Undefeated Aggies Compete in Ladyjack Invitational
Sep 08, 2011 | Volleyball
A&M opens the tournament Friday at 6 p.m. at Shelton Gym against the host Ladyjacks (6-3), who are making their home season debut. The Aggies conclude the tournament against Northern Illinois (6-2) on Saturday at 10 a.m. Live scoring will be available at sfajacks.com.
The Aggies have won each of the two tournaments they have participated in this season, including last weekend's Portland/Nike Invitational. The Aggies are now receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 Poll for the first time since Aug. 30, 2010, and their 7-0 record equals both the 1982 and 2007 teams for the best start in school history after seven matches.
Two-time tournament MVP Kelsey Black leads the Aggies with 4.18 kills and 4.89 points per set. The senior outside hitter from Amarillo is hitting .340. Junior right-side hitter Alisia Kastmo also has garnered all-tournament honors in both tournaments and is hitting .331 while averaging 2.64 kills and 3.34 points per set.
AGGIE QUICK HITS:
- A&M leads the Big 12 with 14.91 kills, 13.39 assists and 2.0 aces per set. In addition, the Aggies are allowing the fewest aces per set (0.74) in the league.
- As a team, A&M is outhitting its opponents, .298 to .147. In addition, the Aggies are averaging 2.0 aces and 15.52 digs per set while holding opponents to 0.74 aces and 12.96 digs per set. Opponents also are averaging 10.43 kills and 9.87 assists but are leading A&M in blocks per set, 1.96 to 1.57.
- Individually, sophomore setter Allie Sawatzky has played in every set and directs the offense with 10.70 assists per set. Black and senior middle blocker Elise Hendrickson lead the team with 11 aces each, and junior libero Megan Pendergast sports a team-best 3.40 digs per set. Lindsey Miller leads in blocks with a 0.81 average.
- With a win against the Ladyjacks, the Aggies will equal the 2007 team for the best start in school history after eight matches. The 2007 squad holds the all-time best season start, having won the first 10 matches before suffering a loss.
- Five of A&M's victories have been 3-set sweeps. The Aggies have lost only two sets this season, one to Creighton and one at Portland.
- A&M has led its opponent in kills, hitting percentage, assists and digs in every match this season. In addition, the Aggies have led in aces in six of seven matches and tied in aces in one match. A&M has led its opponent in blocks twice.
- Junior middle blocker Lindsey Miller, who has started every match in her career, needs 10 kills to reach 500 for her career.
- Miller and junior right-side hitter Alisia Kastmo have each posted a performance in which they had 12 kills while committing no errors. Kastmo had 12 kills and 0 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.
- Senior Kelsey Black has posted double figures in kills in six of seven matches and leads the team with four double-doubles.
- A&M joins Iowa State (7-0) and Kansas (6-0) as the only remaining undefeated teams in the Big 12 Conference.
- The Aggies, who went 7-13 and finished eighth in the Big 12 last year, have been picked to finish fourth in the league this season, according to a preseason poll of the conference coaches. Texas garnered the top spot in the preseason poll, receiving seven of nine first-place votes and 63 total points. Iowa State received two first-place votes and tied Oklahoma for second with 53 points. Texas A&M received 43 points, followed by Missouri (32 points), Baylor (30) and Kansas (22). Kansas State (20) and Texas Tech (8) round out the poll.
- A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli is 383-186 in her 19th year at the helm of the Aggies and 483-292 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. With two wins over Creighton, which advanced to the second round of the 2010 NCAA tournament, and a win against Butler the Aggies are already 3-0 against 2010 NCAA participant teams.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS:
- The SFA Ladyjacks are 6-3 overall and 2-3 over their last five matches after falling at North Texas, 3-0, Monday in Denton, Texas.
- Junior middle blocker Sabrina Burns and freshman outside hitter Katzy Randall led the Ladyjacks with seven kills apiece against the Mean Green, and junior defensive specialist Madison Hanlan led all players with 11 digs in the loss.
- Freshman setter Paige Holland leads the Southland Conference with 10.34 assists per set.
- Randall leads the team with 2.84 kills per set but is being held to a .150 hitting percentage. Burns is hitting a team-best .327 while averaging 2.14 kills per set, and Hanlan is averaging a team-leading 5.24 digs per set for the season.
- The Ladyjacks have moved back to Shelton Gym after spending the past 12 seasons at William R. Johnson Coliseum. The Ladyjacks won three Southland Conference titles at Shelton Gym from 1988 to 1998.
- The Ladyjacks won the first four matches of the season, the program's best start since 1992 when SFA opened 6-0.
- Debbie Humphreys is 526-250 in her 24th season as head coach of the Ladyjacks.
- Northern Illinois is 6-2 and riding a four-match winning streak entering a match at Lamar tonight in Beaumont.
- NIU received votes in this week's AVCA Top 25 Poll, coming in at No. 37, one spot ahead of Texas A&M. It is the first time the Huskies have received votes since 2001.
- The Huskies return all but one player from last season's team that finished second in the Mid-American Conference tournament and tallied the most wins (27) since 1998 and the best conference finish since 2001.
- NIU, which is picked to win the MAC this year according to a preseason poll of the league's coaches, is hitting .278 and averaging 14.22 assists, 15.11 kills and 16.48 digs per set.
- Lauren Wicinski, the 2010 MAC Freshman of the Year, leads the MAC with 5.15 kills per set and is third in aces (0.50), and eighth in digs (3.65) per set. Kristin Hoffman is third in the league in assists (12.15 per set) and Allison McGlaughlin ranks seventh in digs with a 3.78 average.
- Head coach Ray Gooden is 162-131 in his 10th season at the helm of the Huskies.
ALL-TIME SERIES RECORDS:
- A&M is 17-0 all-time against SFA, including 1-0 in Nacogdoches. The teams last met Sept. 1, 2001, at the Crowne Plaza/Rice Invitational in Houston. The Aggies posted their third consecutive sweep against the Ladyjacks, 30-15, 30-27, 30-17, en route to the tournament title.
- A&M is 1-0 against Northern Illinois, having held off the Huskies, 15-8, 13-15, 15-10, 10-15, 15-13, on Oct. 15, 1993, at G. Rollie White Coliseum in College Station.
UPCOMING
SCHEDULE:
A&M concludes its non-conference
road schedule against Xavier, Toledo and Michigan, Sept. 16-17, at the
Michigan/adidas Invitational in Ann Arbor, Mich., before returning home Sept.
21 to host Houston Baptist in the Aggies' final non-conference match of the
regular season. The Aggies open Big 12 Conference play Saturday, Sept. 24 at
Missouri before playing their first home conference match against Baylor on
Wednesday, Sept. 28. The Baylor match will be Fish Camp Night at Reed Arena.
AGGIES ON THE INTERNET:
Free video streaming and live
scoring of A&M's 14 home matches will be available at AggieAthletics.com,
as well as free audio broadcasts of select home and away matches.
