vs.
KANSAS JAYHAWKS (13-9, 1-8 BIG 12)
Sunday, Oct. 30, 2 p.m.
Reed Arena, College Station,
Texas
Promotion:
Breast
Cancer Awareness Match: Specially priced $3 tickets available for
purchase at the Will Call window for anyone who wears a pink T-shirt in honor
of Breast Cancer Awareness
Free live video/stats: AggieAthletics.com
A&M-Kansas
All-Time Series:
In College
Station: A&M leads, 15-1
Overall: A&M leads,
26-6
In Lawrence: A&M leads,
11-5
In Big 12
matches only: A&M leads, 25-6
Most recent: A&M fought
off match point and came back to defeat KU, 14-25, 19-25, 27-25, 25-22, 15-13,
on Oct. 8 in Lawrence, snapping a two-match losing streak against the Jayhawks.
Recent Results: A&M fell to then-No. 15 Iowa State, 3-1, at Reed on Oct. 22. KU was swept by the 14th-ranked Cyclones in Ames, Iowa, on Oct. 26.
A&M Hosts KU in Breast Cancer Awareness Match
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas A&M (16-5, 5-3 Big 12) begins the second half of Big 12 Conference play Sunday as the Aggies play host to the Kansas Jayhawks (13-9, 1-8 Big 12). First serve is slated for 2 p.m. at Reed Arena. It is the Aggies' Breast Cancer Awareness match, and fans who wear a pink T-shirt in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness can purchase a ticket for only $3 at the will call window.
The Aggies, 7-1 in home matches, have won three of their last four matches -- including a 3-2 come-from-behind win at Kansas on Oct. 8 -- and are in fourth place in the Big 12 standings, one game behind No. 21 Oklahoma. A&M had a mid-week bye and has not played since falling in a close contest to then-No. 15 Iowa State, 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 23-25, 25-23), last Saturday at Reed. The loss snapped a three-match winning streak and was A&M's first home loss of the season.
Kansas, which picked up its first-ever win in College Station last year, is tied for eighth in the Big 12. The Jayhawks also are coming off a loss to 14th-ranked Iowa State, falling to the Cyclones, 25-15, 25-16, 25-11, Wednesday in Ames, Iowa.
AGGIE QUICK HITS:
- A&M, which has played only three matches since last facing KU on Oct. 8, leads the Big 12 in both assists (12.84) and kills (13.84) per set and is second with 1.37 aces per set for the full season.
- Senior middle blocker Elise Hendrickson leads the league with 0.37 aces per set. She has had at least one ace in 16 of 21 matches and has tallied two or more aces in 10 matches.
- Junior middle blocker Lindsey Miller is ranked fifth in the Big 12 in both hitting percentage (.357) and blocks (1.18) per set and is eighth in points (3.82) per set in Big 12 matches only. Over the last three matches, the 6-2 Cinco Ranch High School product is hitting .385 and averaging 3.5 kills, 1.36 blocks and 4.29 points per set.
- Sophomore setter Allie Sawatzky is averaging 10.86 assists per set over the last three matches and moved into 10th place in the A&M career records for assists with 1,848 after posting 50 assists at Texas Tech. She ranks fifth in the Big 12 with 10.28 assists per set for the full season and fifth in conference matches only with a 10.21 average. Her career-high 60 assists in the win against Oklahoma is the most 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.
- Junior outside hitter Tori Mellinger, who was the team's designated libero the first two seasons of her career, had 13 digs against Iowa State to give her 1,011 for her career. She becomes the 19th player in school history to join the 1,000 digs club. Mellinger was the starting libero for the first three matches this season and has since started 15 matches on the left side and is averaging 2.75 digs per set this season.
- Outside hitter Kelsey Black leads the team and ranks eighth in the Big 12 with 3.36 kills per set for the full season. She is seventh in the league with 3.83 points per set and is 10th with 0.24 aces per set. The senior recorded her 1,000th career point against Oklahoma on Oct. 12, becoming the sixth A&M player to reach the milestone since rally scoring began in 2001. The senior needs 33 digs and 127 kills to reach 1,000 in those respective categories.
- Junior libero Megan Pendergast has played in 20 matches and has led or tied for the team lead in digs 13 times, more than any other player. She has posted double figures in digs in a team-leading 16 matches and has posted 20 or more digs in two matches. She leads the team and is ranked fifth in the Big 12 with 3.90 digs per set for the full season and is eighth in the league with 3.68 digs per set in conference matches only.
