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Volleyball Hosts Oklahoma Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.Volleyball Hosts Oklahoma Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.
Volleyball

Volleyball Hosts Oklahoma Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

Texas A&M returns to Reed Arena on Wednesday to play host to the 22nd-ranked Oklahoma Sooners. First serve is at 6:30 p.m. Anyone presenting a flier from Tuesday's Breakaway session will be admitted free.

TEXAS A&M AGGIES (14-4, 3-2 BIG 12)
vs.
# 22 OKLAHOMA SOONERS (17-4, 4-1 BIG 12)

Wednesday, Oct. 12, 6:30 p.m.
Reed Arena, College Station, Texas

Tickets: Tickets can be purchased 24 hours a day at AggieAthletics.com, at the ticket window at Reed Arena beginning one hour before the match, or by calling 1-888-99-AGGIE during office hours. Prices are $9 reserved; $7/$4 general admission adult/youth; and $4 TAMU student (without Sports Pass)
Promotion: "Breakaway Night" - Present a flier from Tuesday's Breakaway event and receive free admission to the match.
Free live video/stats: AggieAthletics.com

A&M-Oklahoma All-Time Series (since 1976):
Overall: A&M leads, 33-7
In College Station: A&M leads, 12-3
In Norman: A&M leads, 14-3
In Big 12 matches only:  A&M leads, 24-6
Last 10 meetings: OU leads, 6-4
Last year: the teams split the season series with each team protecting its home court

 

Aggies Host No. 22 Oklahoma Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas A&M (14-4, 2-2 Big 12) returns to Reed Arena on Wednesday to play host to the 22nd-ranked Oklahoma Sooners (17-4, 4-1 Big 12). First serve is at 6:30 p.m. Anyone presenting a flier from Tuesday's Breakaway session will be admitted free.

The Aggies, 6-0 in home matches and currently tied for fourth in the Big 12 Conference, are coming off a dramatic come-from-behind win at Kansas on Saturday. After dropping the first two sets, A&M fought off one match point to avoid a sweep and won the final three sets for the 14-25, 19-25, 27-25, 25-22, 15-13 victory, ending a two-match losing skid against the Jayhawks.

Oklahoma, which opened conference play by knocking off then-No. 8 Texas in Norman, suffered its first Big 12 loss and had its eight-match winning streak snapped after falling to No. 16 Iowa State, 35-23, 25-17, 22-25, 25-19, Saturday in Ames. The Sooners dropped to second place in the Big 12.

Wednesday's match is a meeting between the two top teams in the Big 12 in hitting efficiency. The Sooners, who are No. 20 in the Volleyball Magazine Top 20 Poll, lead the Big 12 and are ranked 26th in the nation with a .259 hitting percentage, while A&M is just behind, ranking second in the league and 27th in the country with a .258 hitting percentage.

AGGIE QUICK HITS:

