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No. 23 Texas A&M Faces Missouri Sunday in ColumbiaNo. 23 Texas A&M Faces Missouri Sunday in Columbia
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No. 23 Texas A&M Faces Missouri Sunday in Columbia

No. 23 Texas A&M concludes a two-match road swing as the Aggies take on defending SEC champion Missouri Sunday in Columbia, Mo. First serve is slated for 3 p.m. at the Hearnes Center, and the match will be televised on the SEC Network.

Complete Match Notes

Sunday, November 2
No. 23 Texas A&M at Missouri, 3 p.m.
Hearnes Center, Columbia, Mo.
SEC Network

COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 23 Texas A&M concludes a two-match road swing as the Aggies take on Missouri Sunday in Columbia, Mo. First serve is slated for 3 p.m. at the Hearnes Center, and the match will be televised on the SEC Network with Paul Sunderland and Nell Fortner calling the action.

The Aggies (14-7, 6-4 SEC) will be aiming to get back into the win column after their three-match win streak came to an end in a five-set (20-25, 28-26, 17-25, 25-20, 15-11) loss at Alabama on Friday. A&M enters Sunday's match in sole possession of fifth place in the SEC standings, one game ahead of Missouri and one game behind fourth-place Alabama.

Missouri, the defending SEC champion, is 14-11 overall and in a three-way tie with South Carolina and Arkansas for sixth place in the SEC with a 5-5 league record. The Tigers ended a two-match losing skid on Friday, sweeping Arkansas, 25-13, 25-21, 25-22, at the Hearnes Center.

TEXAS A&M QUICK HITS:

  • Texas A&M moved up one spot to No. 23 in this week's AVCA Top 25 Poll following victories against both Georgia and No. 16 Kentucky last week.
  • This marks the seventh consecutive week the Aggies have been in the Top 25, having broken in at No. 21 on Sept. 15 following consecutive wins against No. 6 USC and No. 13 San Diego. This is the first season A&M has appeared in the Top 25 since 2009, and the Aggies' No. 19 showing on Oct. 6 is their highest since a No. 15 ranking on Sept. 12, 2005.
  • A&M is No. 18 in this week's NCAA RPI rankings and No. 46 in the Pablo rankings.
  • Freshman libero Amy Nettles is the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Week after averaging 4.89 digs per set in A&M's wins against Georgia and No. 16 Kentucky last week.
  • Nettles, who celebrated her 19th birthday on Tuesday (Oct. 28) has posted a career high in digs in each of the last four matches, and her 26 digs against Kentucky is the most by an A&M player in a four-set match this season. The San Antonio native had 27 at Alabama and is averaging 4.32 digs per set over the last four matches.
  • A&M is 7-4 in home matches, 4-3 in away matches and 3-0 at neutral sites. In SEC matches only, A&M is 4-1 at home and 2-3 in away matches.
  • The Aggies are 3-4 against ranked opponents. Wins were against No. 6 Southern California and No. 13 San Diego on back-to-back days at the USC Classic on Sept. 11-12 in Los Angeles, as well as No. 16 Kentucky in A&M's most recent outing.
  • Four of A&M's seven losses this season were against teams ranked in the top 15. The Aggies lost two at home against No. 6 Florida State and also suffered road losses at No. 9 Florida and No. 13 Kentucky. The other losses were against UTSA and Arkansas at Reed Arena and at Alabama.
  • Texas A&M redshirt sophomore middle blocker Jazzmin Babers leads the SEC with a .447 hitting percentage in conference matches only.
  • Babers, who had career highs with 19 kills and 23 points and hit .581 in the loss at Alabama, has posted double-figure kills in each of the last five matches. She is hitting .466 with 3.10 kills and 3.78 points per set when recording 10 or more kills in a match.
  • Sophomore outside hitter Emily Hardesty has tallied double-digit digs in each of the last five matches, including a career-high 20 digs in the loss at Alabama. She leads the team with 12 double-figure dig performances this season.
  • Freshman setter Stephanie Aiple leads A&M with five doubles-doubles, with three of them occurring over the last five matches.
  • Freshman opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor has posted double-figure kills in each of the last three matches. She is hitting .229 and averaging 2.12 kills and 2.53 points per set for the full season. Over the last three matches, the San Antonio native is hitting .263 with 2.79 kills and 3.18 points per set.
  • Freshman defensive specialist Katelyn Labhart, who had appeared in only one set this season prior to the South Carolina match on Oct. 19, has played in each of the last four matches, drawing her first career start in the win against No. 16 Kentucky. She has recorded or tied her career high in digs in three of the last four matches, and has posted double-figure digs in each of the last three matches.
  • 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 557-325 overall and 457-219 at A&M, where she has directed the Aggies to 17 NCAA tournaments, including each of the last three years.
  • 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 four 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.
  • 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.
  • The 2014 season marks the 40th season of volleyball as an intercollegiate varsity sport at Texas A&M. The Aggies are 946-522-2 all-time.