- Miller's career-high nine blocks in the sweep against Kansas State on Oct. 1 is still the most by a Big 12 player in a three-set conference match and ties for the most by a Big 12 player in all three-set matches this season.
- Black leads A&M with 13 double-doubles. She has posted double figures in kills in 16 of 21 matches.
- Black, Miller, Sawatzky and Hendrickson have started every match in 2011, and only Sawatzky has played in all 79 sets. Junior right-side hitter Alisia Kastmo has started all but four matches in which senior Sarah Grace started for her in the back row rotation.
- Kastmo and 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.
- A&M is 20th in the NCAA RPI rankings, released on Monday. Among Big 12 schools, only Iowa State (third) and Texas (fifth) are ahead of A&M. Other Big 12 schools in the top 50 are Oklahoma (21st), Kansas State (33rd), Missouri (37th), Kansas (40th) and Baylor (46th).
- The Aggies are receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll for the eighth consecutive week and entered this week listed 30th. A&M ranks 23rd in home attendance, averaging 1,611 per match.
- A&M is 7-1 in home matches, 4-3 in away matches, 5-1 at neutral sites and 1-3 against ranked opponents.
- The Aggies are 8-2 in three-set matches, 4-2 in four-set matches and 4-1 in five-set matches.
- The loss to Iowa State marked the first time in 16 matches that the Aggies lost after leading in kills. It also was the first time in 14 matches the A&M lost after winning the third set. A&M is 15-1 when leading its opponent in kills and 13-1 when leading in attack percentage. The Aggies are 8-0 when leading in blocks and 14-1 when winning the first set.
- A&M's three matches leading into the Iowa State match were decided in five sets, with the Aggies winning all three. It marked the fourth time in program history A&M played three consecutive five-setters (2005, 2006, 2008), and only the second time A&M won all three. A&M has never played four consecutive five-set matches.
- A&M's come-from-behind wins against Kansas and Oklahoma earlier this month 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.
- In the win against Baylor on Sept. 28, 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.
- 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, 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 392-191 in her 19th year at the helm of the Aggies and 492-297 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 5-4 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 and Iowa State, who were each eliminated in the first round.
A&M-KU SERIES RECORDS:
- A&M leads the all-time series, 26-6, since the teams first met in 1990, including 25-6 in Big 12 matches only.
- A&M is 15-1 against the Jayhawks in matches played in College Station. KU picked up its first road win against the Aggies last season in a 3-2 (25-14, 17-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-12) victory at Reed Arena.
- A&M is 11-5 against Kansas in matches played in Lawrence.
- A&M has swept the season series 10 times in the 15-year history of the Big 12. The teams have split the series four times, with each team winning on its home court. Last year was only the first time KU swept the season series.
- Each of the last three meetings have been decided in five sets.
- In the most recent meeting, A&M lost the first two sets, fought off match set in the third and came back to win, 14-25, 19-25, 27-25, 25-22, 15-13 in Lawrence on Oct. 8. Lindsey Miller had a then-career high 19 kills while hitting .375 to lead the Aggies. A&M won the match despite Kansas leading in hitting percentage (.209 to .155), kills (63-62), aces (5-4), digs (85-74) and blocks (12-6).
KANSAS TiDBITS:
- The Jayhawks (13-9, 1-8 Big 12) were picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 according to a preseason vote of the league coaches. They finished seventh last year.
- KU is 2-6 in away matches.
- Five of KU's nine losses have been to ranked opponents.
- The Jayhawks, whose one conference win was against Texas Tech on Oct. 22, do have one ranked win, a 3-2 victory over then-No. 6 Minnesota, the highest ranked win in school history.
- Senior outside hitter Allison Mayfield ranks second in the Big 12 with 4.17 kills and 4.55 points per set.
- Sophomore middle blocker Caroline Jarmoc is third in the league in blocks (1.24) and aces (0.32) per set, sixth in points (3.99) per set and 10th in hitting percentage (.312).
- Most recently, KU was swept at No. 14 Iowa State. Three players led the Jayhawks with five kills apiece as KU was outhit, .315 to .074.
- Head coach Ray Bechard is 220-197 in his 14th season as coach of the Jayhawks.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
Texas A&M concludes a three-match home stand Wednesday Nov. 2 as the Aggies play host to Texas Tech. First serve is slated for 6:30 p.m. at Reed Arena. It will be "Local Heroes Night" and all members of the Bryan/College Station fire and police departments as well as the Texas A&M campus police and security get in free, and their family members can purchase a specially discounted $3 ticket by using the link provided in an email sent to the departments.