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A&M Hosts Alabama, Travels to No. 9 FloridaA&M Hosts Alabama, Travels to No. 9 Florida
Volleyball

A&M Hosts Alabama, Travels to No. 9 Florida

The 19th-ranked Texas A&M volleyball team has a busy weekend ahead as the Aggies play host to Alabama on Friday at Reed Arena and then head to Florida to take on the ninth-ranked preseason SEC favored Gators on Sunday.

Complete match notes

Friday, October 10
No. 19 Texas A&M vs. Alabama, 6 p.m.
Reed Arena, College Station, Texas
SEC Network +

Sunday, October 12
No. 19 Texas A&M at No. 9 Florida, 1 p.m. CT
Stephen C. O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Florida
SEC Network

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The 19th-ranked Texas A&M volleyball team has a busy weekend ahead as the Aggies play host to Alabama on Friday at Reed Arena and then head to Florida to take on the ninth-ranked preseason SEC favored Gators on Sunday.

The match against the Crimson Tide begins at 6 p.m. It will be “First Responder Night” with free admission being offered to all firefighters, law enforcement and EMS personnel. In addition, emergency vehicles will be parked along the north side entrance for fans to check out and get a close-up view. 12th Man towels will be given away at the emergency vehicles while supplies last.

The Aggies are 10-4 overall and 2-1 in SEC play coming off a closely contested loss at No. 13 Kentucky on Sunday. Alabama is 15-3 overall and 3-1 in league play after defeating Tennessee, 3-1, last weekend.

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.

Sunday's match at Florida begins at 1 p.m. CT at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center in Gainesville. The match will be broadcast on the SEC Network with Melissa Lee and Missy Whittemore calling the action. The Gators are 10-3 overall, 4-0 in SEC play, and riding a five-match win streak entering a match against Georgia on Friday in Gainesville.

TEXAS A&M QUICK HITS:

  • Texas A&M climbed two spots to No. 19 in this week's AVCA Top 25 Poll. It is A&M's highest ranking since a No. 15 showing on Sept. 12, 2005. Unranked and not receiving votes in the Top 25 Poll to start the 2014 season, the Aggies broke in at No. 21 on Sept. 15 following a weekend in which they upset both No. 6 USC and No. 13 San Diego at the USC Classic. The ranking marked A&M's first appearance in the Top 25 since a No. 21 ranking in the 2009 final poll.
  • A&M is No. 18 in the first NCAA RPI rankings of the season.
  • 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 a preseason poll of the league's head coaches.
  • Freshman setter Stephanie Aiple ranks 24th in the nation and fourth in the SEC with 11.12 assists per set. In conference matches only, the two-time SEC Freshman of the Week is averaging 12.67 assists per set, second-best in the league. Last week against Tennessee and Kentucky, Aiple averaged 13.17 assists per set for the week, and her 48 assists against Kentucky is an A&M record for assists in a three-set SEC match.
  • Junior middle blocker Shelby Sullivan leads A&M, is fifth in the SEC and 36th in the nation with a .390 hitting efficiency. Over the last eight matches, which included five matches against top-15 opponents, Sullivan is hitting .465 and averaging 3.67 kills, 1.15 blocks and 4.43 points per set. In SEC matches only, the preseason All-SEC selection and team captain leads the league with a .651 hitting percentage.
  • Texas A&M has tweaked its lineup over the last two matches, moving 6-3 Emily Hardesty from outside hitter to libero, making her the tallest libero in the SEC. Hardesty tied her career high with 19 digs in three sets against Kentucky.
  • Outside hitter Sydney Wilhelm, a fifth-year senior who is in her first season on the team after playing the last two years on the A&M club volleyball team, was in the starting lineup against both Tennessee and Kentucky last weekend, marking the first starts of her career.
  • Sophomore redshirt middle blocker Jazzmin Babers led A&M with career highs in kills (16) and (17.0) points while hitting .414 in the three-set loss at Kentucky.
  • Freshman opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor is coming off back-to-back career-high dig performances, scooping nine digs at Tennessee and tallying 15 digs at Kentucky.
  • In its third year as a member of the SEC, A&M has opened 2-1 in league play for the second time. In their first season as a member of the SEC in 2012, the Aggies opened conference play by defeating both Ole Miss – A&M's first SEC victory in any sport -- and Auburn before falling to Kentucky in a hard-fought 3-2 loss at Reed Arena in College Station. The Aggies went on to win the 2012 SEC Western Division Championship. This season, A&M swept both Auburn and Tennessee before once again suffering their first loss against Kentucky.
  • 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 553-322 overall and 453-217 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.
  • The 2014 season marks the 40th season of volleyball as an intercollegiate varsity sport at Texas A&M. The Aggies are 942-519-2 all-time.
A&M SERIES RECORD VS. ALABAMA:
  • A&M leads the all-time series against Alabama, 4-1, including 2-0 in matches played in College Station.
  • A&M won the first four meetings in the series, which began in 1993.
  • Alabama picked up its only victory in the most recent meeting, defeating the Aggies 33-31, 25-22, 25-23 on Oct. 18, 2013, in Tuscaloosa.
  • The 31 points equals the A&M record for most points scored in a set since the 25-point cap went into effect in 2008.
  • Shelby Sullivan led A&M with a then-career high 15 kills while hitting .636.
  • Alabama, which outhit A&M .322 to .301 in the match, was led by Krystal Rivers, who had 16 kills while hitting .750

