COLLEGE STATION -- Texas A&M (14-8, 7-7 Big 12) will be aiming to get back into the win column when the Aggies play host to No. 8 Iowa State (20-4, 12-3 Big 12) on Wednesday. First serve will be at 6:30 p.m. at Reed Arena.

The Cyclones, who are 1-12 all-time in matches played in College Station, are having a record-setting year for both the full season and in Big 12 play, but they also are looking to rebound after getting swept by No. 10 Nebraska on Saturday.

Free crocs will be given to the first 100 fans at the student entrance. Tickets can be purchased at the Reed Arena entrance, online at AggieAthletics.com, or by calling 888-99-AGGIE. Tickets are $9 for reserved seats; $7 for adult general admission; and $4 for youth general admission. Children under 2 are admitted free in general admission sections.

Live audio of the match will be available at AggieAthletics.com with Matt Simon calling the action. In addition, the broadcasts can be heard on 95.1-3 on the FM dial of an HD Radio. Live stats and video streaming also will be available at AggieAthletics.com.

The Aggies, in sixth place in the Big 12 standings, are coming off back-to-back heartbreaking five-set losses to Kansas State and No. 20 Baylor last week. Iowa State, which handed No. 2 Texas its only loss of the season last Wednesday, had its school record-setting 11-match winning streak snapped after falling to No. 10 Nebraska, 3-0, on Saturday in front of 10,000-plus at Hilton Coliseum in Ames. The Cyclones are in second place in the conference standings.

The match between the Aggies and the Cyclones will be an offensive battle between two teams ranked in the top five in the nation for assists per set and in the top 10 in the country for kills per set.

Texas A&M leads the Big 12 and is ranked second in the nation with 14.01 assists per set. In addition, the Aggies lead the conference and are ranked fifth in the country with 14.76 kills per set.

Iowa State is No. 5 in the nation with a 13.76 assist average and 10th with 14.51 kills per set.

A&M is second in the league and 28th in the nation with a .253 hitting percentage, but the Cyclones have one of the top defensive teams and lead the league for opponent hitting percentage, holding teams to a .148 hitting efficiency. In addition, the Cyclones lead the Big 12 and are seventh in the country with 18.0 digs per set. They also are 32nd in the nation with 2.57 blocks per set.

Aggie senior setter Kristen Schevikhoven (10.84 assists per set) directs a well-balanced and potent offense that has three players averaging more than 2.9 kills per set, including senior outside hitter Sarah Ammerman, who leads the team and is ranked second in the Big 12 with 4.23 kills and 4.66 points per set. Senior right-side hitter Jennifer Banse, who leads A&M’s outside attackers with a .274 hitting efficiency, is second on the team and ninth in the Big 12 with 3.30 kills per set and second on the squad and eighth in the conference with 3.70 points per set. Senior outside hitter Mary Batis, who has started every match of her career and is ranked in A&M’s top 10 records for career kills, points and digs, is averaging 2.94 kills per set for the full season.

Three players are averaging more than three digs per set, including Batis, who leads the team with a 3.28 dig average for the full season. Freshman libero Tori Mellinger is averaging 3.21 digs per set, and Ammerman averages 3.19 digs.

A&M-ISU SERIES RECORDS
• A&M leads ISU, 24-6, since the teams first met in 1981, including 22-5 in Big 12 matches only.

• A&M is 12-1 against ISU in matches played in College Station. ISU’s only win at G. Rollie White Coliseum was in 2006 as the Cyclones completed their first and only Big 12 season series sweep against the Aggies.

• The Cyclones’ five Big 12 wins against the Aggies have occurred in the last seven meetings, including each of the last four matches that have been played in Ames. A&M is now 10-4 in matches played in Ames.

• The teams have split the season series the last two years with each team winning on its home floor.

AGGIE QUICK HITS
• After four consecutive weeks in the AVCA Top 25, Texas A&M dropped to 29th this week. A&M broke into the poll for the first time this season at No. 22 on Oct. 12, marking A&M’s first appearance in the Top 25 since the Aggies made a one-week appearance at No. 25 on Sept. 10, 2007. The team’s No. 21 ranking on Oct. 19 marked A&M’s highest ranking since being ranked No. 20 on Sept. 19, 2005.

