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No. 22 Texas A&M Hosts Auburn in SEC OpenerNo. 22 Texas A&M Hosts Auburn in SEC Opener
Volleyball

No. 22 Texas A&M Hosts Auburn in SEC Opener

The 22nd-ranked Texas A&M volleyball team opens its third season in the Southeastern Conference on Sunday, as the Aggies play host to Auburn at Reed Arena. First serve is slated for 1 p.m.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The 22nd-ranked Texas A&M volleyball team opens its third season in the Southeastern Conference on Sunday, as the Aggies play host to Auburn at Reed Arena. First serve is slated for 1 p.m. The match concludes A&M's four-match home stand, the Aggies' longest of the season.

A&M will be making its first of nine slated appearances on the SEC Network. Paul Sunderland will be calling the play-by-play, and Nell Fortner will provide commentary.

The Aggies improved to 8-3 on the season following a 3-1 victory against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Monday at Reed. The Tigers are 8-5 entering their SEC opener against No. 10 Florida on Friday at Auburn. They enter SEC play riding a three-match win streak, including most recently a 3-2 victory over Northwestern State to win the War Eagle Invitational last weekend.

PROMOTIONS:

  • Take a Kid to the Match: Get up to four kids in free with the purchase of a regular-priced adult ticket.
  • Camper Reunion Day: Texas A&M volleyball campers receive free admission when they wear their camp shirt to the match
  • Pre-match Kid's Court: Opens one hour prior to the match in the volleyball practice gym and includes a bounce house, a clown, face painting, balloon animals, coloring sheets and face tattoos
  • Post-match autograph session: Aggie volleyball players will be signing autographs on the court after the match

TICKETS:

Regular-price individual match tickets are $9 for reserve seating, $7 for adult general admission and $4 for youth, high school age and under. A&M students without a sports pass also can purchase tickets for $4 each. Tickets may be purchased at Reed Arena beginning one hour before match time or in advance at 12thManFoundation.com. Students who purchased a sports pass should enter Reed at the student entrance.

UPCOMING:

The Aggies play their first SEC road matches of the season, taking on Tennessee on Friday at 6 p.m. (CT) in Knoxville, Tenn., and then facing No. 14 Kentucky, Sunday at 5 p.m. (CT) in Lexington, Ky. The match against the Wildcats will be televised by SEC Network. 

 

TEXAS A&M QUICK HITS:

  • The 2014 season marks the 40th season of volleyball at Texas A&M. The Aggies are 940-518-2 all-time.
  • Texas A&M broke into the AVCA Top 25 Poll at No. 21 on Sept. 15, marking the Aggies' first top-25 ranking since a No. 21 showing in the 2009 final poll. A&M dropped one spot to No. 22 in this week's rankings after suffering back-to-back losses to sixth-ranked and undefeated Florida State.
  • On Sept. 17, freshman setter Stephanie Aiple became A&M's first player in program history to be named the ESPNW national player of the week, and she was selected SEC Freshman Player of the Week for the second consecutive week after directing A&M to back-to-back wins over No. 6 USC and No. 13 San Diego.
  • The Aggies played in three pre-conference tournaments. They won the season-opening Texas A&M Invitational, August 29-30 at Reed Arena. A&M tied Iowa and UTSA with a tournament-best 2-1 record but was awarded the championship based on sets won-lost ratio. A&M also won Ohio's Baymont Inn & Suites Invitational, Sept. 5-6 in Athens, Ohio. A&M went 2-0 at the USC Classic, but a tournament champion was not crowned.
  • Texas A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli is in her 22nd season at the helm of the Aggies and the 29th year of her head coaching career. The 1984 Olympic silver medalist is 551-321 overall and 451-215 at A&M, where she has directed the Aggies to 17 NCAA appearances.
  • Corbelli returns four starters -- juniors and team captains Angela Lowak (6-0, OH) and Shelby Sullivan (6-2, MB) and sophomores Jazzmin Babers (6-2, MB) and Emily Hardesty (6-3, OH) -- and five other letterwinners from last year's team that went 19-12 and made a third consecutive appearance in the NCAA second round before being eliminated by Texas for the second straight year.
  • There are eight newcomers on the A&M roster, including a six-person freshman recruiting class that was recognized by both Volleyball Magazine and PrepVolleyball.com. High school All-Americans Stephanie Aiple (6-1, S/OPP), who joined the team in January, and lefty Ashlie Reasor (6-1, OPP), as well as Kiara McGee (5-11, OH), Amy Nettles (5-4, L/DS), Olivia Thorpe (5-11, OH) and Uche Ukadike (5-11, MB) make up the freshman class.

