vs.
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (14-7, 0-6 BIG 12)
Wednesday, Oct. 19, 6:30 p.m.
United Spirit Arena, Lubbock,
Texas
Live video/stats: texastech.com
A&M-Tech
All-Time Series (since 1976):
Overall: A&M leads,
52-26
In Lubbock: A&M leads,
20-12
In College
Station: A&M leads, 25-8
In Big 12
matches only: A&M leads, 23-7
Streak: A&M has won
the last eight meetings
Tech's most
recent win: Nov. 18, 2006, 3-0 in Lubbock
Recent Results: A&M defeated No. 22 Oklahoma, 3-2, on Wednesday, Oct. 12 in College Station. The Aggies had a bye on Saturday. Tech fell, 3-1, at Missouri on Saturday.
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas A&M (15-4, 3-2 Big 12) will be going for its third consecutive win, as well as its ninth straight victory against Texas Tech (14-7, 0-6 Big 12), when the Aggies take on the Red Raiders Wednesday in Lubbock. First serve is at 6:30 p.m. at the United Spirit Arena.
The contest will be a match-up between the Big 12 Conference's leading offensive team in Texas A&M and the league's top blocking team in Texas Tech. The Aggies lead the Big 12 and are ranked in the top 36 in the nation in both kills (13.93) and assists (12.90) per set. They also are fourth in the league and 30th in the nation with a .252 hitting percentage. Meanwhile, the Red Raiders are atop the Big 12 and rank fifth in the country with 3.07 blocks per set. In addition, they are holding opponents to a conference-best .128 hitting percentage, 10.99 kills and 10.27 assists per set for the full season.
A&M, which had a bye on Saturday, is in fourth place in the Big 12 team standings after posting back-to-back, come-from-behind five-set victories in which they fought off a combined four match points. Most recently, the Aggies dropped the first two sets against No. 22 Oklahoma but came back and fought off three match points in the fourth set to defeat the Sooners, 22-25, 19-25, 25-17, 29-27, 15-11, and improve to 7-0 in home matches.
Texas Tech, 3-3 in home matches, will be gunning for its first conference win and looking to snap a five-match losing skid. The Red Raiders, who are tied with Kansas for eight in the Big 12 standings, return home after suffering a 3-0 loss at No. 10 Texas and a 3-1 setback at Missouri last week.
AGGIE QUICK HITS:
- A&M's come-from-behind wins last week marked the first time in school history the Aggies have overcome 2-0 set deficits in consecutive matches. The win against No. 22 Oklahoma was the 12th time in school history the Aggies have dropped the first two sets and come back to win, and it was the fourth time in school history A&M accomplished the feat against a ranked opponent.
- 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 is 68th in the nation and leads the league with 0.39 aces per set. Senior outside hitter Kelsey Black is seventh in the Big 12 with 0.26 aces per set, and junior right-side hitter Alisia Kastmo is 10th in the league with 0.25 aces per set.
- Others ranking in the top 10 in the full-season conference stats are junior middle blocker Lindsey Miller, who ranks fourth in hitting percentage (.345), sophomore setter Allie Sawatzky, who is fifth with 10.15 assists per set, and junior libero Megan Pendergast, who is fifth with 3.90 digs per set for the full season. In addition, Black is sixth in kills (3.49) and seventh in points (4.0) per set.
- In Big 12 matches only, Miller ranks fourth in hitting percentage (.365) and sixth in block average (1.12), and Sawatzky is fifth in assists (10.20) per set. Black is eighth in points (3.90) and 10th in kills (3.20) per set, and Pendergast is eighth in digs (3.59) per set. Hendrickson is third in aces (0.36) per set.
- A&M is 7-0 in home matches, 3-3 in away matches, 5-1 at neutral sites and 1-2 against ranked opponents
- The Aggies are receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll for the seventh consecutive week and entered this week listed 30th.
- A&M is 22nd in the NCAA's first RPI (Ratings Power Index) of the season. Among Big 12 schools, only Iowa State (third) and Texas (eighth) are ahead of A&M. Other Big 12 schools in the top 50 are Oklahoma (25th), Kansas State (30th), Missouri (36th), Kansas (39th) and Baylor (45th).
- Lindsey Miller has set career highs for kills and points in each of the last two matches. Against Kansas, the junior middle blocker had career highs of 19 kills and 19.5 points while hitting .375. Miller bettered those totals with personal bests and team season highs of 23 kills and 27.5 points while hitting .455. Over the last two matches, Miller is averaging 4.2 kills and 4.7 points per set while hitting .398.
- Sophomore setter Allie Sawatzky had a career-high 60 assists in the win against Oklahoma. It is the most assists by an A&M player since Kristen Schevikhoven had 60 in a 3-1 victory at Colorado on Nov. 21, 2007, using the 30-point scoring format.