SCOUTING ALABAMA:

  • The Crimson Tide is receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 Poll and is listed 30th. Alabama is No. 36 in the NCAA RPI ratings.
  • Last weekend, Alabama fell at No. 13 Kentucky, 3-1, snapping a nine-match win streak, and then defeated Tennessee, 3-1, in Knoxville.
  • Alabama entered the week leading the SEC and ranked 12th in the nation with 1.72 aces per set.
  • Sophomore opposite hitter Krystal Rivers entered the week leading the SEC and ranked 15 in the nation with 5.15 points per set. She is second in the league in kills (4.28) and aces (0.46) per set, ranking 23rd and 27th, respectively, in the nation.
  • Alabama is 0-1 against ranked opponents.
  • Bruna Evangelista, who played junior college ball at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, approximately 40 minutes from College Station, entered the week sixth in the SEC and 44th in the nation with a .379 hitting efficiency.
  • Alabama is 4-2 in away matches.
  • Ed Allen (Ball State, 1988) is in his fourth season as head coach of the Tide.

A&M SERIES RECORD VS. FLORIDA:

  • Florida leads the all-time series, 9-0, against the Aggies, including 4-0 in matches played in Gainesville and 3-0 in SEC matches.
  • A&M has lost in three sets in each of its last three visits to Florida. The only time A&M won a set in Gainesville was a 3-1 loss in the first-ever meeting on Oct. 28, 1988.
  • Last year, A&M fell at No. 3 Florida, 25-9, 25-23, 25-17 in Gainesville, but forced the then-No. 5 Gators to a fifth set for the second consecutive year at College Station before dropping the 24-26, 25-23, 25-8, 24-26, 16-14 decision at Reed Arena.
  • In the most recent meeting, Florida narrowly persevered behind All-American senior middle blocker Chloe Mann's match-leading and career-high 22 kills, as well as the effective serving of junior libero Taylor Unroe, whose sixth ace of the match clipped the top of the net and fell in untouched to close out the Gators' victory. Sophomore outside hitter Angela Lowak led A&M with 18 kills while hitting .406, and A&M sophomore middle blocker Shelby Sullivan hit .387 with 15 kills.

SCOUTING FLORIDA:

  • Florida was picked to win the SEC according to a preseason vote of the league's head coaches.
  • Florida is No. 9 in the AVCA Top 25 Poll this week and No. 10 in the first NCAA RPI rating of the season.
  • The Gators are 10-3 overall and 4-0 in SEC play entering a home match against Georgia on Friday.
  • Florida is 2-2 against ranked opponents. Like A&M, the Gators defeated both No. 6 USC and No. 13 San Diego at the USC Classic, Sept. 11-12, and suffered a loss to Florida State.
  • Florida is riding a five-match win streak .
  • The Gators only losses were a 3-2 loss at No. 8 Florida State on Sept. 4, as well as a 3-1 loss against Texas on Sept. 6, and a 3-2 loss against Marquette on Sept. 19 in their only two home losses of the season.
  • Freshman 6-4 middle blocker Rhamat Alhassan leads the SEC and is fourth in the nation with a .476 hitting percentage. Junior middle Simone Antwi is fourth in the SEC with a .398 hitting efficiency.
  • As a team, Florida is hitting an SEC-best .291 for the full season, ranking ninth in the nation.
  • Junior setter Mackenzie Dagostino is second in the league and 16th in the nation with 11.31 assists per set.
  • Sophomore right side Alex Holston leads Florida and is fourth in the SEC with 4.06 points per set.
  • Mary Wise (Purdue, 1981) is in her 24th season as the head coach at Florida.

