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Volleyball team has '20' vision

Nov. 6, 2009

College Station is first stop for Bears at conference game

Jed Dean | Photo editor Members of Baylor's volleyball team prepare for a serve against the University of Oklahoma on Wednesday night. The No. 20-ranked Bears will face No. 23 Texas A&M University Saturday evening at Reed Arena.

By Kevin Tamer
Sports writer

After being swept by the University of Oklahoma on Wednesday night, the No. 20 Baylor volleyball team will look to bounce back as it travels to College Station to take on No. 23 Texas A&M University Saturday in College Station.

Baylor is still in search of its 20th win, which if accomplished will mark the first time since 1999 that the volleyball team has posted a 20-win season. With Baylor unable to get a win over the Sooners, the Bears are sitting on a 19-6 overall record and 8-6 in the Big 12. Arlington senior and setter Taylor Barnes said losing to Oklahoma makes getting a win over Texas A&M even more crucial to their NCAA Tournament hopes.

"That was a huge set-back because it puts us behind in the Big 12," Taylor Barnes said. "It may potentially drop us out of the top 25 if we don't dominate against A&M."

Additionally, head coach Jim Barnes said it is important to rally as a team and play a good game against a talented Aggie team.

"Right now, we are being challenged, and it's about getting back into the gym and really believing in what we are doing. We have to bring that belief on the road," Jim Barnes said. "We are going to A&M, and that's a tough place to play."

Under 17th-year head coach Laurie Corbelli, the Aggies have posted a 14-7 overall record and a 7-6 Big 12 record this season. The Aggies lead the nation in both assists and kills per set, while averaging 14.16 assists and 14.96 kills per set. In addition, Texas A&M is second in the Big 12 with .261 hitting percentage this season.

Like the Bears, the Aggies are looking to avenge a loss as they fell to Kansas State University in a five-set thriller Wednesday night. Despite getting a match-high 22 kills from Sarah Ammerman, and a career-high 19 kills from Jennifer Banse, the Aggies could not hold off the Wildcats. The road won't get any easier for the Aggies, as the match against the Bears will mark the first of three consecutive top-25 opponents. After playing the Bears, the Aggies will play host to No. 8 Iowa State University, followed by the No. 10-ranked University of Nebraska.

In the two teams' last meeting, the Aggies snapped Baylor's six-game winning streak by beating the Bears 3-1 inside the Ferrell Center.

Cleburne junior Ashlie Christenson recorded a career-high 20 kills in the match and hit .375, while Buda senior Anna Breyfogle added 12 kills and a match-high seven blocks for Baylor. However, Baylor could not find an answer to A&M's Ammerman, who posted her fifth consecutive double-double of the season and recorded 20 kills with 15 digs and outside hitter Jennifer Banse added 16 kills of her own.

Breyfogle doesn't plan to take the Aggies lightly and believes the team has improved since its last meeting.

"I think they are a much better team," Breyfogle said. "Especially because their strengths are a little bit of our weakness. So it's going to be really tough but hopefully we can work hard in practice and get that going."

The first serve is set for 6:30 p.m. Saturday inside Reed Arena.

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