 "Photo: Shelley Neuman/Daily Texan file photo")
It’s been 364 days since the second-ranked Longhorns last tasted defeat in the regular season, and all they have to do to keep their 25-match winning streak alive is mimic Oklahoma.
Not beat OU, just copy them for now. The Longhorns look to defend their perfect record against No. 25 Texas A&M and to do that, they simply have to replicate what the Sooners did last week. Oklahoma strolled into College Station with a 5-4 conference record that was far from perfect and handed Texas A&M its first home loss in nearly a year.
“I was a little surprised to see them get swept 3-0 on the home court,” said Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott. “But it just shows the energy and enthusiasm you have to play with to beat A&M at their place.”
The Aggies rely on an impressive passing game to help the team attack. Texas A&M ranks second only to Texas in the Big 12 Conference in hitting percentage at .251. But, while that sounds impressive, it takes the Aggies, on average, four attacks to get a kill, while Texas typically gets one in three at .333.
Texas A&M ranks third in the conference in service aces and digs, but Texas will focus on attacking a much more exposed weakness. The Aggies ranked seventh in opponent-hitting percentage, largely due to ranking dead last in blocking. A&M’s 1.67 blocks per game is more than a full block less than Texas’ 2.69.
“We’ve been trying to eliminate the opponent’s blocking as much as possible,” Elliott said. “Our hitters do a good job of hitting above the block, and it could be a huge factor in the match.”
But stats and records are always forgotten when Texas heads into College Station.
Probably the most important record to consider is 21-12, which is Texas’ all-time record in College Station. Sure, Texas has won their last 10 meetings, including the Sept. 30 home sweep. A&M played close in that match, and they’ll play even tougher at home with more at stake.
“They always have a lot of diehard fans there, and it’ll be a fun atmosphere,” said outside hitter Juliann Faucette. “It should be a tough place to play against a good team.”
The Aggies have a threatening senior outside hitter in Sarah Ammerman. She’s averaging more kills per set than any Texas player other than Destinee Hooker.
Ammerman had 14 kills when she visited Austin in September, and her teammate and fellow senior outside hitter, Jennifer Banse, had 15 kills.
“Banse has been a driving force for them all season long,” Elliott said. “They’ve got several players that have been hot and cold all year long, and we’ll have to do a better job of stopping them, especially on the road.”
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