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Texas A&M Closes Out Home Slate Sunday Against MissouriTexas A&M Closes Out Home Slate Sunday Against Missouri
Volleyball

Texas A&M Closes Out Home Slate Sunday Against Missouri

Texas A&M closes out its regular-season home schedule Sunday, playing host to Missouri on "Senior Day" at Reed Arena. First serve is at 3 p.m., and A&M's lone senior, outside hitter Sydney Wilhelm, will be honored after the match.

Complete Match Notes

Texas A&M vs. Missouri
Sunday, November 23, 3 p.m.
Reed Arena, College Station, Texas
SEC Network

Texas A&M-Missouri All-Time Series Record: A&M leads 26-13 (3-1 in SEC matches)
A&M Home: A&M leads 15-3 | Away: Tied 9-9| Neutral: A&M leads 2-1
Last Meeting: A&M won, 3-1 (17-25, 25-13, 25-13, 25-16), Nov. 2, 2014, Hearnes Center, Columbia, Mo.
Streak: A&M won 1

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M closes out its regular season home schedule Sunday, playing host to 2013 SEC champion Missouri on “Senior Day” at Reed Arena. First serve is at 3 p.m., and the match will be televised on the SEC Network with Paul Sunderland and Nell Fortner calling the action. A&M's lone senior, outside hitter Sydney Wilhelm will be honored after the match.

Texas A&M (18-8, 10-5 SEC) is in fifth place in the SEC standings, one game behind fourth-place Alabama with three matches remaining. The Aggies are riding a three-match win streak, having equaled their longest win streak in conference play this season with a 3-1 victory at Arkansas on Wednesday to earn a split in the season series against the Razorbacks.

Missouri (16-15, 7-9 SEC), which lost to the Aggies, 3-1, earlier this month in Columbia, is

coming off a 3-1 loss at LSU on Friday in Baton Rouge, La., giving the Tigers their third loss over the last four matches.

PROMOTIONS:

  • Take a Kid to the Match: Up to four kids get in free with the purchase of one regular-priced adult ticket. Pre-match activities for kids on the concourse include a balloon artist, feather headbands and turkey hands
  • 12th Man Towels: The first 250 fans receive a free 12th Man towel
  • Fan Appreciation Day: Enter your name at a 12th Man table for a chance to win a $100 VISA gift card
  • Chalk Talk: Coach Laurie Corbelli meets with fans in the volleyball practice gym 40 minutes before first serve to preview the match against the Tigers
  • 40 Years of Women's Athletics Day: In honor of 40 years of women's athletics at Texas A&M, all former Aggie volleyball players in attendance will be recognized on the court during the intermission
  • Senior Day: Aggie senior outside hitter Sydney Wilhelm will be honored on the court immediately following the match

TEXAS A&M QUICK HITS:

