vs.
BAYLOR BEARS (11-5, 0-2 BIG 12)
Wednesday,
Sept. 28, 6:30 p.m.
Reed Arena,
College Station, Texas
Promotion: "Fish Camp Night" - Aggie freshmen who wear their 2011 Fish Camp T-shirt receive free admission to the match
Tickets: Tickets can be purchase in advance at AggieAthletics.com or beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday at Reed Arena. Prices are $9 reserved; $7/$4 general admission adult/youth; and $4 TAMU student (without Sports Pass)
Free live video/stats: AggieAthletics.com
A&M-Baylor
All-Time Series (since 1976):
Overall: A&M leads, 57-13
In College Station: A&M leads, 23-6
In Big 12 matches only: A&M leads, 21-9
Streaks: Baylor has won the last three meetings,
including two in College Station
Upcoming: A&M returns to Reed Arena on Saturday to play host to the Kansas State Wildcats. First serve is at 6:30 p.m. It will be Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night.
AGGIES HOST BAYLOR IN BIG 12 HOME OPENER
The Texas A&M volleyball team (11-3, 0-1 Big 12) returns to Reed Arena on Wednesday for its Big 12 Conference home opener as the Aggies play host to the Baylor Bears (11-5, 0-2 Big 12). First serve is slated for 6:30 p.m., and it will be "Fish Camp Night". Freshmen who wear their 2011 Fish Camp T-shirt will be admitted free.
The Aggies, who are 4-0 in home matches this season, will be aiming for their first Big 12 win after falling at Missouri, 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-23) Saturday in A&M's conference opener. Baylor, which has won the last three meetings against the Aggies, also is looking for its first league win of the year after falling to No. 25 Oklahoma, 3-1 (25-22, 24-26, 26-24, 25-18), last Wednesday in Waco and to Kansas State, 3-0 (25-19, 25-15, 25-18) Saturday in Manhattan, Kan.
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. Baylor, which finished in sixth place in 2010, received 30 points and has been picked to finish sixth this year.
AGGIE QUICK HITS:
- Texas A&M is 12-3 all-time in its first home Big 12 Conference match of the season. The Aggies have won each of their last three conference home openers, including two top-10 victories in each of the last two years, knocking off No. 6 Nebraska, 3-1, in 2009, and stunning No. 8 Texas, 3-0, last year at Reed Arena.
- The Aggies are receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll for the fourth consecutive week and entered this week listed 37th.
- A&M leads the Big 12 and is ranked in the top 20 in the nation in hitting percentage (.271) and kills per set (14.18). A&M also leads the league and ranks in the top 35 in the country in assists per set (13.06) and aces per set (1.63). The Aggies are fourth in the league and 40th in the nation with 16.59 digs per set. A&M ranks sixth in the Big 12 for opponent hitting percentage (.167) and ninth in blocking (1.82).
- Opponents are hitting .167 and averaging 11.69 kills, 10.92 assists, 1.00 aces, 14.78 digs and 1.66 blocks per set.
- Individually, three A&M players are in the top 10 in the Big 12 for aces per set. Senior middle blocker Elise Hendrickson leads the league and is 53rd in the nation with a 0.42 average, and senior outside hitter Kelsey Black is fifth in the Big 12 with 0.33 aces per set. Junior right-side hitter Alisia Kastmo is listed eighth in the league with 0.31 aces per set.
- Others ranking in the top 10 in the conference stats are junior libero Megan Pendergast, who is fourth with 4.15 digs per set, sophomore setter Allie Sawatzky, who is fifth with 10.39 assists per set and junior middle blocker Lindsey Miller, who ranks sixth with a .329 hitting percentage. In addition, Black is sixth in both kills (3.62) and points (4.21) per set.
- The loss to Missouri marked the first time in 12 matches this season that A&M did not win a match after winning the first set. It also was the first time that A&M lost a match after leading in service aces.
- Junior outside hitter Tori Mellinger, who was the team's designated libero the first two seasons of her career, needs 63 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 nine matches on the left side, is averaging 2.97 digs per set this season.
- Junior libero Megan Pendergast has played in 13 matches and posted double figures in digs in a team-leading 10 matches. She has posted 20 or more digs in two matches and leads the team with 4.15 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 11 of 14 matches and leads the team with eight double-doubles.
- Black, Miller, Sawatzky and Hendrickson have started every match in 2011, and only Sawatzky has played in all 49 sets. Kastmo has started all but one match in which senior Sarah Grace started for her in the back row rotation.
- Senior defensive specialist Sarah Grace played her freshman year at Baylor and was named to the 2007 Big 12 All-Freshman team after leading the Bears and ranking third in the Big 12 with 4.30 digs per set, ranking second all-time in the Baylor single-season records.
- The Aggies are 7-1 in three-set matches, 4-1 in four-set matches and 0-1 in five-set matches.
- A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli is 387-189 in her 19th year at the helm of the Aggies and 487-295 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. The Aggies are currently 4-2 against 2010 NCAA participants.
BAYLOR BITS:
- The Bears are 11-5 overall, 0-2 in the Big 12 and 2-3 in away matches.
- The Bears enter the match against A&M having suffered consecutive losses for the first time this season after falling to No. 25 Oklahoma, 3-1, and Kansas State, 3-0.
- Most recently, Baylor lost at Kansas State, 25-19, 25-15, 25-18. The Bears were outhit, .227 to .075, and held to 28 kills while the Wildcats posted 47 kills. Torri Campbell and Adri Nora led the Bears with nine kills apiece, but both hit below .170.
- Allison King, who led all players with 17 digs, is second in the Big 12 and 28th in the nation with 5.14 digs per set.
- As a team, Baylor is second in the league and 22nd in the nation with 17.30 digs per set.
- Baylor is hitting .230 and averaging 13.61 kills, 12.64 assists, 1.00 aces, 17.30 digs and 2.39 blocks per set. Opponents are hitting .162 and averaging 11.77 kills, 10.66 assists, 1.16 aces, 16.27 digs and 1.82 blocks per set.
- Junior 6-2 middle blocker Torri Campbell and Aggie senior outside hitter Kelsey Black were teammates on the 2006 and 2007 Amarillo High School 5A state champion teams.
- Jim Barnes (McNeese State '94) is 128-111 in his eighth season as head coach of the Bears.
A&M-BAYLOR SERIES RECORD:
- A&M leads the all-time series against Baylor, 57-13, since 1976, including 21-9 in Big 12 matches only.
- Baylor has won the last three meetings, two of which were played in College Station. It marks the Bears' longest winning streak against A&M in the history of the series.
- A&M is 23-6 against Baylor in matches played in College Station. Five of Baylor's victories in College Station have occurred over the last six years.
- Baylor swept the conference season series for the first time ever -- Southwest Conference or Big 12 -- last year.
- The last three meetings have been decided in five sets, with Baylor winning all three.
- A&M's last win against the Bears was Oct. 10, 2009, at the Ferrell Center in Waco.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
The Aggies
conclude a two-match home stand on Saturday as A&M plays host to the Kansas
State Wildcats. First serve is slated for 6:30 p.m. at Reed Arena. It will be
Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night. Any faculty/staff member presenting the
invitation sent out by Aggie Coach Laurie Corbelli will be admitted free.