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MATCH #23: No. 3 TEXAS (19-3, 14-1 Big 12) vs. Texas A&M (18-8, 7-8 Big 12)
State Farm Lone Star Showdown
When: Friday, Nov. 9 at 6:30 p.m. CT
Where: Austin, Texas (Gregory Gymnasium; 4,000 capacity)

SERIES INFO
All-Time Series Record: Texas leads Texas A&M, 61-22 (29-6 home, 11-7 neutral, 21-9 away)
Last Meeting: Oct. 3, 2007 -- Texas won, 3-0 (30-25, 30-28, 30-25) in College Station
Last Texas A&M Victory: Oct. 16, 2004 -- Texas A&M won, 3-1 (32-34, 30-24, 30-27, 30-21) in College Station
Current Streak: Texas has won the last six meetings.

Tickets
A limited number of tickets remain (as of Thursday afternoon). Purchase at TexasBoxOffice.com; by calling 800-982-BEVO or 512-471-3333; in person at any Texas Box Office outlet, including Austin-area H-E-B stores and the UT Athletics Ticket Office in Bellmont Hall (Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. CT); and in person one hour prior to game time at the Gregory Gymnasium box office.

State Farm Lone Star Showdown Standings
The Aggies currently lead the 2007 series 2.0-to-1.5. A win by Texas will claim the other half of the volleyball point and even the score at two. Texas has won the Showdown in each of its first three years.

HEADLINES
· Texas was ranked No. 3 in the CSTV/AVCA poll, released Monday, Nov. 5, holding that position for the second straight week ... The Longhorns ranking is their highest ranking since Sept. 17, 1996 when Texas was ranked No. 3 ... UT has been ranked in the top seven every week this season ... Texas opened the season ranked No. 4 in the preseason poll, equaling its best preseason ranking in program history (1998).

· The Longhorns extended their season-best winning streak to 15 matches with their 3-0 sweep of Kansas (Nov. 7) ... Sophomore outside hitter Destinee Hooker anchored the Texas attack in its victory over the Jayhawks, tallying 13 kills on .370 hitting and notching eight total blocks ... Senior middle blocker Brandy Magee added 10 kills, five blocks and a .643 attack mark as UT hit .408 on the night and out-blocked KU 15-to-3.

· Three Longhorns were named to the 2007 CoSIDA/ ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 6 squad ... Senior setter Michelle Moriarty and sophomore defensive specialist Heather Kisner earned first team honors, while junior middle blocker Lauren Paolini garnered second team accolades ... The award was the third of Moriarty's career after earning first team honors in 2005 and second team honors in 2006 ... As first team selections Moriarty and Kisner are now eligible for ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors.

· The Longhorns have won 13 straight since sophomore opposite hitter Ashley Engle returned from injury against Texas Tech (Sept. 26) ... The return of Engle allowed junior Lauren Paolini to move back to her natural position in the middle after filling Engle's role on the right side for seven matches ... since Engle rejoined the Horns, Texas has hit .370 and has averaged 18.17 kills per-game ... Since moving to the middle, Paolini is hitting .534 with 3.00 kills p/g and 1.57 blocks p/g ... Engle's return has also benefited senior middle blocker Brandy Magee, who has hit .472 with 2.45 kills p/g and 1.55 blocks p/g with Engle back in the lineup ... Engle is hitting .320 with 2.98 kills p/g, 2.55 digs p/g and 1.07 blocks p/g since coming back from injury.

· Texas is currently riding a 15-match home winning streak in regular season play, dating back to Texas' win over then-No. 23 Oklahoma on Oct. 21, 2006 ... In 2007 the Longhorns are a perfect 10-0 in the friendly confines of Gregory Gymnasium, including a 3-0 sweep of No. 1 Nebraska ... Texas owns a 30-1 games won mark in its 10 home victories ... At home the Horns are hitting .381 for the season, while limiting opponents to a .159 attack mark ... Texas out-kills opponents at Gregory 19.06 p/g-to-12.77 p/g and out-blocks its foes 3.45 pg-to-1.37 pg.

· Junior middle blocker Lauren Paolini was named the Big 12 Player of the Week (Oct. 29) after hitting .577 and recording 2.17 blocks per-game in Texas' pair of sweeps against then-No. 1 Nebraska and Colorado ... Paolini connected for 2.67 kills per-game, while recording just one attack error on the week ... The award is the sixth weekly honor in the last eight weeks for UT.

· In its 12 Big 12 Conference victories, Texas has dropped just three games, going five games with then-No. 17 Kansas State and dropping one game at Texas Tech ... The Longhorns have recorded 13 sweeps in Big 12 play (including No. 1 Nebraska) and 16 sweeps on the year ... UT's nine straight sweeps from Oct. 10-through-Nov. 7 set a school record for most consecutive sweeps.

· In its 12 Big 12 Conference matches, Texas has been impressive, ranking near the top of virtually every league statistical category in conference play ... The Longhorns rank first in the league with 3.54 blocks p/g, a .361 hitting percentage and 16.81 assists p/g ... Texas' 18.00 kills p/g rank second in league play ... Individually, Juliann Faucette and Destinee Hooker rank first and third in kills p/g with 5.02 and 4.64 respectively ... Faucette ranks second in the conference with 5.71 points p/g and ninth in hitting percentage (.339) ... Hooker ranks third in points (5.63) and sixth in hitting percentage (.362) ... Senior setter Michelle Moriarty paces the conference with 15.15 assists p/g in league play and middle blockers Lauren Paolini and Brandy Magee rank first and second in hitting percentage at .450 and .449.

LAST TIME OUT: KANSAS (11/7/07)
Texas recorded its 15th straight victory and its school-record ninth straight sweep with its 3-0 victory over Kansas, at the Horejsi Family Athletics Center ... sophomore outside hitter Destinee Hooker paced the Longhorns 30-20, 30-19, 30-18 win with a match-high 13 kills on .370 hitting ... the Longhorns out-blocked the Jayhawks 15-to-3 on the night and out-hit KU .408-to-.091 ... Hooker headlined the Texas attack on the night, adding eight total blocks and five digs to her match-high kill total ... senior middle blocker Brandy Magee joined her in double-digits with 10 kills, five blocks and a .643 attack mark ... junior middle blocker Lauren Paolini hit .750 with zero attack errors and nine kills in the win, while sophomore opposite hitter Ashley Engle notched nine kills, four blocks, two service aces and three digs.

LAST TIME AGAINST: TEXAS A&M (10/3/07)
Texas used a 20-kill performance by freshman outside hitter Juliann Faucette to knock off Texas A&M, 3-0 (Oct. 3) ... the Longhorns fifth straight victory moved Texas to 9-3 on the year and 5-1 in Big 12 play and Texas A&M fell to 12-5 overall and 2-5 in league play ... Faucette anchored the Texas attack which hit .352 on the night and out-hit the Aggies by more than 100 points ... sophomore outside hitter Destinee Hooker and junior middle blocker Lauren Paolini added 13 kills apiece for UT, while Faucette added 11 digs for her third career kill/dig double-double.