lonestar-web
Popular Searches
Volleyball Opens Big 12 Play at MissouriVolleyball Opens Big 12 Play at Missouri
Volleyball

Volleyball Opens Big 12 Play at Missouri

Texas A&M (11-2) opens Big 12 Conference play on Saturday as the Aggies take on the Missouri Tigers (13-4, 0-1 Big 12) in Columbia, Mo. First serve is slated for 2 p.m. at the Hearnes Center.

TEXAS A&M AGGIES (11-2, 0-0 BIG 12)
vs.
MISSOURI TIGERS (13-4, 0-1 BIG 12)

Saturday, Sept. 24, 2 p.m.
Hearnes Center, Columbia, Mo.

Live video/stats: mutigers.com

A&M-Missouri All-Time Series: A&M leads, 22-11
   In Columbia: Missouri leads, 9-8
   In Big 12 matches only: A&M leads, 20-10


COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The Texas A&M volleyball team (11-2) opens Big 12 Conference play on Saturday as the Aggies take on the Missouri Tigers (13-4, 0-1 Big 12) in Columbia, Mo. First serve is slated for 2 p.m. at the Hearnes Center.

A&M improved to 4-0 in home matches after easily dismantling Houston Baptist, 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-16) Wednesday at Reed Arena. Meanwhile, Missouri, which has played its last 13 matches on the road, had its two-match winning streak snapped as the Tigers opened Big 12 play with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-21) loss at No. 16 Iowa State.

The Aggies, who went 7-13 and finished eighth in the Big 12 last year, have been picked to finish fourth in the league this season, according to a preseason poll of the conference coaches. A&M received 43 points in the poll and was followed by projected fifth-place finisher Missouri  with 32 points. The Tigers finished fifth in the league last season with a 12-8 conference record and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.

AGGIE QUICK HITS:

  • Texas A&M is 8-7 all-time in Big 12 season openers, including 4-5 when opening on the road. A&M is 1-2 when facing Missouri in the conference opener, with both of the losses coming in Columbia.
  • Last year A&M opened Big 12 play by stunning No. 8 Texas, 3-0 (25-22, 25-23, 27-25) at Reed Arena. A&M, which had not defeated Texas since Oct. 16, 2004, snapped a 12-match losing skid against the rival Longhorns, who had not even dropped a set to the Aggies since 2008. The win also snapped Texas' streak of 47 consecutive wins against in-state opponents, a streak that began following A&M's victory over the Horns in 2004.
  • The Aggies are receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll for the third consecutive week and entered this week listed 34th.
  • A&M leads the Big 12 and entered the week ranked in the top 25 in the nation in both hitting percentage (.275) and kills per set (14.18). The Aggies also lead the league and entered the week ranked No. 30 in the country for assists per set (12.98). A&M is second in the Big 12 with 1.62 aces and entered the week ranked 32nd in the nation. The Aggies also lead the Big 12 for allowing the fewest blocks, as A&M opponents are averaging 1.59 blocks per set. A&M also is averaging 16.40 digs and 1.82 blocks per set.
  • Opponents are hitting .159 and averaging 11.36 kills, 10.60 assists, 1.00 aces, 14.47 digs and 1.59 blocks per set.
  • Three A&M players are in the top 10 in the Big 12 for aces per set. Senior middle blocker Elise Hendrickson is second in the league with a 0.41 average, and junior right-side hitter Alisia Kastmo and senior outside hitter Kelsey Black are tied for fifth with 0.34 aces per set.
  • Others ranking in the top 10 in the conference stats are Black, who is fourth in the league with 4.24 points per set and fifth with 3.66 kills per set, junior libero Megan Pendergast, who ranks fourth with 4.08 digs per set, and sophomore setter Allie Sawatzky, who is fifth with 10.33 assists per set. In addition, junior middle blocker Lindsey Miller is 10th in hitting percentage (.331).
  • A&M is 11-0 when leading its opponent in kills and 11-0 when winning the first set. The Aggies are 0-2 when dropping the first set and when trailing in kills.
  • A&M has led its opponent in hitting percentage in all but one match and is 11-1 when leading in hitting percentage.
  • Allie Sawatzky represented Texas A&M on the all-tournament team at the Michigan/adidas Invitational last weekend. It was the third time the sophomore setter received all-tournament distinction this season.
  • Junior outside hitter Tori Mellinger, who was the team's designated libero her first two seasons, needs 74 digs to become the 19th player in school history to post 1,000 career digs. Mellinger, who was the starting libero for the first three matches this season and has since started eight matches on the left side, is averaging 3.0 digs per set this season.
  • Junior libero Megan Pendergast has played in 12 matches and posted double figures in digs in nine matches. She has posted 20 or more digs in two matches and leads the team with 4.08 digs per set.
  • Junior middle blocker Lindsey Miller and junior right-side hitter Alisia Kastmo have each posted a performance in which they had 12 kills while committing no errors. Kastmo had 12 kills and no errors in 19 attempts for a .632 hitting efficiency in a three-set win against Creighton, and Miller had 12 kills and no errors in 20 attempts for a .600 hitting percentage in a sweep against Washington State.
  • Senior Kelsey Black has posted double figures in kills in 10 of 13 matches and leads the team with seven double-doubles.
  • Black, Miller, Sawatzky and Hendrickson have started every match in 2011, and only Sawatzky has played in all 45 sets. Kastmo has started all but one match in which senior Sarah Grace started for her in the back row rotation.
  • The Aggies are 7-1 in three-set matches, 4-0 in four-set matches and 0-1 in five-set matches.
  • A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli is 387-188 in her 19th year at the helm of the Aggies and 487-294 in the 26th season of her head coaching career.
  • A&M is slated to play 13 matches against teams that appeared in the 2010 NCAA Championship tournament, including six matches against schools that advanced to at least the Sweet 16. With two wins over Creighton, which advanced to the second round of the 2010 NCAA tournament, and wins against first-round participants Butler and Northern Illinois, the Aggies were 4-0 against 2010 NCAA tournament teams before falling to No. 18 Michigan, which reached the first round in 2010. The Aggies get another opportunity to get a win against a 2010 NCAA participant this weekend as they take on Missouri. The Tigers advanced to the Sweet 16 last year, knocking off No. 5 seed Northern Iowa in the opening round and defeating Northwestern before falling to Duke.

