COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Honors continue to accumulate for Texas A&M freshman setter Stephanie Aiple (pronounced EYE-plee), who today was named the espnW national volleyball player of the week for her performances in the Aggies' back-to-back victories over then-No. 6 USC and then-No. 13 San Diego last week at the USC Classic in Los Angeles.
Aiple, the first Texas A&M player to earn the espnW national honor, also was named to the USC Classic all-tournament team following the victories over the favored Trojans and Toreros, and earlier this week she became the two-time reigning SEC Freshman Volleyball Player of the Week.
The 6-1 Round Rock, Texas, native averaged 11.00 assists per set and directed a balanced A&M offense that hit a combined .312 over the two-day tournament while holding opponents to a combined .219 hitting efficiency.
In the Aggies' tournament opener, Aiple dished out a career-high 56 assists as A&M hit .319 and defeated No. 6 USC, 3-2 (25-23, 15-25, 25-27, 25-13, 16-14), spoiling the Women of Troy's home season debut. It marked A&M's highest ranked win against a host team since 1999, when the Aggies won at No. 3 Hawaii in the NCAA regional semifinal. It also was the Aggies' first-ever win against the Trojans in nine meetings, and A&M became only the second non-Pacific 12 Conference team to ever defeat USC at Galen Center.
Against No. 13 San Diego, Aiple posted 43 assists as A&M hit .303 and defeated the Toreros, 3-1 (25-22, 25-22, 16-25, 25-17).
In addition to her setting prowess throughout the tournament, Aiple pitched in on offense with her attacking, recording back-to-back career highs in kills while hitting a combined .476. She posted four kills and hit .429 against USC and then doubled her kills with eight in four sets while hitting .500 against San Diego. She also set a career high with nine points against the Toreros as A&M extended its win streak to five matches and improved to 7-1 overall.
No. 21 A&M, in the AVCA Top 25 weekly ranking for the first time since 2009, returns to Reed Arena Friday and Saturday for a highly anticipated two-match series against sixth-ranked and undefeated Florida State (9-0). First serve of the Friday match is at 6 p.m. There will be several promotional activities surrounding the contest, including “Social Media Night” and “Fish Camp Night.”
A&M and Florida State will also meet at 11 a.m. on Saturday. There will be a Girl Scout event in the volleyball practice gym prior to the match. In addition, BINGO cards will be given out, and winning cards can be taken to the 12th Man table to redeem for prizes. Also there will be a post-match autograph session with the Aggie volleyball team.
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the A&M volleyball team on Facebook and on Twitter by following @AggieVolleyball.