lonestar-web
Popular Searches
Aggies, Bears Clash In Crucial Big 12 Road MatchAggies, Bears Clash In Crucial Big 12 Road Match
Volleyball

Aggies, Bears Clash In Crucial Big 12 Road Match

Texas A&M (18-6, 7-4 Big 12) makes a trek down Hwy. 6 to Waco, Texas, on Wednesday for a crucial road match at Baylor (17-10, 4-7). First serve of the is at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.

TEXAS A&M AGGIES (18-6, 7-4 BIG 12)
vs.
BAYLOR BEARS (17-10, 4-7 BIG 12)

Wednesday, Nov. 9, 7 p.m.
Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas

Live video (fee)/Gametracker: http://baylorbears.com

A&M-Baylor All-Time Series (since 1976):
  Overall: A&M leads, 58-13
  In Waco: A&M leads, 24-5
  In College Station: A&M leads, 24-6
  In Big 12 matches only:  A&M leads, 22-9
  Last meeting: A&M def. Baylor, 25-20, 22-25, 19-25, 25-15, 15-5 (Sept. 28, 2011 in College Station)

 

 

Aggies Clash With Bears In Crucial Big 12 Road Match

 

COLLEGE STATION, Texas  -- Texas A&M (18-6, 7-4 Big 12) makes a trek down Highway 6 to Waco, Texas, on Wednesday for a crucial road match at Baylor (17-10, 4-7). First serve of the "Battle on the Brazos" is at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.

The Aggies, 7-3 over their last 10 matches, have a half game lead over No. 25 Oklahoma for third place in the Big 12 Conference with only five matches remaining, including three consecutive matches against ranked opponents to close out the regular season. A&M, which held off Baylor, 25-20, 22-25, 19-25, 25-15, 15-5, at Reed Arena in College Station in the first half of conference play, is coming off a disappointing 13-25, 15-25, 25-21, 25-15, 15-12 loss at Kansas State on Saturday, despite leading the Wildcats in kills, assists, aces, digs and blocks and tying in hitting percentage.

Baylor, 9-2 in home matches, is in seventh place in the league standings. The Bears also are aiming to return to the win column after falling at Missouri, 25-22, 17-25, 25-20, 27-25, Saturday in Columbia, Mo. Like A&M, the Bears lost despite having better stats on paper, including a higher hitting percentage, more kills, and more digs than their opponent.

AGGIE QUICK HITS:

  • Texas A&M is 20th in the latest NCAA RPI rankings, released on Monday. Among Big 12 schools, only Iowa State (third) and Texas (fourth) are ahead of A&M. Other Big 12 schools in the top 50 in RPI are Oklahoma (23rd), Kansas State (28th), Missouri (29th), Baylor (42nd) and Kansas (45th).
  • The Aggies are receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll for the 10th consecutive week and are 31st in this week's rankings. A&M entered the week ranked 25th in home attendance, averaging 1,563 per match.
  • Kelsey Black had 16 digs against Kansas State to give her 1,012 digs for her career. She joins junior Tori Mellinger, who became A&M's 19th member in the 1,000-dig club on Oct. 22, when she posted 13 digs against Iowa State. Black, who recorded her 1,000th career point against Oklahoma on Oct. 12 to become the sixth A&M player to reach the milestone since rally scoring began in 2001, also is approaching 1,000 career kills, needing 87.
  • Black leads the team and ranks sixth in the Big 12 with 3.36 kills per set for the full season. She also is sixth in the league in both points (3.88) and aces (0.28) per set.
  • Senior middle blocker Elise Hendrickson leads the Big 12 with 0.34 aces per set. She has had at least one ace in 18 of 24 matches and has tallied two or more aces in 10 matches.
  • Junior middle blocker Lindsey Miller is ranked fourth in the conference in hitting percentage (.346) and fourth in blocks (1.22) per set in Big 12 matches only. Miller's career-high nine blocks in the first meeting against Kansas State 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.
  • Setter Allie Sawatzky is fifth in the Big 12 with 10.31 assists per set for the full season. The sophomore from Manitoba surpassed 2,000 career assists at Kansas State and ranks 10th in the A&M career records with 2,016.
  • Sawatzky's career-high 60 assists in the win against No. 22 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 libero Megan Pendergast has played in 23 matches and has led or tied for the team lead in digs 14 times, more than any other player. She has posted double figures in digs in a team high-tying 18 matches and has posted 20 or more digs in three matches. She leads the team and is ranked sixth in the Big 12 with 3.87 digs per set for the full season and is eighth in the league with 3.70 digs per set in conference matches only.
  • Black leads A&M with 15 double-doubles. She has posted double figures in kills in 18 of 24 matches overall and double figures in digs in 18 matches, including each of the last seven matches.
  • Black, Miller, Sawatzky and Hendrickson have started every match in 2011, and only Sawatzky has played in all 91 sets. Junior right-side hitter Alisia Kastmo has started all but five matches in which senior Sarah Grace started for her in the back row rotation.
  • Grace, a senior defensive specialist, 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.
  • 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 9-1 in home matches, 4-4 in away matches, 5-1 at neutral sites and 1-3 against ranked opponents.
  • The Aggies are 9-2 in three-set matches, 5-2 in four-set matches and 4-2 in five-set matches.
  • The match at Kansas State marked the first time the Aggies lost when leading in blocks this season and the second time A&M lost a match when leading in kills and/or aces.
  • During the first half of the Big 12 schedule, A&M had a streak of three matches that 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 during the first half of conference play 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 394-192 in her 19th year at the helm of the Aggies and 494-298 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.

