team-leading 20 matches, including seven matches in which she has tallied 20 or more digs.
• Junior outside hitter Kelsey Black has taken or tied for team-high honors in kills in all 25 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 last 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 victory over LSU on Sept. 10, 2005.
• Black has scored 475.5 points this season, ranking ninth in the A&M rally-scoring season records.
• A&M has played nine five-set matches this season, tying the school record for most five-set matches in a single season set in 1988 and tied in 2005. The Aggies are 2-7 in five-set matches this season.
• A&M leads the Big 12 with 1.29 aces per set in all matches and also leads the league for fewest assists allowed (10.71) per set. The Aggies are second for fewest aces allowed (0.75) and fewest kills allowed (11.56) per set.
• In conference matches only, A&M is second in the league for lowest opponent hitting percentage allowed (.177), fewest kills allowed per set (11.85) and fewest assists allowed (11.10) per set.
• Individually, Kelsey Black continues to lead the Big 12 with 4.91 points and 0.41 aces per set for the full season, and she is second with 4.17 kills per set. Allie Sawatzky, Tori Mellinger and sophomore middle blocker Stephanie Minnerly also are ranked in the top 10 in the league in assists, digs and blocks per set, respectively. Sawatzky is sixth in assists with 9.66 per set. Mellinger ranks ninth with 4.09 digs per set and Minnerly is ninth with 1.04 blocks per set.
• In Big 12 matches only, Black is third with 4.78 points per set and fourth with 4.18 kills and 0.26 aces per set. Mellinger is seventh in digs with a 4.18 average, and Sawatzky is eighth in assists with 9.57 per set and ninth in aces with a 0.23 average. In addition, Minnerly and sophomore middle blocker Lindsey Miller are tied for eighth in the league 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 2-13 when losing the first set, and 2-11 when dropping the third set.
• 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.
• 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 four times in the last six matches. In addition, Miller has totaled 19 blocks in the last three matches, averaging 1.36 blocks per set over the last three 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. It is the most digs by an Aggie since Erin Gibson had 35 against Colorado in 2000 and 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 side-out scoring.
• Outside hitter and primary passer Chelsea Ringel leads the Aggies with 480 service receptions. Mellinger is second with 466 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 6-6 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 39 aces in 2010, the most by an A&M player since former Aggie All-American Melissa Munsch (2001-04) posted 42 aces in 2004. Black needs six more aces to break into the A&M top 10 for aces in a single season.
• Black, Miller, Sawatzky and Stephanie Minnerly have started every match this season, and Ringel has started all but one and has played in all 96 sets. Mellinger has been the designated libero in every set.
• Laurie Corbelli, the winningest coach in A&M volleyball history, is 375-182 in her 18th season at the helm of the Aggies and 475-288 in the 25th season of her head coaching career.
A&M-MU SERIES RECORDS:
• A&M leads the all-time series, 22-10, including 20-9 in Big 12 matches.
• The series is tied at 7-7 in matches played in Columbia. Last year, Missouri snapped a three-match losing skid against A&M to even the series at 7-7 in matches played at the Hearnes Center with a come-from-behind 3-2 (21-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-19, 15-13) victory.
• The Tigers won for only the second time in 15 trips to College Station earlier this season and are aiming for their second-ever season sweep against the Aggies. The only other time Missouri earned a series sweep against A&M was in 2005
• The teams have split the season series six times since Big 12 play began in 1996, including last year when each team won on its home court.
• Earlier this season, A&M led MU in every positive statistical category, but the Tigers pulled out a 25-23, 20-25, 25-23, 11-25, 15-9, victory over the Aggies at Reed Arena. A&M posted impressive numbers, hitting .246, still a season-high in a five-set match, as well as recording season highs of 97 digs and 16 blocks. Individually, Tori Mellinger posted 34 digs, the most digs by an A&M player in the rally-point scoring era and ranking fifth all-time in the Aggie record books. Chelsea Ringel also had a then career-high with 21 digs, and Elise Hendrickson had an A&M career-high 13 digs. Kelsey Black also reached double figures in digs, pitching in 15. Middle blocker Lindsey Miller had a career-high eight blocks along with 10 kills, and Stephanie Minnerly also had a career-high with seven blocks as the Aggies held Missouri to a .150 hitting percentage for the match. Setter Allie Sawatzky dished out 50 assists. In a battle of two of the leagues' top kill leaders, Black had match highs of 25.5 points and 20 kills while hitting at a .241 clip, and Missouri's Paola Ampudia had 17.5 points and 16 kills but was held to a .029 hitting efficiency. Brittney Brimmage tied Ampudia for the Missouri lead with 16 kills while hitting .371. The match came down to the fifth set. Missouri held a 10-7 lead before Ringel and Miller teamed for a block and Ringel followed with an ace to put A&M within 10-9, forcing a Missouri timeout. The Tigers returned to the court and reeled off five unanswered points to close out the match.
A LOOK AT MISSOURI:
• The Tigers have won seven of their last eight matches, including each of the last five matches, to improve to 18-8 overall. Mizzou is 10-6 in Big 12 matches, good for fifth place in the conference standings, and only a half game out of third place.
• The Tigers, 8-3 in home matches, are coming off a 3-1 (23-256, 25-17, 25-19, 25-19) victory over Texas Tech on Wednesday in Columbia. Julianna Klein led the Tigers with 17 kills, and Lisa Henning and Paola Ampudia added 15 and 12 kills, respectively. Caitlyn Vann led all players with 20 digs. Tech, which was outhit, .288 to .222, had six solo blocks and outblocked the Tigers, 10-3.
• Senior outside hitter Paola Ampudia is third in the Big 12 with 4.12 kills per set for the full season and third with 4.27 kills per set in conference matches only.
• Freshman setter Molly Kreklow, the niece of Missouri head coach Wayne Kreklow, leads the Big 12 and is ranked 11th in the nation with 11.71 assists per set.
• Missouri leads the Big 12 with 1.20 aces per set in conference matches only. Senior outside hitter Julianna Klein leads the league with 0.37 aces per set in Big 12 matches only, and senior libero Caitlyn Vann is second in the league with 0.27 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 109-70 in his sixth season as head coach of the Tigers.
UPCOMING:
A&M remains on the road, taking on Kansas State on Wednesday in Manhattan, Kan. First serve is at 7 p.m. at Ahearn Field House. The Aggies return home Sunday, Nov. 21 to host No. 14 Iowa State in a 2 p.m. match at Reed Arena.