  • After reaching a season-high No. 15 in last week's NCAA RPI (Nov. 10), A&M dropped to No. 19 on Monday following a win against No. 208 Tennessee in the Aggies' only match last week.
  • The average RPI of A&M's last three opponents of the regular season is 136.33: Missouri (105), Mississippi State (229) and Ole Miss (75). A&M also has a win at No. 70 Arkansas since the most recent RPI was released.
  • With a 10-5 SEC record and three matches remaining, A&M has already equaled its total number of conference victories in 2013, when the Aggies tied for sixth place. In 2012, A&M's first year in the SEC, the Aggies went 16-4 and won the SEC Western Division. (2012 was the last year the SEC recognized divisional winners in volleyball.)
  • A&M is 9-5 in home matches, 6-3 in away matches and 3-0 at neutral sites for the full season.
  • In SEC matches only, A&M is 6-2 at Reed Arena and 4-3 in away matches.
  • As a team, A&M is third in the SEC with a .273 hitting percentage in conference matches.
  • Texas A&M redshirt sophomore middle blocker Jazzmin Babers leads the SEC with a .462 hitting percentage in conference matches only. She also is fifth in blocks (1.03) and 11th in both points (3.51) and kills (2.93) per set in SEC matches.
  • Junior middle blocker Shelby Sullivan ranks eighth in the SEC with a .387 hitting percentage in league play. She also is 10th in points (3.55) per set, 11th in blocks per set and 14th in kills (2.84) per set.
  • Four A&M players are averaging more than 2.0 kills per set. Sullivan leads the Aggies and is 12th in the SEC with 2.89 kills per set for the full season. Babers is averaging 2.61 kills per set, and junior outside hitter Angela Lowak and freshman opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor are averaging 2.49 and 2.16 kills per set, respectively.
  • A&M is 9-0 when an outside hitter -- Lowak, Reasor or sophomore Emily Hardesty -- leads the team outright in kills and 12-0 when an outside hitter leads or ties a middle blocker for the team high in kills.
  •  Sullivan has led or tied for the team high in kills in a team-best 10 matches. She has posted double-figure kills in a team-leading 17 matches, including in eight of the last 10 matches. She is hitting .393 and averaging 3.18 kills and 3.90 points when posting 10 or more kills in a match.
  • Babers, who has led the team in kills in seven matches, has posted double-digit kills in nine of the last 10 matches and in 13 matches overall. She is hitting .474 and averaging 3.05 kills and 3.70 points per set when posting 10 or more kills.
  • Setter Stephanie Aiple is the top freshman setter in the league, leading all rookie setters and ranking fifth overall in the conference with 10.70 assists per set for the full season. She also leads all freshmen setters and ranks sixth overall in the SEC in conference matches only with 10.70 assists per set.
  • Aiple directs an A&M offense that ranks fourth in the SEC and 33rd in the nation with a .258 hitting percentage for the full season.
  • In SEC matches only, A&M is third in the conference with a .273 hitting percentage and also is third in opponent hitting percentage (.209).
  • Since Oct. 26, when Amy Nettles made her first start at libero and helped the Aggies to a 3-1 victory over No. 16 Kentucky, the freshman is averaging 4.28 digs per set over the last seven matches and has posted three 20-plus dig performances. Prior to the Kentucky match, Nettles was averaging 1.85 digs per set for the full season.
  • Nettles, the SEC Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 27, now leads the Aggies and is 11th in the league with 3.54 digs per set in conference matches only. She is 18th in the SEC with 2.79 digs per set for the full season.
  • Freshman opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor, the only lefty on the team, has posted double-figure kills in six of the last eight matches. Most recently, the San Antonio native hit .409 with 10 kills in the win at Arkansas. For the full season, Reasor is hitting .245 and averaging 2.16 kills and 2.55 points per set for the full season.
  • Outside hitter Emily Hardesty leads A&M with 14 double-figure dig performances this season. The sophomore, who has three double-doubles, is 16th in the SEC with 2.68 digs per set in conference matches only. She is averaging 2.76 digs per set for the full season.
  • 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 on Oct. 26.
  • Four of A&M's losses this season were against teams ranked in the top 15. The Aggies lost two at home against then-No. 6 Florida State and also suffered road losses at then-No. 9 Florida and then-No. 13 Kentucky. In the most recent AVCA Top 25 Poll, Florida is No. 6, and Florida State and Kentucky are No. 8 and No. 15, respectively.
  • 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 561-326 overall and 461-220 at A&M, where she has directed the Aggies to 17 NCAA tournaments, including each of the last three years.
  • 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 950-523-2 all-time.

A&M SERIES RECORD VS. MISSOURI:

  • Texas A&M leads the all-time series against Missouri, 26-13, including 3-1 in SEC matches only.
  • A&M leads, 15-3, in matches played in College Station, although the then-11th-ranked Tigers swept the Aggies last year at Reed.
  • In the 16 years as members of the Big 12, A&M led the conference series, 21-11.
  • A&M has won four of the last five meetings, including a 17-25, 25-13, 25-13, 15-16 victory at Missouri on Nov. 2, 2014.
  • In the most recent meeting, A&M hit .348, its highest hitting percentage in a four-set match this season, while holding the Tigers to a .154 hitting efficiency.
  • Shelby Sullivan led A&M with a match-high 13 kills without an error in 17 swings for a .765 hitting percentage and also had a match-high four blocks. Jazzmin Babers added 11 kills while hitting at a .474 pace. Opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor also reached double figures in kills with 11, and setter Stephanie Aiple finished with 48 assists as A&M outhit the Tigers, .348 to .154. Katelyn Labhart was A&M's leader in the back row with a match-high 12 digs and a career-high three aces.
  • Carly Kan led Missouri and posted her league-leading 16th double-double of the year with 12 digs and 12 kills but was held to a .195 hitting efficiency.