RECENT RESULTS:

#22 Texas A&M 3, TAMU-CC 1 (Monday, Sept. 24)

  • No. 22 Texas A&M got off to a slow start against a scrappy Texas A&M-Corpus Christi team, but the Aggies got clutch contributions off the bench and settled in to win the match, 21-25, 25-21, 25-21, 25-18, Monday night at Reed Arena.
  • Starting junior middle blocker Shelby Sullivan had career highs with 19 kills and 20.5 points to lead the Aggies, who also received a huge boost off the bench from senior outside hitter Sydney Wilhelm and sophomore Darby Graff, who went in at the opposite hitter position.
  • Wilhelm, who typically subs in as a defensive specialist, came off the bench and  finished with a career-high 11 kills and also tallied 11 digs to post the first double-double of her career.
  • Graff had a career-high six kills without an error while seeing action in three sets.
  • Aggie starting sophomore outside hitter Emily Hardesty posted the second double-double of her career as she finished with 12 kills and 18 digs, tying sophomore libero Victoria Arenas for the team lead in digs.
  • Freshman setter Stephanie Aiple also tallied the second double-double of her career with a career-high 15 digs and 54 assists -- two shy of her personal best.
  • The Aggies outhit the Islanders, .295 to .198, leading in kills, 62-52.

SERIES VS. AUBURN:

  • The Aggies lead the all-time series against Auburn, 5-1, including 2-0 in College Station.
  • The Tigers ended a four-match losing skid against the Aggies and picked up their first victory against A&M last year with a 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-19, 25-17) victory on Oct. 20 at Auburn. As a team, the veteran Auburn squad outhit A&M, .242 to .135, recording 65 kills to A&M's 48. Auburn also led in digs, 75-59.
  • A&M won the second meeting of the season last year, sweeping the Tigers, 25-19, 28-26, 25-17 at Reed Arena on Nov. 17. Then-freshman red-shirt middle blocker Jazzmin Babers posted match highs with 10 kills and nine blocks to lead the Aggies
  • The first meeting in the all-time series was Aug. 24, 2007, at G. Rollie White Coliseum. The Aggies won the match, 30-18, 30-11, 30-27.

AUBURN NOTES:

  • The Tigers are 8-5 entering SEC play against 10th-ranked and SEC preseason-favorite Florida on Friday.
  • Auburn enters SEC play riding a three-match winning streak, having defeated Florida A&M, Jacksonville State and Northwestern State to win the War Eagle Invitational. Stephanie Campbell and Breanna Barksdale were named all-tournament.
  • Auburn is 0-1 against ranked opponents. The Tigers took No. 6 Florida State to five sets on Sept. 16 in Tallahassee. The same Florida State team defeated A&M twice, 3-1 and 3-0.
  • Auburn is 0-3 in away matches.
  • The Tigers were picked to finish ninth in the SEC, according to a preseason vote of the league coaches.
  • Auburn has played four five-set matches, and is 2-2 in those contests.
  • Freshman Kelly Stewart, from Tomball, Texas (St. Pius X High School) is the sister of Kohl Stewart, a former star prep quarterback who was a member of Texas A&M's 2013 football recruiting class -- along with current Aggie starting quarterback Kenny Hill -- before he became the No. 4 overall selection in the 2013 Major League Baseball draft by the Minnesota Twins.

TEXAS A&M: BY THE NUMBERS:

  • A&M is 2-0 in SEC season openers, and both matches were sweeps at Reed Arena. A&M made its inaugural SEC debut in 2012 with a 3-0 win against Ole Miss. It was A&M's first SEC victory in any sport, and the Aggies went on to win the SEC Western Division Championship and finish second overall. Last year, the Aggies opened with a 3-0 victory over Georgia and finished tied for sixth in the final SEC standings.
  • As a team, A&M is outhitting its opponents, .239 to .195. The Aggies are averaging 12.93 kills, 12.07 assists, 0.93 aces, 14.76 digs and 2.48 blocks per set. Opponents are averaging 13.19 kills, 12.02 assists, 1.36 aces, 15.98 digs and 1.95 blocks per set.
  • A&M entered the week ranked 41st in the nation with 2.58 blocks per set.
  • Jazzmin Babers entered the week ranked 22nd in the nation with 1.45 blocks per set. She currently ranks fourth in the SEC with 1.38 blocks per set. Earlier this season, the redshirt sophomore set a school record with 13 block assists against UTSA (Aug. 30). Her 14 total blocks against the Roadrunners ties for second in the A&M record books.
  • Shelby Sullivan leads the Aggies' attack and ranks seventh in the SEC with a .349 hitting percentage. She also leads A&M with 3.67 points and 2.95 kills per set, ranking with 10th and 12th, respectively, in the SEC. She is second on the team and 14th in the league with 1.05 blocks per set.
  • Sullivan, who is coming off a career-high 19-kill, 20.5-performance against TAMU-CC, has posted double-figure kills in a team-leading seven matches, including in five of the last six matches. Over the last five matches combined -- which included four matches against Top 15 teams -- Sullivan is hitting .410 with 3.45 kills and 4.12 points per set.
  • Stephanie Aiple is fifth in the SEC with 10.71 assists per set. The freshman had a career-high 56 assists in the 3-2 victory at No. 6 USC on Sept. 11 and is coming off a 54-assist performance in the four-set victory over TAMU-CC on Monday. She had entered the week ranked 69th in the nation with a 10.33 assists average.
  • Libero Victoria Arenas has tallied double-digit digs in a team-best eight matches, including three matches in which she has posted 20 or more digs. She had a career high and a team season-high 28 digs in a 3-2 loss to UTSA. Arenas, who has been A&M's designated libero in all but one set this season, leads the Aggies and is fifth in the SEC with 4.10 digs per set for the full season.
  • Angela Lowak leads the Aggies with 0.24 aces per set. She is second on the team with 2.53 kills and 3.04 points per set.
  • A&M is 7-0 when winning the first set and 1-3 when dropping the first set. The win against TAMU-CC was the first time this season A&M came back to win after dropping the opening set.
  • A&M has used three different starting lineups. Middle blockers Jazzmin Babers and Shelby Sullivan and outside hitters Angela Lowak and Emily Hardesty have started every match. Opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor has started nine matches with freshman defensive specialist Amy Nettles starting in the back row for Reasor against VCU and TAMU-CC. Sophomore Kaysie Shebeneck started the first three matches at setter, and freshman Stephanie Aiple has started each of the last eight. Sophomore Victoria Arenas has been the first-set designated libero in all 11 matches.
  • Freshman Amy Nettles appeared as the libero for the first time in her young career in the third set against No. 6 Florida State on Sept. 20. She drew the first start of her career as a defensive specialist against VCU and also started Monday against TAMU-CC and had a career-high nine digs. The San Antonio native has appeared in 29 of 42 sets in 10 of 11 matches and is averaging 1.59 digs per set for the full season.
  • Babers and Sullivan, both AVCA All-South Region honorable mentions in 2013, have made 42 consecutive starts dating back to the 2013 season opener.  In addition, Sullivan has played in 153 consecutive sets.
  • A&M is 2-2 against ranked opponents with wins against No. 6 USC and No. 13 San Diego and two losses to No. 6 Florida State.

