Volleyball Begins Two-Match Road Stint at Texas A&M Saturday

Oct. 1, 2009

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

Kansas at Texas A&M Game Notes

In its first contest of a two-match road stint, the University of Kansas volleyball team (9-4, 2-2 Big 12) will travel to Texas A&M Saturday, Oct. 3 for a 2 p.m. match-up with the Aggies (9-3, 2-2 Big 12).

Fans can access Texas A&M’s free live stats and free video on the KU Athletics website at www.KUAthletics.com.

Quick Hits

» Melissa Manda became the 10th player in Jayhawk volleyball history to reach 1,000 career digs versus Colorado on Sept. 30.

» The Jayhawks rank in the top four of the conference in team assists, kills and service aces. Kansas also has one player ranked in the top 10 of each statistical category in the Big 12 and two players ranked in the nation’s top 50.

» KU is still trying to find success away from the Horejsi Center as the Jayhawks are 1-3 in true road contests this season.

» Seniors Melissa Grieb and Katie Martincich each appeared in their 100th career match at Baylor on Sept. 26.

About Kansas

Kansas bounced back following a loss once again as the Jayhawks defeated Colorado Wednesday night to even its conference record at 2-2 and improve its overall mark to 9-4 as it heads to Texas A&M. Junior Karina Garlington leads all Big 12 players with 4.85 kps in league matches. She is fourth on the year averaging 3.98 kps in all contests. The Jayhawk offense also receives help on the offensive end from middle blocker Paige Mazour, whose .379 attack percentage ranks second in the Big 12. Steering the KU offense is setter Nicole Tate. She is averaging the league’s second-most assists in conference matches with 11.19 aps. In the back court, Melissa Manda is coming off her second 20-dig performance in the last three matches and leads KU with 4.12 dps. Freshman Tayler Tolefree is blocking 1.16 balls per set, fourth in the league.

Scouting Texas A&M

Texas A&M lost its last two Big 12 matches- at Missouri and at No. 2 Texas- to snap a six-match winning streak, including a win over then-No. 6 Nebraska. The Aggies are 4-0 at home so far this season and 9-3 overall. Three players average over three kills per set led by senior Sarah Ammerman with 4.06 kps, third in the Big 12. As a team, the Aggies rank second in the league averaging 14.80 kps on a .269 attack percentage, also second-best among Big 12 schools. Mary Batis, a senior, is digging up a team-high 3.45 balls per set, just ahead of Tori Mellinger’s 3.34 dps. Batis is also second on the team with 3.29 kps. Freshman Lindsey Miller leads A&M with 0.85 bps. Laurie Corbelli is 352-161 in her 17th season as head coach at Texas A&M.

Series Info: Texas A&M leads Kansas 23-4 in the series history, including a 14-0 record in College Station. From 2003-06, KU was 4-0 against the Aggies in Lawrence. The Jayhawks last defeated the Aggies 3-2 in September of 2006.

Bechard Approaching Milestone

Kansas head coach Ray Bechard is just one win shy of hitting 900 career victories. Bechard, who is in his 12th season at KU, is 899-224 (.801 percent) in his 25th season as a head coach. He spent 13 seasons at Barton County Community College prior to coming to Kansas, where he accumulated a 716-60 mark at the school.

Manda Joins 1,000 Club

Melissa Manda recorded 21 digs versus Colorado Wednesday to become the 10th player in Jayhawk volleyball history to reach the 1,000 career dig mark. Manda becomes the most recent Jayhawk to reach the milestone since Emily Brown on Nov. 10, 2007, who ironically recorded her 1,000th dig against the Buffaloes, too.

Manda cracked the career digs list just one match ago and has already jumped to No. 8 on the list with 1,015 digs.

Up Next

The Jayhawks next head to nationally-ranked Nebraska on Oct. 7 for a 7 p.m. match before returning home on Oct. 10 for a match versus Iowa State at 6:30 p.m.