• A&M has two wins against Top 25 opponents this season and is 2-4 overall against ranked opponents. In its first match against a ranked opponent, A&M upset No. 6 Nebraska, 3-1, in a nationally televised match at Reed Arena on Sept. 23, snapping a 19-match losing skid against the Huskers. It marked A&M’s first win against a top-10 team since defeating No. 9 Texas, 3-1, on Oct. 16, 2004, at G. Rollie White Coliseum in College Station. Furthermore, it was A&M’s first victory against a team ranked No. 6 or higher since defeating No. 6 Wisconsin, 3-0, on Dec. 7, 2001, in the NCAA regional semifinals. The other ranked victory this season was at No. 17 Baylor, 3-1, on Oct. 10. Losses were to No. 2 Texas twice, at then- No. 13 Iowa State on Oct. 14 and against No. 20 Baylor on Saturday.

• The last time A&M defeated two ranked opponents in the same year was 2005 with victories over No. 23 Saint Mary’s and No. 24 Colorado. A&M has not tallied three ranked wins in the same season since 2004, when the Aggies went 4-7 against ranked teams.

• A&M leads the Big 12 for fewest aces allowed (0.56) and is second for aces per set (1.23) for the full season. Freshman libero Tori Mellinger leads the Aggies with 0.23 aces per set for the full season and 0.21 aces per set in conference matches only.

• A&M has three players averaging more than three digs per set for the full season: Mary Batis, 3.28 dps; Tori Mellinger, 3.21 dps; and Sarah Ammerman, 3.19 dps. Ammerman leads the team with 3.46 dps in Big 12 matches only.

• Add middle blocker to sophomore Kelsey Black’s list of positions played. The 5-11 Amarillo, Texas native was the Aggies’ designated libero as a freshman. This season, she as backed up both the left and right-side hitters and also come in as a defensive specialist. In the third set against No. 2 Texas on Oct. 28, the versatile Black was inserted as a middle blocker. She finished the match with two kills and a solo block. Black then drew her first start off the season at Kansas as a middle blocker and tied for the team lead with a career-high five blocks. She tied her career high and led the team with five blocks at Kansas State. Over the last three matches, Black leads the starters with a .317 hitting percentage and 0.93 blocks per set. She also is averaging 1.36 kills and 2.29 digs per set.

• A&M is ranked 23rd in the nation for home attendance, averaging 1,681 per match at Reed Arena. The Aggies set an all-time home attendance record with 3,876 at the Texas match on Oct. 28. It broke the previous record of 3,778 set against Texas on Oct. 24, 2003, at G. Rollie White Coliseum.

• A&M is listed 42nd in the NCAA RPI ranking, released on Monday. A&M is 3-6 against teams in the RPI top 50, including wins against Nebraska, Northern Iowa and Baylor.

• Sarah Ammerman has registered more than 20 kills in each of the last three matches, averaging 4.93 kills while hitting .262. The senior had 21 kills and hit .391 at Kansas on Oct. 31 to give her 1,348 kills for her career and move her into eighth place in the A&M records. Ammerman then had an A&M season-high 22 kills in the loss at Kansas State on Wednesday. She bettered that performance with 26 kills and a season-high 26.5 points in a loss to No. 23 Baylor in the following match. It was her team-leading fifth 20-plus kill performance of the season.

• Mary Batis recorded 17 kills against Baylor on Saturday to move into eighth in the A&M records with 1,335 career kills. Batis also climbed from ninth to seventh on the career charts for digs after tying her career high with 22 digs against the Bears. Batis, who now has 1,254 career digs, needs eight more to pass Kristie Smedsrud, who ranks sixth with 1,261 digs from 1994-97.

• Senior setter Kristen Schevikhoven is seventh in the A&M career records with 2,827 assists.