  • A&M senior outside hitter Kelsey Black and Oklahoma senior 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.
  • The Aggies lead the Big 12 and entered the week ranked 29th in the nation in kills per set (13.91) and also lead the conference and are ranked 41st in the nation in assists per set (12.83).
  • Individually, three A&M players are in the top 10 in the Big 12 for aces per set for the full season. Senior middle blocker Elise Hendrickson entered the week ranked 72nd in the nation and leads the league with 0.39 aces per set. Black is sixth in the Big 12 with 0.28 aces per set, and junior right-side hitter Alisia Kastmo is tied for ninth in the league with 0.25 aces per set.
  • Others ranking in the top 10 in the conference stats are sophomore setter Allie Sawatzky, who is fifth with 10.15 assists per set and junior libero Megan Pendergast, who is fifth with 3.89 digs per set for the full season. In addition, Black is sixth in points (4.13) and kills (3.61) per set, and junior middle blocker Lindsey Miller ranks sixth in hitting percentage (.333).
  • In Big 12 matches only, Miller ranks sixth in block average (1.05) and seventh in hitting percentage (.333), and Sawatzky is seventh in assists (9.75) and in aces (0.25) per set. Black is ninth in both points (3.90) and kills (3.50) per set and ranks and 10th in digs (3.70) per set. Hendrickson is second in aces (0.35) per set.
  • A&M is 6-0 in home matches, 3-3 in away matches, 5-1 at neutral sites and 0-2 against ranked opponents
  • The Aggies are receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll for the sixth consecutive week and entered this week listed 31st.
  • In the category of "It's never over until it's over," A&M overcame a 2-0 set deficit, as well as a match point in the third set to defeat Kansas, 14-25, 19-25, 27-25, 25-22, 15-13, Saturday in Lawrence. It marked the first time A&M won a match after losing the first two sets since Sept. 1, 2002, when A&M overcame a 2-0 deficit to defeat LSU, 30-32, 24-30, 30-16, 30-24, 15-10 at G. Rollie White Coliseum. Prior to the match, A&M was 0-3 this season when losing the first set.
  • A&M used three different liberos in the win against Kansas on Saturday with Megan Pendergast playing the first and third sets, Kelsey Kinley playing the second set and Tori Mellinger taking on the role in the final two sets.
  • Sophomore setter Allie Sawatzky recorded the first triple-double of her career with 11 kills, 46 assists and 11 digs in A&M's 3-2 victory against Baylor on Sept. 28. She is the first A&M player to post a triple-double since the 25-point scoring format went into effect in 2008, and she is the first player with a triple double since 2004 when All-American middle blocker Melissa Munsch accomplished the feat three times. Sawatzky is the first Aggie setter with a triple-double since 2001 when All-American Jenna Moscovic tallied a nation-leading five triple-doubles while directing A&M to its second-ever NCAA regional final.
  • In the win against the Bears, A&M had five players reach double figures in kills for first time in the 25-point scoring era and the first since August 26, 2006, when five players tallied double-digit kills in a season-opening 3-1 victory at Colorado State using the 30-point scoring system. The Baylor match also marked the first time A&M had five double-figure kill performers and five double-digit dig performers in the same match since the 2006 victory at Colorado State.
  • Junior outside hitter Tori Mellinger, who was the team's designated libero the first two seasons of her career, needs 27 digs to become the 19th player in school history to post 1,000 career digs. Mellinger was the starting libero for the first three matches this season and has since started 13 matches on the left side and is averaging 2.76 digs per set this season.
  • Kelsey Black needs 10.5 points to reach 1,000 points for her career. She also is within 73 digs and 158 kills of reaching the 1,000 milestone in the respective categories.
  • Junior libero Megan Pendergast has played in 17 matches and posted double figures in digs in a team-leading 13 matches. She has posted 20 or more digs in two matches and leads the team with 3.89 digs per set for the full season.
  • Junior right-side hitter Alisia Kastmo and junior middle blocker Lindsey Miller 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.
  • Miller's career-high nine blocks in the sweep against Kansas State on Oct. 1 is the most by a Big 12 player in a three-set conference match this season and second overall in all Big 12 matches.
  • Black, who had a career-high and match-high 26 digs and also posted a match-high 17 kills in the win against Baylor (Sept. 28), leads A&M with 11 double-doubles. She has posted double figures in kills in 14 of 18 matches.
  • Black, Miller, Sawatzky and Hendrickson have started every match in 2011, and only Sawatzky has played in all 65 sets. Kastmo has started all but four matches in which senior Sarah Grace started for her in the back row rotation.
  • The Aggies are 8-2 in three-set matches, 4-1 in four-set matches and 2-1 in five-set matches.
  • A&M is 13-0 when leading its opponent in kills and 13-1 when leading in attack percentage. The Aggies also are 8-0 when leading in blocks and 13-1 when winning the first set.
  • The 3-2 win against Baylor on Sept. 28 broke a string of six consecutive five-set losses for the Aggies. Prior to the Baylor match on Wednesday, A&M, which went 2-7 in five-set matches last year and lost to Xavier in five sets earlier this season, had not won a five-setter since defeating Colorado on Sept. 29, 2010, in Boulder, Colo.
  • A&M began the season winning its first nine matches and capturing three tournament titles. The Aggies came within one win of matching the 2007 team for the best start in school history before falling to Xavier, 3-2, at the Michigan/adidas Invitational in the 10th match of the season.
  • A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli is 390-190 in her 19th year at the helm of the Aggies and 490-296 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 4-3 against 2010 NCAA participants. Wins were against Creighton (2), which reached the second round, and first-round participants UTSA and Butler. Losses were to Final Four participant Texas, Missouri, which advanced to the Sweet 16, and Michigan, which was eliminated in the first round.