A&M SERIES RECORD VS. MISSOURI:

  • Texas A&M leads the all-time series against Missouri, 25-13, including 2-1 in SEC matches only.
  • Missouri leads, 9-8, in matches played in Columbia.
  • Over the last 10 meetings, the overall series is tied, 5-5.
  • In the 16 years as members of the Big 12, A&M led the conference series, 21-11.
  • In the most recent meeting (Oct. 27, 2013), Missouri snapped a three-match losing skid against the Aggies as the 11th-ranked Tigers defeated A&M, 25-17, 29-27, 25-20 in College Station to improve to 9-0 in SEC play and 25-0 overall.
  • Shelby Sullivan led all players and tied her then-career high with 16 kills while hitting a then-career-high .682. Jazzmin Babers joined Sullivan in double-figure kills with a then-career-high 10 while also hitting a then-personal-best .529. Babers led all players with five blocks, and freshman defensive specialist Victoria Arenas led A&M with 13 digs. Missouri, which had entered the weekend with a nation-leading .374 hitting percentage, outhit A&M .347 to .235. The Tigers also led in kills, 59-41, with senior Lisa Henning leading the Tigers with 15.

Texas A&M Recent Results:

  • Texas A&M's Jazzmin Babers had a career-high 19 kills while hitting .581, but it wasn't enough as Alabama pulled away for a 20-25, 28-26, 17-25, 25-20, 15-11 victory Halloween night at Foster Auditorium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., snapping the 23rd-ranked Aggies' three-match win streak.
  • It was A&M's first loss this season when leading in attack percentage (.266 to .216), and it was the Aggies' second loss of the season when hitting .200 or better.
  • A&M had come back from a 2-1 deficit to win, 3-2, when the teams met earlier in the season in College Station, but on Friday it was Alabama who got the come-from-behind win to earn a split in the season series.
  • Krystal Rivers, the reigning SEC Offensive Player of the Week, led all players with 28 kills, the most by an A&M opponent this season, as Alabama notched its first win of the season against a ranked opponent.
  • Three consecutive kills by Alabama gave the Tide an 11-9 lead in the opening set before A&M scored six unanswered points, including two blocks and a kill by Babers that gave the Aggies a 15-11 advantage. A&M, which outhit the Tide, .379 to .191 in the frame, led the rest of the way as Alabama twice got within two points but could get no closer.
  • There were 14 ties and four lead changes in the second set. Alabama used a 4-0 run to go up 14-13, taking its first lead since 1-0. An Ashlie Reasor kill and an Alabama attack error immediately returned the lead to A&M. The teams then traded sideouts until three consecutive kills by the Tide put Alabama ahead, 19-17. A&M tied the score at 21-21 but was unable to regain the lead. Rivers put down a kill to put Alabama at set point, 24-22, before a kill by Shelby Sullivan and an Alabama attack into the net knotted the score at 24-24. Rivers posted her eighth kill of the set to put the Tide serving for the set at 25-24, but Sullivan got an out-of-system kill to tie the score once again. Alabama answered with a kill, but A&M would fight off a fourth set point as Babers capped a long rally with a tip kill. A&M, however, was whistled for a ball handling error on  the next play, and Alabama freshman Kat Hutson followed with a well-placed off-speed shot to clinch the 28-26 win for the Tide to even the match at 1-1.
  • A&M never trailed in the third set as Babers posted seven kills in the set and led the Aggies to a .270 to .026 hitting efficiency advantage. A&M took its largest lead at 23-15 after an Alabama attack sailed out. The teams then sided out to close out the set, with Aggie freshman setter Stephanie Aiple getting a dump kill to secure the 25-17 victory and give the Aggies a 2-1 lead in the match.
  • Alabama used a 5-0 run to build a 15-12 lead in the fourth set. A&M managed to tie the score three times, the last at 19-all before two A&M miscues and two Alabama kills put the Tide up, 23-19. Emily Hardesty ended the run with a kill, but Rivers and Hutson each had a kill to close out the set and tie the match at 2-2.
  • A&M, which entered the match 11-1 when winning the first set, held a 4-2 lead to begin the fifth set before Alabama used a 7-2 run to go up 9-6. A&M, which was outhit .545 to .286 in the stanza, was unable to close the gap. Alabama was serving for the match at 14-11 before Reasor put down her 12th kill of the match to keep the Aggies alive. A&M, however, served long on the next play to end the match.
  • Lowak joined Babers and Reasor in double-figure kills with 14 and completed her third double-double with 14 digs. Freshman libero Amy Nettles, the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Week, led all players with a career-high 27 digs, and Hardesty also set a career-high with 20 digs. Defensive specialist Katelyn Labhart added 11 digs.
  • Aiple finished with 55 assists, one shy of her career high, and directed the Aggie offense to a .266 to .216 lead in hitting percentage.
  • Babers took match-high honors in blocks with eight and finished with a career-high 23 points. Reasor added seven blocks, as A&M outblocked Alabama, 16-11.
  • Alabama led in kills, 77-64, with setter Sierra Wilson, the SEC leader in assists per set, dishing out 70 assists, the most by an A&M opponent this season.

