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Volleyball

Volleyball Takes on Jayhawks Saturday in Kansas

Texas A&M (13-4, 2-2 Big 12) concludes a two-match road swing on Saturday as the Aggies take on the Kansas Jayhawks (12-4, 0-3 Big 12) at 6:30 p.m. at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center in Lawrence.

TEXAS A&M AGGIES (13-4, 2-2 BIG 12)
at
KANSAS JAYHAWKS (12-4, 0-3 BIG 12)

Saturday, Oct. 8, 6:30 p.m.
Horejsi Family Athletics Center, Lawrence, Kan.

Live stats: Gametracker on AggieAthletics.com

A&M-Kansas All-Time Series:
Overall: A&M leads, 25-6
In Lawrence: A&M leads, 10-5
In College Station: A&M leads, 15-1
In Big 12 matches only:  A&M leads, 24-6
Streak: KU has won the last two meetings and swept the season series for the first time last year.

Recent Results: A&M fell to No. 10 Texas, 3-0, in Austin on Wednesday. KU defeated Nebraska-Omaha, 3-0, in Lawrence on Tuesday.

Aggies Take on Jayhawks Saturday in the Sunflower State

Texas A&M (13-4, 2-2 Big 12) concludes a two-match road swing on Saturday as the Aggies take on the Kansas Jayhawks (12-4, 0-3 Big 12) in Lawrence, Kan. The match begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center.

The Aggies, currently tied for fourth in the Big 12 Conference, are looking to get back into the win column after suffering a 25-15, 25-19, 25-23 setback at No. 10 Texas on Wednesday. The loss snapped A&M's two-match winning streak.

Kansas, which will be hosting its annual "Jayhawks for a Cure" match in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month will be aiming for its first Big 12 victory after opening league play 0-3. The Jayhawks, who posted a 25-20, 25-16, 28-26, sweep against Nebraska-Omaha in non-conference action on Tuesday, were swept by both then-No. 8 Texas and No. 16 Iowa State to open conference and fell to Baylor, 3-1, in its most recent Big 12 outing.

AGGIE QUICK HITS:

  • The Aggies lead the Big 12 and entered the week ranked in the top 25 in the nation in hitting percentage (.267), kills per set (14.03) and assists per set (12.93) for the full season. In Big 12 matches only, A&M is third in hitting percentage (.240), assists (12.80) and aces (1.13) per set, fourth in kills (13.60) and blocks (2.23) per set, and sixth and seventh in opponent hitting percentage (.214) and digs per set (15.00), respectively.
  • Opponents are hitting .172 and averaging 11.62 kills, 10.85 assists, 0.98 aces, 14.22 digs and 1.68 blocks per set in all matches. In Big 12 matches only, opponents are hitting .213 and averaging 12.40 kills, 11.60 assists, 0.93 aces, 13.47 digs and 1.97 blocks per set.
  • 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 47th in the nation and currently leads the league with 0.41 aces per set. Senior outside hitter Kelsey Black is fifth in the Big 12 with 0.31 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 conference stats are sophomore setter Allie Sawatzky, who is fifth with 10.18 assists per set and junior libero Megan Pendergast, who is sixth with 3.90 digs per set for the full season. In addition, Black is fifth in points (4.22) and sixth in kills (3.66) per set, and junior middle blocker Lindsey Miller ranks sixth in hitting percentage (.326) and 10th with 1.05 blocks per set. Kastmo is ninth in hitting percentage (.320).
  • In Big 12 matches only, Miller ranks second in block average (1.33) and ninth in hitting percentage (.313), and Black is fifth in points (4.17), seventh in kills (3.67) and 10th in digs (3.93) per set. Hendrickson is second in aces (0.40) per set, and Sawatzky is fourth in aces (0.33) and sixth in assists (9.73) per set.
  • A&M is 6-0 in home matches, 2-3 in away matches and 5-1 at neutral sites.
  • The Aggies are receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll for the fifth consecutive week and entered this week listed 31st.
  • 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 43 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 12 matches on the left side, is averaging 2.72 digs per set this season.
  • Junior libero Megan Pendergast has played in 16 matches and posted double figures in digs in a team-leading 12 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 this season and second overall in all Big 12 matches. In addition, A&M's 10 total blocks against the Wildcats is the second most blocks by a Big 12 team in a three-set conference match this year.
  • Senior Kelsey Black, who had a career-high and match-high 26 digs while also posting a match-high 17 kills in the win against Baylor last week, leads A&M with 10 double-doubles. The Amarillo native has posted double figures in kills in 13 of 17 matches this season.
  • Black, Miller, Sawatzky and Hendrickson have started every match in 2011, and only Sawatzky has played in all 60 sets. Kastmo has started all but three 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 1-1 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 389-190 in her 19th year at the helm of the Aggies and 489-296 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&M-KU series RECORDS:

  • A&M leads the all-time series, 25-6, since the teams first met in 1990, including 24-6 in Big 12 matches only.
  • A&M is 10-5 against Kansas in matches played in Lawrence. All five losses have been over the last eight years, including a five-set loss at the Horejsi Center in 2010.
  • 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 five-setter at Reed Arena.
  • Last year, KU snapped a seven-match losing skid against the Aggies with a 25-23, 18-25, 20-25, 25-22, 15-10 victory in Lawrence. The Jayhawks then swept the season series for the first time and chalked up their first-ever win in College Station with a 25-14, 17-25, 25-20, 22-25, 15-12 victory.
  • Kansas has never won three consecutive matches against A&M in the history of the series.
  • 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.
  • Three of A&M's six losses to the Jayhawks have been in five sets, including both of last year's losses.

KANSAS TiDBITS:

  • The Jayhawks (12-4, 0-3 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 4-1 in home matches.
  • Three of KU's four losses have been to ranked opponents: No. 8 Texas (3-0), No. 15 Northern Iowa (3-2) and No. 16 Iowa State (3-0). The Jayhawks do have one ranked win, a 3-2 victory over then-No. 6 Minnesota, the highest ranked win in school history.
  • KU's one loss to an unranked team was a 3-1 loss at Baylor, a team A&M defeated, 3-2, in College Station.
  • Senior outside hitter Allison Mayfield ranks second in the Big 12 with 4.26 kills and 4.71 points per set.
  • Sophomore middle blocker Caroline Jarmoc is fourth in the league in aces (0.32), fifth in blocks (1.19) and seventh in points (3.94) per set.
  • Most recently, KU defeated Nebraska-Omaha, 25-20, 25-16, 28-26 in Lawrence. Mayfield led the Jayhawks with 14 kills, and added 16 digs. Sophomore Brianne Riley, who is fourth in the Big 12 with 4.39 digs per set for the full season, led all players with 20 digs.
  • In their most recent Big 12 outing, the Jayhawks fell to Baylor, 25-23, 23-25, 25-27, 25-22, in Waco. Riley had 34 digs, the most digs for a Big 12 player in a four-set match this season. Mayfield had 17 kills, and Jarmoc added 16 while hitting at a .343 clip. Junior middle Tayler Tolefree, who is third in the Big 12 with 1.21 blocks per set, had a team-high four blocks. The Jayhawks were outhit, .202 to .136.
  • Head coach Ray Bechard is 219-192 in his 14th season as coach of the Jayhawks.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE:

Texas A&M returns home Wednesday, Oct. 12 to play host to the 18th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners. First serve is slated for 6:30 p.m. at Reed Arena.