SCOUTING MISSOURI:

  • Missouri enters its final road match of the season 16-15 overall and 7-9 in SEC matches after falling, 3-1 (25-19, 25-17, 21-25, 25-12) against LSU on Friday at the Pete Maravich Center in Baton Rouge, La.
  • The Tigers, who won the SEC title in 2013, are in seventh place in the conference standings after losing three of their last four matches.
  • Sophomore outside hitter Carly Kan, who is eighth in the SEC with 3.27 kills per set in conference matches, led Missouri  with 13 kills against LSU but was held to a .189 hitting percentage.
  • Senior Whitney Little entered the weekend ranked 34th in the nation and seventh in the SEC with a .381 hitting percentage. She had only three kills and hit .182 at LSU on Friday
  • Sophomore Emily Thater had eight blocks at LSU. She leads MU and is 12th in the SEC with 0.90 blocks per set for the full season. She is 16th in conference matches only with 0.91 blocks per set.
  • Senior libero Sarah Meister had 30 digs at LSU and ranks third in the SEC with 4.42 digs per set for the full season
  • Missouri closes out its season on Wednesday against Alabama at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo.

TEXAS A&M: BY THE NUMBERS:

  • A&M is 12-0 when leading in kills, 12-0 when leading in points, 11-0 when hitting .300 or above and 14-2 when hitting .200 or above.
  • A&M is 17-1 when leading in attack percentage.
  • The Aggies also are 13-3 when winning the first set and 5-5 when dropping the first set.
  • In A&M's SEC season opener against Auburn on Sept. 28, junior middle blocker Shelby 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. Her .826 hitting percentage is the highest by an SEC player this year when having a minimum of 12 kills, and her 25 points are the most by an SEC player in a three-set match this season.
  • In A&M's seven matches vs. top-16 opponents only, Sullivan hit a combined .382 and averaged 2.88 kills, 1.04 blocks and 3.56 points per set.
  • Jazzmin Babers leads A&M and ranks fifth in the SEC with 1.16 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 and is the most by an SEC player this season.
  • Babers has made 57 consecutive starts dating back to the 2013 season opener. Sullivan has played in 57 consecutive matches, having started 56 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. She is the only senior on the team after fourth-year defensive specialist Hannah Hood left the team midseason to concentrate on academics.
  • A&M's most recent starting lineup consisted of two juniors (Lowak, OH; Sullivan, MB), two sophomores (Babers, MB; Hardesty, OH) and two freshmen (Aiple, S; Reasor, OPP). Freshman Amy Nettles was the starting libero for the seventh consecutive match.
  • 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, who had made 21 consecutive starts before getting a well-deserved rest during the Tennessee match on Nov. 16, dished out 48 assists against No. 13 Kentucky on Oct. 5, an A&M record for a three-set SEC match and the most assists by an SEC player in a three-set match this season.
  • Babers entered the weekend 16th in the nation in hitting percentage (.409) and Sullivan was 48th (.370). Aiple was 58th in the country with 10.70 assists per set. As a team, A&M was 33rd in the nation with a .258 hitting percentage.
  • 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 RECENT RESULTS:

Texas A&M defeated Arkansas 25-17, 25-19, 19-25, 25-20 Wednesday night at Barnhill Arena, avenging a loss to the Razorbacks earlier this season and earning a split in the season series.

Middle blocker Jazzmin Babers paced the Aggies with 13 kills in 17 attempts without an error for a .765 hitting efficiency. Babers also pitched in a match-high eight blocks as A&M outblocked the Razorbacks, 11 to 5.5.

Middle blocker Shelby Sullivan and opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor also had double figures in kills for the Aggies with 11 and 10, respectively. Libero Amy Nettles and outside hitter Angela Lowak led in digs with 13 and 10, respectively, and setter Stephanie Aiple returned to the starting lineup and dished out 41 assists as A&M outhit Arkansas .331 to .189 for the match.

UPCOMING:

  • Texas A&M closes out the regular season with a pair of road matches. The Aggies face Mississippi State on Wednesday, Nov. 26, at 7 p.m., Newell-Grissom Bldg., Starkville, Miss., and then play the season finale at Ole Miss, Friday, Nov. 28 at Ole Miss. First serve is a 4 p.m. at the Gillom Sports Center in Oxford.
  • It will be the first and only meeting against the Bulldogs this season, while A&M defeated Ole Miss, 3-1 (19-25, 25-16, 25-23, 25-18) on Nov. 9 at Reed Arena in College Station.
  • A&M is a combined 11-0 in the all-time series against both Mississippi schools.

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.