SCOUTING MISSOURI:

  • Missouri is 14-11 overall and 5-5 in SEC matches after sweeping Arkansas, 25-13, 25-21, 25-22, on Friday at the Hearnes Center.
  • The Tigers, who are tied with South Carolina and Arkansas for fifth place in the SEC standings, are 6-4 in home matches, including 4-1 in SEC home matches only.
  • The win against Arkansas ended the Tigers' two-match losing skid, which equaled their longest losing streak of the season.
  • Sophomore outside hitter Carly Kan, who is sixth in the SEC with 3.47 kills per set for the full season, led the Tigers with 10 kills and a match-high 11 digs, posting her SEC-leading 15th double-double of the season.
  • Missouri is 0-1 against ranked opponents, falling at No. 8 Florida, 3-0, on Oct. 24.
  • Senior Whitney Little entered the weekend ranked 19th in the nation and third in the SEC with a .404 hitting percentage. She enters the A&M match with a .398 hitting efficiency after begin held to a .167 hitting percentage against Arkansas.
  • Sophomore Emily Thater and Little are fourth and seventh, respectively in the SEC in blocks per set in conference matches only, averaging 1.11 and 1.06 blocks per set. In SEC matches only. As a team, Missouri is fifth in the league with 2.18 blocks per set in conference matches only.
  • The Tigers are third in the league with 1.32 aces per set.

 TEXAS A&M: BY THE NUMBERS:

  • A&M is 11-2 when hitting above .200. The Aggies also are 11-2 when winning the first set and 11-1 when winning the second set.
  • A&M is 13-1 when leading in attack percentage, 9-0 when leading in points, 9-0 when leading in kills and 6-1 when leading in aces.
  • Shelby Sullivan has posted double-digit kills in a team-leading 13 matches -- including in four of the last five matches -- and is hitting .390 and averaging 4.04 points per set when recording 10 or more kills in a match.
  • In A&M's six matches vs. top-15 opponents only, Sullivan hit a combined .382 and averaged 2.88 kills, 1.04 blocks and 3.56 points per set.
  • In A&M's SEC season opener against Auburn on Sept. 28, Sullivan hit a career-high .826, setting an A&M SEC record and a Reed Arena record for hitting percentage when making 10 or more attack attempts. She also broke A&M records for kills (20) and points (25.0) in a three-set SEC match in the sweep against the Tigers.
  • Jazzmin Babers leads A&M and ranks fifth in the SEC with 1.14 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 52 consecutive starts dating back to the 2013 season opener. Sullivan has played in 52 consecutive matches, having started 51 of them.
  • Outside hitter Sydney Wilhelm, who is in her first season with the team after playing the last two seasons on the A&M club team, has been the only senior to appear in the starting lineup this season, having started five matches.
  • A&M's most recent starting lineup consisted of two juniors (Lowak, OH; Sullivan, MB), three sophomores (Babers, MB; Hardesty, OH; Labhart, DS) and one freshman (Aiple, S). Freshman Amy Nettles was the starting libero for the second consecutive match and the second time in her career.
  • After starting the first 12 matches of the season at outside hitter, 6-3 sophomore Emily Hardesty spent the next five matches at libero, making her the tallest libero in the SEC. Hardesty returned to the starting outside hitter position against South Carolina and has remained at the outside.
  • Freshman setter Stephanie Aiple has started each of the last 18 matches and is fifth in the SEC with 10.69 assists per set for the full season. The Round Rock, Texas native is sixth in the league with 10.68 assists per set in SEC matches only.
  • Aiple dished out 48 assists against No. 13 Kentucky on Oct. 5, an A&M record for a three-set SEC match.
  • Entering the weekend, Sullivan was 47th in the nation in hitting percentage (.374), and Babers was 52nd (.371). Aiple was 60th in the country with 10.67 assists per set, and Babers was 110th in blocks per set with a 1.14 average. As a team, A&M was 52nd in the nation with a .249 hitting percentage.

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.