COLLEGE STATION -- Texas A&M (10-2, 0-2 Big 12) will be aiming for its first Big 12 Conference victory of the season Wednesday as the Aggies play host to the Texas Tech Red Raiders (7-4, 1-1 Big 12). First serve is slated for 6:30 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
Aggies All-Access will provide free video streaming and live scoring of the match at AggieAthletics.com.
In addition, A&M players with host an autograph session following the match. Free Aggie volleyball posters will be available.
After opening the season with a record 10-0 ledger, A&M has dropped to 10-2 overall since beginning Big 12 Conference play last week. A&M suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 conference-opening loss to Oklahoma in College Station on Wednesday and fell in three games at Iowa State on Saturday.
Tech, which will be playing its first conference road match of the season, opened Big 12 by holding off Colorado, 3-2 (30-19, 30-24, 24-30, 27-30, 15-12) in Lubbock on Wednesday. The Red Raiders then dropped to .500 in league play after falling to top-ranked Nebraska, 3-0 (30-19, 30-15, 30-20) also in Lubbock.
LOOKING AT THE AGGIES
Sophomore Sarah Ammerman, who had the first 20-20 performance of her career after posting 22 kills and a career-high 21 digs against the Sooners, leads the Aggies with 4.0 kills and 4.47 points per game for the full season.
Middle blockers Kelly Stanton and Jillian Phillips are both hitting above .400 for the season. Stanton, a senior, is hitting a team-high .411, while Phillips, a junior is hitting .401 and leads the team with 1.41 blocks per game. In addition, Phillips leads the Big 12 with 2.0 blocks per game in conference matches only.
Sophomore outside hitter Mary Batis is averaging a team-leading 3.45 digs and 0.45 aces per game and is second on the team with 3.37 kills and 4.11 points per game.
Senior libero Jen Moore is second on the team with 2.77 digs per game, and sophomore setter Kristen Schevikhoven is averaging 11.47 assists per game.
As a team, A&M is outhitting its opponents, .314 to .134, for the full season, ranking first in the Big 12 for opponent hitting percentage and second in the league for highest hitting percentage. The Aggies, however, are being outhit, .240 to .204, in league play after being held to a season-low .168 hitting percentage at Iowa State.
LOOKING AT THE RED RAIDERS
Texas Tech is 7-4 overall and 1-1 in the Big 12 after suffering a 30-19, 30-15, 30-20 loss to No. 1 Nebraska Saturday in Lubbock. It was the Red Raiders’ first three-game loss of the season.
Michelle Flores, a junior outside hitter from Puerto Rico, had a team-high 10 kills against the Huskers and leads Tech with 3.25 kills per game for the full season.
Sophomore libero Jenn Harrell boasts a team-high 4.14 digs per game, which ranks fifth in the Big 12. Senior setter Emily Ziegler is averaging 10.73 assists per game and averaging 3.36 attacks per game while hitting .412.
As a team, Tech is hitting .235 for the full season and ranks last in the league with a .219 opponent hitting percentage. And although the Red Raiders also are last with 13.8 digs per game for the full season, they are averaging 15.0 digs per game in conference matches only, which ranks fifth in the league.
The trip to A&M will be a homecoming of sorts for Bryan High graduate Becca Baldwin. The freshman middle blocker, whose brother Andrew Baldwin played baseball for the Aggies in 2004 and 2005, has appeared in nine games this season but has yet to appear in a Big 12 match.
Nancy Todd (Arizona State ‘95) is in her fifth season as head coach of the Red Raiders, who tied A&M for eighth place in the Big 12 in 2006.
THE A&M-TEXAS TECH ALL-TIME SERIES
A&M leads the all-time series against the Red Raiders, 44-26, since 1976, including 15-7 in Big 12 matches. Tech, however, swept the season series for the first time in the history of the Big 12 last year.
A&M posts a 21-8 all-time record against Tech when playing in College Station, including 8-3 against Tech in Big 12 matches contested at G. Rollie.
On Oct. 4, 2006 in College Station, Texas A&M’s Mary Batis and Christi Hahn collected 21 kills apiece, but it wasn’t enough to fend off Texas Tech, which defeated the Aggies, 27-30, 30-28, 31-33, 30-22, 15-12, at G. Rollie White Coliseum and snapped a seven-match losing skid at A&M. Senior Philister Sang led the Red Raiders with 28 kills and pitched in 19 digs. Tech outhit A&M, .204 to .188 for the match, although A&M led in kills (79-69) and digs, (92-79). Tech also narrowly led in aces (9-7) and blocks (13-12).
On Nov. 18, the teams met in Lubbock, where Tech defeated A&M 30-25, 30-23, 30-27. Tech out-hit A&M, .190 to .131, for the match, posting 51 kills to A&M’s 39. The Red Raiders also had seven aces and 48 digs, while A&M, which had 12 of 14 players see action in the match, had one ace and 39 digs. The teams tied in blocks with nine apiece.
Batis led the Aggies with 12 kills and four blocks, and Sarah Ammerman added 10 kills. Jen Moore tallied a team-leading 11 digs.
Sang led Tech with 24 kills, and Amy Charlebois had a match-high six blocks. Jenn Harrell led the Red Raiders in digs with 14.
A&M QUICK HITS
• A&M’s 10-2 record equals the second best start in school history after 12 matches, tying the 1984, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2001 Aggie teams. Corbelli’s 1995 squad holds the record for best mark after 12 matches with an 11-1 record.
• Junior middle blocker Jillian Phillips took match-high honors in blocks in each of the previous two matches, posting a career-high nine blocks against Oklahoma and tallying seven, including a career-high two solo blocks, against Iowa State. Phillips leads the Big 12 with 2.0 blocks per game in Big 12 matches only and is listed fourth for the full season with a 1.41 average.
• Sophomore Jenny Banse drew her first career start against Iowa State. Banse, who is listed as an outside hitter, played the role of defensive specialist, playing back row defense for right-side hitter Kelsey Bryant.
• Middle blockers Kelly Stanton and Jillian Phillips are each hitting above .400 for the season, leading A&M to a second-place ranking in the Big 12 with a .314 team hitting percentage for the full season. Stanton is ranked fifth in the league with a .411 efficiency, and Phillips is seventh with a .401 hitting percentage.
• Sophomore Sarah Ammerman has reached double figures in kills in a team-leading nine matches. She has recorded a double-double in each of the last two matches, including 22 kills and a career-high 21 digs against Oklahoma, marking the first 20-20 performance of her career.
• Sophomore Mary Batis has reached double figures in digs in a team-leading seven matches and also leads the Aggies with five double-doubles.
• A&M enters the week ranked third in the nation with a .314 hitting percentage. Kelly Stanton (.411) is listed 22nd and Jillian Phillips (.401) are listed 22nd and 29th, respectively, in the national individual rankings.
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
The Aggies are on the road for the next two matches, taking on No. 1 Nebraska Saturday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. at Lincoln Coliseum and then traveling to Waco for a match against the Baylor Bears on Wednesday, Sept. 26 at 6:30 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.
Nebraska, which has a bye on Wednesday, improved to 9-0, 2-0 Big 12 with sweeps against No. 7 Texas and Texas Tech.
Baylor is 7-5 overall and 0-2 in the Big 12 following three-game losses to both Iowa State and No. 19 Kansas State.