- Earlier this season, 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.
- Senior middle blocker Elise Hendrickson has had at least one ace in 14 of 19 matches and has tallied two or more aces in 10 matches.
- Junior outside hitter Tori Mellinger, who was the team's designated libero the first two seasons of her career, needs 12 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 2.78 digs per set this season.
- Kelsey Black, who is averaging 4.0 points, 3.49 kills and 3.19 digs per set, recorded her 1,000th career point against the Sooners, becoming the sixth A&M player to reach the milestone since rally scoring began in 2001. The senior needs 61 digs and 148 kills to reach 1,000 in those respective categories.
- 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 libero Megan Pendergast has played in 18 matches and posted double figures in digs in a team-leading 14 matches. She has posted 20 or more digs in two matches and leads the team with 3.90 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 and ties the most by a Big 12 player in all matches this season.
- 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 12 double-doubles. She has posted double figures in kills in 15 of 19 matches.
- Black, Miller, Sawatzky and Hendrickson have started every match in 2011, and only Sawatzky has played in all 70 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 3-1 in five-set matches.
- A&M is 14-0 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 391-190 in her 19th year at the helm of the Aggies and 491-296 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 5-3 against 2010 NCAA participants. Wins were against Sweet 16 participant Oklahoma, 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&M-TEXAS TECH SERIES RECORDS:
- A&M is 52-26 against Texas Tech since 1976, including 23-7 in Big 12 matches only.
- A&M is 20-12 against the Red Raiders in matches played in Lubbock and 25-8 in matches played in College Station.
- The Aggies have won the last eight meetings and have won 22 consecutive sets against the Red Raiders. Tech has not won a set since 2007.
- A&M has swept the season series nine times since Big 12 play began in 1996, including each of the last four seasons. The teams have split the Big 12 season series five times.
- Texas Tech's most recent win against the Aggies was a 30-25, 30-23, 30-27 victory on Nov. 18, 2006, at United Spirit Arena, completing Tech's first and only Big 12 season sweep against A&M.
- In the most recent meeting, Kelsey Black and Chelsea Ringel posted 11 kills apiece to lead Texas A&M to a 25-17, 25-22, 25-11 victory over Texas Tech on Oct. 27, 2010, at the United Spirit Arena. Tech was playing its first match under the direction of Caldwell, Texas, native Beth (Karasek) Falls, who was named interim head coach on following the immediate resignation of head coach Trish Knight. A&M outhit Tech .326 to .119 for the full match.
TEXAS TECH NOTES:
- Texas Tech (14-7, 0-6 Big 12) is ranked fifth in the country and leads the Big 12 with 3.07 blocks per set.
- Four Red Raiders are ranked in the top 10 in the Big 12 for blocks per set for the full season. Dravon Rangel leads the league with a 1.58 block average. Aubree Piper, who has not played since a five-set loss to OU on Oct. 1, is tied for sixth in the Big 12 with 1.16 blocks per set, and Mikia Mills (1.13 bps) and Miara Cave (1.12 bps) are ninth and 10th, respectively.
- After dropping the season opener at TCU, Tech won its next 13 matches before falling to No. 16 Iowa State to open Big 12 play.
- Most recently, Tech fell to Missouri, 25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 25-21. The Red Raiders hit .213, their best hitting performance in a Big 12 match this season, but allowed a season-high 10 aces.
- Senior outside hitter Amanda Dowdy, a preseason all-Big 12 unanimous selection, is ranked second in the Big 12 and 37th in the nation with 4.66 points per set. She is third in the league and 34th in the country with 4.16 kills per set.
- Dowdy, who had 22 kills at Missouri on Saturday, needs six kills to reach 1,334 for her career and move her into second in the Red Raider career records.
- Dowdy and A&M senior outside hitter Kelsey Black were teammates on the 2009 USA Junior National Team. A&M associate head coach John Corbelli served as an assistant coach of the team.
- Tech is picked to finish ninth in the Big 12 according to a preseason vote of the league coaches.
- Don Flora is in his first season as head coach of the Red Raiders. He spent the past two seasons as an assistant at New Mexico State.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
Texas A&M returns home on Saturday, Oct. 22 to play host to No. 16 Iowa State. First serve is at 6:30 p.m. at Reed Arena, where the Aggies are 7-0 this season. There will be an autograph session following the match.
A&M will be running several promotions for the ISU match. It will be Camper Appreciation Night, and campers who wear their 2011 Texas A&M Volleyball Camp T-shirt will be admitted free. Club volleyball teams also can receive free admission by wearing their club volleyball shirt, and Honor Roll kids who present the free ticket flier distributed to them at their school also get in free.