TEXAS A&M: BY THE NUMBERS:

  • A&M is 4-3 in home matches and 3-1 in away matches this season.
  • A&M is 2-3 against ranked opponents with wins against No. 6 USC and No. 13 San Diego and two losses to No. 6 Florida State as well as a loss at No. 13 Kentucky.
  • A&M is 9-0 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.
  • Shelby Sullivan leads the Aggies' attack and ranks fifth in the SEC with a .390 hitting percentage. She also leads A&M with 3.90 points and 3.14 kills per set, ranking with eighth and 11th, respectively, in the SEC. She is second on the team and seventh in the league with 1.10 blocks per set.
  • Sullivan, who had a career-high 20 kills with only one error in 23 attempts for a .826 hitting efficiency in the Aggies' SEC opening 3-0 win against Auburn, leads the SEC with a .651 hitting percentage in conference matches only..
  • Over the last eight matches -- which included five matches against Top 15 teams -- Sullivan is hitting a combined .465 with 3.67 kills, 1.15 blocks and 4.43 points per set.
  • Jazzmin Babers lead A&M and is sixth in the SEC with 1.22 blocks per set for the full season. 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.
  • Babers has made 45 consecutive starts dating back to the 2013 season opener. Sullivan has played in 45 consecutive matches, having started 44 of them.

RECENT RESULTS:

#21 Texas A&M def. Tennessee, 3-0 (Friday, Oct. 3)

  • No. 21 Texas A&M got a sweep in its first SEC road match of the season, cruising to a 25-14, 25-21, 25-15 victory against host Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville on Friday.
  • Thirteen of 15 A&M players contributed in the victory as the Aggies won their third consecutive match and improved to 10-3 overall and 2-0 in SEC play. Tennessee, playing its SEC home opener, suffered its third straight loss and dropped to 7-10, 0-3.
  • A&M led in every positive statistical category: kills (38-28), hitting percentage (.333 to .159), assists (35-23), aces (7-0), digs (32-24), blocks (5-2) and points (50-30).
  • A&M's Angela Lowak led all players with 13 kills while hitting .370. Freshman setter Stephanie Aiple dished out 31 assists as eight different A&M players had at least one kill. Sydney Wilhelm and Ashlie Reasor tied for match-high honors in digs with nine apiece. Darby Graff and Aiple tied for match-high honors in blocks with three each.

#13 Kentucky def. #21 Texas A&M, 3-0 (Sunday, Oct. 5)

  • A&M came short of opening SEC play 3-0 for the first time after falling at No. 13 Kentucky, 25-20, 28-26, 30-38 on Sunday at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington, Ky.
  • Texas A&M sophomore middle blocker Jazzmin Babers had a career-high 16 kills while hitting .412, and freshman outside hitter Kiara McGee came off the bench to post a personal-best nine kills, but it was a match of missed opportunities for the Aggies, who were at set point a combined six times over the last two sets.
  • Outside hitter Angela Lowak joined Babers in double-digit kills with 11 while hitting .476. Sophomore Emily Hardesty, playing libero for the second time in her career, tied her personal-best with a team-leading 19 digs, and freshman Ashlie Reasor scooped up a career-high 15 digs.
  • Kentucky had nine aces for the match, tying for the most by an A&M opponent this season.
  • The Wildcats outhit A&M .319 to .295 although both teams had 54 kills apiece.

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:

Texas A&M freshman setter Stephanie Aiple was named the espnW national volleyball player of the week on Sept. 17 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. 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.

Preseason Success:

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.

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.