A LOOK AT THE SOONERS:

  • Oklahoma, which advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 last year before being eliminated by eventual national champion Penn State, is ranked 22nd in the AVCA Top 25 Poll and No. 20 in the Volleyball Magazine Top 20 Poll.
  • The Sooners were picked to tie Iowa State for a second place in the Big 12 this year, according to a preseason poll of the league's head coaches.
  • Oklahoma had an eight-match winning streak snapped on Saturday as the Sooners fell to No. 16 Iowa State, 3-1, in Ames. Tara Dunn led the Sooners with 15 kills, and Suzy Boulavsky and Sallie McLaurin added 14 and 10 kills, respectively. OU was outhit, .280 to .157, and outblocked, 10.5 to 4.
  • The Sooners are 3-3 in away matches, 11-0 in home matches and 3-1 at neutral sites.
  • Sophomore middle blocker Sallie McLaurin leads the Big 12 with 1.48 blocks per set in conference matches. She is second in the league and 26th in the nation with 1.32 blocks per set for the full season. She also ranks second in the Big 12 and 30th in the nation with a .375 hitting percentage.
  • OU leads the league for fewest aces (0.82) and blocks (1.68) allowed per set.
  • Senior middle blocker Carlee Roethlisberger was a four-year standout on the OU basketball team and is in her first season on the volleyball team. She is the sister of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
  • Santiago Restrepo is 139-98 in his eighth season as head coach of the Sooners.

A&M-OU SERIES RECORDS:

  • A&M leads the all-time series, 33-7 since 1976, including 24-6 in Big 12 matches only.
  • All six of OU's Big 12 wins against A&M have occurred over the last 10 meetings, beginning with the Sooners' first Big 12 win against the Aggies on Sept. 13, 2006.
  • The Aggies and Sooners split the season series each of the last two years. In 2009 each team won on the road, while last year, both teams won at home.
  • Four of the last eight A&M-OU meetings have been decided in the final fifth set, including an A&M 3-2 loss in Norman last year.
  • In the most recent meeting, Kelsey Black had a match-high 23 kills while hitting .314 to spark Texas A&M to a 22-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-20 victory over Oklahoma on Nov. 3, 2010, at Reed Arena in a match that was nationally televised on ESPNU. Black, who also pitched in 15 digs had a strong supporting cast as Lindsey Miller and Elise Hendrickson contributed 10 kills apiece, and Tori Mellinger and Chelsea Ringel led A&M in digs with 24 and 17, respectively. Freshman Allie Sawatzky dished out 52 assists, and Stephanie Minnerly also added some crucial kills and finished with seven. Suzy Boulavsky was the only Sooner to post double figures in kills with 12. A&M, which entered the match 1-11 when dropping the first set, outhit the Sooners, .216 to .156, for the match, posting 59 kills to OU's 47. The Aggies also led in digs, 80-65.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE:

Texas A&M has a bye this weekend and resumes Big 12 play at Texas Tech on Wednesday, Oct. 19. First serve against the Red Raiders is at 6:30 p.m. at the United Spirit Arena.