RANDOM NOTES:

A&M Celebrates 40 Years of Women's Athletics

The 2014-15 academic year marks the 40th season of women's varsity athletics at Texas A&M. As part of a year-long celebration, numerous recognitions and activities will be held leading up to the official 40th anniversary date on June 15, 2015.

Although some Aggie women's sports teams were already participating in intercollegiate competitions as early as 1971, it wasn't until the Texas A&M Athletic Council's milestone decision on June 15, 1975, that women's athletics were brought under the umbrella of the Texas A&M Athletics Department. Individual women's sports celebrating their 40th seasons under the Athletics Department are golf, swimming and diving, softball, tennis, track and field and volleyball.

Over the past 40 years, Texas A&M's women's sports have accounted for 19 national titles, 44 conference championships and four Olympic medals. Volleyball has made 24 postseason appearances and won one conference divisional title

 

Aiple Named ESPNW National Player of the Week:

Honors continue to accumulate for Texas A&M freshman setter Stephanie Aiple, who on Sept. 17 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 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 is a two-time SEC Freshman Volleyball Player of the Week.

Freshman Recruiting Class Recognized:

Texas A&M volleyball's freshman class received honorable mention in Volleyball Magazine's list of the nation's top 10 recruiting classes. A&M is the only Texas school mentioned in the listing, which recognized 15 classes as honorable mention in addition to the top-10 ranked teams. High school All-Americans Stephanie Aiple (6-1, S), and Ashlie Reasor (6-1, OPP) headline the Aggies' six-member freshman class, which was ranked 17th in the nation by Prepvolleyball.com earlier this year. Kiara McGee (5-11, OH), Amy Nettles (5-4, L), Olivia Thorpe (5-11, OH) and Uche Ukadike (5-11, MB) complete the heralded class.

SEC Preseason Poll:

Texas A&M, which tied for sixth place in the SEC standings last season with a 10-8 mark, is picked to finish sixth this year, according to a preseason vote of the league coaches. Florida is picked to win the team championship, having received the maximum 12 first-place votes for 144 points. Kentucky is projected to finish second, having received 129 points. Defending SEC champion Missouri received the only other first-place vote and is picked to place third with 114 total points, followed by LSU (105 points) and Alabama (102 points). A&M received 89 points and Arkansas is seventh with 87 points. Georgia (65 points), Auburn (54), Ole Miss (50) and Tennessee (33). South Carolina (29) and Mississippi State (13) round out the 13-team poll. Vanderbilt does not sponsor volleyball.

Sullivan Named to Preseason All-SEC Team:

Texas A&M junior middle blocker Shelby Sullivan was named to the 2014 Preseason Volleyball All-SEC Team, announced by the conference office earlier this month. Sullivan, who earned All-SEC Team honors as a sophomore after hitting .386 and averaging 2.75 kills per set, is one of nine members on the star-studded team, which was voted on by the league's 13 head coaches. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players. Preseason league-favorite Florida led all schools with three selected to the team: Alex Holston, ?iva Recek and Taylor Unroe. Others named to the preseason team are Carly Kan and Whitney Little of Missouri, Krystal Rivers of Alabama, Brianna Holman from LSU and Kentucky's Morgan Bergren, who is the only player on the 2014 preseason team who was not on the 2013 season-ending  All-SEC Team.