SCOUTING MISSOURI:

  • Missouri (13-4, 0-1 Big 12) is playing its first home match since sweeping both Tulane and North Dakota State on August 27.
  • The Tigers are 4-0 in home matches and 12-0 in sets, having won all four matches in three-set sweeps.
  • Missouri is receiving votes in the AVCA Coaches Top 25 Poll and is listed 36th.
  • Missouri concluded a 13-match road trip on Wednesday with a 25-12, 25-18, 25-21 loss at No. 16 Iowa State in both teams' Big 12 opener. Sophomore outside hitter Lisa Henning led the Tigers with 13 kills. Freshman Emily Wilson added eight kills. The Tigers hit just .191 with 31 kills in the match, while Iowa State hit .402 with 50 kills. ISU outblocked MU, 8.5 to 4.0 and also had six aces to the Tigers' one.
  • As a team, Mizzou is hitting .266 and averaging 12.78 kills, 12.05 assists, 1.37 aces, 13.42 digs and 2.35 blocks per set. Opponents are hitting .199 and averaging 12.38 kills, 11.28 assists, 1.17 aces, 12.70 digs and 1.90 blocks per set.
  • Senior Brittney Brimmage is hitting .388 on the year, ranking second in the Big 12. Sophomore setter Molly Kreklow, the niece of head coach Wayne Kreklow, is fourth in the league with 10.45 assists and seventh with 0.33 aces per set. Henning ranks fifth among Big 12 players with 4.10 points and sixth with 3.63 kills per set, and senior defensive specialist Priscilla Armendariz leads the Tigers and is eighth in the Big 12 with 3.48 digs per set. Whitney Little is the team's top blocker with a 1.12 average, good for 10th place in the conference.
  • Wayne Kreklow (Drake, 1980) is 126-77 in his seventh season as head coach at Missouri.

A&M-MU series Records:

  • A&M leads the all-time series, 22-11, including 20-10 in Big 12 matches only.
  • Missouri holds an 8-7 advantage in matches played in Columbia, with all eight wins coming in the last 11 meetings at the Hearnes Center.
  • Four of the last eight meetings in Columbia have been decided in five sets.
  • A&M has swept the season series seven times, most recently in 2008. Missouri swept the series for only the second time last year, defeating A&M, 3-2, in College Station, and 3-0 in Columbia.
  • The teams have split the season series six times since Big 12 play began in 1996, with each team winning on its home court to earn the split.
  • In the most recent meeting, the Tigers outhit A&M, .304 to .168, posting 49 kills to the Aggies' 34, to win 25-17, 25-23, 25-14 on Nov. 13, 2010, in Columbia. MU's Brittney Brimmage led all players with 13 kills as the Tigers extended their winning streak to six. Caitlyn Vann had a match-high 17 digs to lead Mizzou to a 54-46 advantage. Kelsey Black led the Aggies with nine kills, and Lindsey Miller led the team with seven blocks as A&M outblocked the Tigers, 9-5. Libero Tori Mellinger had a team-high 16 digs.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
The Aggies play their first home conference match of the season against Baylor on Wednesday, Sept. 28. First serve against the Bears is at 6:30 p.m. and it will be Fish Camp Night at Reed Arena. Freshmen who wear their 2011 Texas A&M Fish Camp T-shirt will be admitted free.