• Freshman libero Tori Mellinger, who has posted double figures in digs in 13 of the last 17 matches, has taken team-high honors in digs in a team-leading eight matches. Mellinger set a career high and led all players with 24 digs in the 3-1 win at No. 17 Baylor. At the time, her 24 digs equaled the most by any player in the Big 12 in a four-set conference match this season.

• Sarah Ammerman’s career-high 25 digs against Missouri on Sept. 26 marks the most digs in a match by an A&M player since former libero Holly Clay had 28 at Texas Tech on Oct. 22, 2005, when the 30-point scoring system was in effect. Ammerman leads the Aggies lead with 3.46 digs per set in Big 12 matches only and ranks third on the team with 3.19 digs per set for the full season.

• A&M’s .465 hitting percentage in the Big 12 opener at Texas Tech on Sept. 19 ranks ninth in the school record books and third all-time in A&M’s Big 12 matches only. It also is the highest hitting percentage by a Big 12 team this season. A&M’s .460 hitting percentage against Virginia is the second highest by a Big 12 team this season.

• The Aggies, who tied eventual NCAA-regional finalist Iowa State for fourth place in the Big 12 with an 11-9 league record last year, have been picked to finish fourth in the league this season, according to a preseason poll of the conference coaches. Defending Big 12 co-champions Texas and Nebraska are picked to finish first and second, respectively, with Iowa State following at third place. A&M is followed by Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado and Texas Tech.

• Aggie head coach Laurie Corbelli is 357-166 in her 17th year as head coach of the Aggies and 457-272 in the 24th season of her head coaching career. She is A&M’s winningest coach in terms of total victories and ranks second for winning percentage (.683).

A LOOK AT THE CYCLONES
• Iowa State (20-4, 12-3 Big 12) is ranked No. 8 for the second straight week in the AVCA Top 25 and is second in the Big 12 standings. The No. 8 ranking is the highest in school history.
• The Cyclones knocked off undefeated and second-ranked Texas, 3-2, last Wednesday in Ames but then had their school-record 11-match winning streak snapped on Saturday with a 3-0 loss to No. 10 Nebraska in front of 10,203 fans on Saturday. It was ISU’s only home loss of the season. ISU had defeated then-No. 5 Nebraska, 3-2, in Lincoln, Neb., for the first time in 76 meetings earlier in the season.
• ISU is paced by senior setter Kaylee Manns, who leads the Big 12 and is ranked sixth in the nation with 12.99 assists per set. Her primary target is junior outside hitter Victoria Henson, who is third in the league with 4.01 kills and 4.56 points per set for the full season.
• Defensively, ISU leads the Big 12 and is ranked seventh in the country with 18.0 digs per set. In addition, the Cyclones lead the Big 12 for hitting percentage allowed as they are holding opponents to a .148 hitting efficiency.
• Junior libero Ashley Mass leads the Big 12 and is ranked 11th in the nation with 5.39 digs per set. She is averaging a league-best 5.52 digs in conference matches only and has been named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week five times in 11 weeks. No other player in the Big 12 has received the honor more than once this season.
• All four of ISU’s losses have been against ranked opponents. Three of the losses were on the road: a 3-1 loss at No. 13 Minnesota on Sept. 5; a 3-0 loss at No. 2 Texas on Sept. 18; and the 3-0 setback at Baylor on Sept. 23.
• Christy Johnson-Lynch (Nebraska ‘96) is 98-57 in her fifth season as head coach of the Cyclones. She has led ISU to the NCAA tournament each of the last three seasons, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2007 and a program-best Elite Eight finish in 2008.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
The Iowa State match is the second of three straight Top 25 matches for the Aggies. The Aggies, who fell to No. 20 Baylor, 3-2, on Saturday, travel to Lincoln, Neb., following the ISU match to face the ninth-ranked Cornhuskers on Friday, Nov. 13. A&M heads to Norman, Okla., to take on a hot Oklahoma Sooner team that is in fourth place in the Big 12 and on the brink of breaking into the Top 25. The Sooners are receiving votes and listed 27th in this week’s poll.