BAYLOR BITS:

  • Baylor is 17-10 overall, 4-7 in the Big 12 and 9-2 in home matches.
  • The Bears have lost four of their last five Big 12 matches, two of which were against ranked teams. The one win was a 3-2 win against Kansas State in Waco on Oct. 29.
  • Most recently, Baylor lost to Missouri on the road, 25-22, 17-25, 25-20, 27-25. The Bears outhit the Tigers, .255 to .241) and led in kills (64-56), assists (60-53) and digs (74-65), but were outblocked (11-8) and out-aced (7-3). Zoe Adom and Briana Tolbert led the Bears with 14 kills apiece, both hitting above .300.
  • Senior Allison King was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. In two matches last week, King averaged 6.78 digs per set, posting 34 digs in a five-set win against Texas State and 27 in the four-set loss at Missouri. She ranks second in the Big 12 and 37th in the nation with 5.15 digs per set for the full season.
  • As a team, Baylor is second in the league and 25th in the nation with 17.54 digs per set.
  • Senior 6-3 middle blocker Briana Tolbert leads the Bears and is fourth in the Big 12 with a .345 hitting percentage.
  • In conference matches only, Baylor is last in the league in blocks allowed (2.56) and digs allowed (18.00) 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 135-116 in his eighth season as head coach of the Bears.

A&M BAYLOR SERIES RECORD:

  • A&M leads the all-time series against Baylor, 58-13, since 1976, including 22-9 in Big 12 matches only.
  • A&M is 24-5 against Baylor in matches played in Waco and 24-6 against the Bears in matches played in College Station.
  • In the most recent meeting, the Aggies held off the Bears, 25-20, 22-25, 19-25, 25-15, 15-5, at Reed Arena in College Station on Sept. 28, 2011. The win snapped the Bears' three-match winning streak against the Aggies, Baylor's longest winning streak in the history of the series. A&M setter Allie Sawatzky posted the first triple-double of her career and led the Aggies back from a the 2-1 set deficit. The sophomore posted 46 assists, 11 kills and 11 digs and directed an offense that had four other players who also reached double figures in kills. A&M outhit Baylor .262 to .136 for the match, including .370 to .040 in the final two sets.
  • Baylor defeated the Aggies, 25-22, 25-27, 25-20, 23-25, 15-8, the last time the teams met in Waco. The win gave the Bears their first-ever conference season series sweep -- Southwest Conference or Big 12 -- against A&M.
  • The last four meetings have been decided in five sets, with Baylor winning three.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE:

A&M hosts Missouri at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 12. It will be "Aggie Mom's Club Appreciation Day" and any Aggie Mom's Club member can receive a free ticket to the match by going to the Will Call window.

            In addition, Aggie Athletes Involved (AAI), a group of Texas A&M student-athletes who participate in many community activities, will be hosting its annual Coat Drive that benefits the local Twin City Mission in Bryan, and anyone bringing a new or gently used jacket, sweater or blanket will receive a free ticket to the match. The collection location at the main entrance will be manned from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

A&M has only three regular season matches remaining after the Missouri match, including the home finale against rival Texas in a State Farm Lone Star match on Wednesday, Nov. 23. A&M's five seniors -- Kelsey Black, Sarah Grace, Elise Hendrickson, Chelsea Ringel and Cinthya Roberto -- will be honored before the match against the Longhorns.