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Texas A&M Concludes Regular Season at Mississippi State, Ole MissTexas A&M Concludes Regular Season at Mississippi State, Ole Miss
Volleyball

Texas A&M Concludes Regular Season at Mississippi State, Ole Miss

Texas A&M concludes the regular season this week with a pair of matches in the Magnolia State. The Aggies face Mississippi State, Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Starkville and play their regular season finale at Ole Miss, Friday at 4 p.m. in Oxford.

Complete Match Notes

Texas A&M vs. Mississippi State
Wednesday, November 26, 7 p.m.
Newell-Grissom Building, Starkville, Miss.
SEC Network + (WatchESPN)

Texas A&M vs. Ole Miss
Friday, November 28, 4 p.m.
Gillom Sports Center, Oxford, Miss.
SEC Network + (WatchESPN)

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M closes out the regular season this week with a pair of road matches in the Magnolia State. The Aggies face Mississippi State, Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Newell-Grissom Building in Starkville and play their regular season finale at Ole Miss, Friday at 4 p.m. at the Gillom Sports Center in Oxford. Both matches will be broadcast on SEC Network + available on WatchESPN.

A&M, 19-8 overall and riding a season-best four-match win streak in SEC play, is tied for fourth place with Alabama in the conference standings with a 10-5 league mark. In their most recent outing, the Aggies dominated Missouri, 25-15, 25-17, 15-12 Sunday in College Station in their final home match of the regular season.

Mississippi State, 7-24 overall and in 12th place in the SEC, has dropped its last two matches since snapping LSU's 11-match winning streak and ending the Bulldogs' 15-match losing skid on Nov. 16 in Starkville. Most recently, MSU fell to 15th-ranked Kentucky, 25-10, 25-15, 25-22, in Starkville on Sunday.

Ole Miss is 21-9 overall and tied with South Carolina for seventh place with a 7-9 league mark entering a Wednesday contest against Georgia in Oxford. On Sunday, the Rebels snapped a four-match losing skid by upending fourth-place Alabama, 25-19, 25-23, 23-25, 16-25, 15-11.

TEXAS A&M QUICK HITS:

  • A&M is a combined 11-0 in the all-time series against both Mississippi schools. A&M defeated Ole Miss, 3-1 on Nov. 9 in College Station but will be facing Mississippi State for the first time this season.
  • A&M, which reached a season-high No. 15 in the NCAA RPI on Nov. 10, remained at No. 19 for the second consecutive week following wins against No. 70 Arkansas and No. 105 Missouri last week.
  • With an 11-5 SEC record and two matches remaining, A&M has already better its total number of conference victories (10) 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 needs one win in its final two matches to reach the 20-win milestone for the third time in four years and for the 15th time in Laurie Corbelli's 22-year tenure as head coach of the Aggies.
  • A&M is 6-3 in away matches, including 4-3 in away SEC matches, and 3-0 at neutral sites for the full season. The Aggies finished their home slate 10-5.
  • As a team, A&M is third in the SEC with a .277 hitting percentage in conference matches. In its previous two seasons in the league, A&M's best conference season hitting percentage was .264 set last season. A&M also ranks third in opponent hitting percentage (.209).
  • Middle blocker Jazzmin Babers leads the SEC with a .459 hitting percentage in conference matches only. She also is fifth in blocks (1.06) and 11th in both points (3.49) and kills (2.95) per set in SEC matches.
  • Babers, a redshirt sophomore, continues her torrid pace both on offense and defense. Last week, she hit a combined .583 with double-figure kills in both matches and also posted a 1.86 block average in wins against Arkansas and Missouri.
  • Babers, who has led the team in kills in eight matches, has posted double-digit kills in 10 of the last 11 matches and in 14 matches overall. She is hitting .471 and averaging 3.07 kills and 3.73 points per set when posting 10 or more kills.
  • Setter Stephanie Aiple received her third SEC Freshman Player of the Week honor on Monday. The Round Rock, Texas, native is the top freshman setter in the league, leading all rookie setters and ranking fifth overall in the conference with 10.76 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 10.78 assists per set.
  • Aiple, who surpassed 1,000 digs in the win against Missouri and also tallied her team-leading seventh double-double of the season, directs an A&M offense that ranks fourth in the SEC and 29th in the nation with a .261 hitting percentage for the full season.
  • Junior middle blocker Shelby Sullivan ranks seventh in the SEC with a .384 hitting percentage in league play. She also is 10th in points (3.55) per set, 11th in blocks (0.93) per set and 15th in kills (2.80) per set.
  • Four A&M players are averaging more than 2.0 kills per set. Sullivan leads the Aggies and is 13th in the SEC with 2.86 kills per set for the full season. Babers is averaging 2.63 kills per set, and junior outside hitter Angela Lowak and freshman opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor are averaging 2.52 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 13-0 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 11 matches. She is hitting .393 and averaging 3.18 kills and 3.90 points when posting 10 or more kills in a match.
  • 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 4.34 digs per set over the last eight 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 ninth in the league with 3.63 digs per set in conference matches only. She is 17th in the SEC with 2.87 digs 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 17th in the SEC with 2.67 digs per set in conference matches only. She is averaging 2.75 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 562-326 overall and 462-220 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, was 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 951-523-2 all-time.

A&M SERIES RECORD VS. MSU:

  • A&M is 3-0 in the all-time series against Mississippi State, including 1-0 in matches played in Starkville.
  • A&M has won all three meetings in three sets since the teams first met in 2012, A&M's inaugural year in the SEC.
  • Last year in A&M's first-ever trip to Starkville, A&M hit a season-high .439, posting 50 kills in 98 attempts while committing a season-low seven errors. A&M outside hitter Angela Lowak led all players with 17 kills -- the most kills by an A&M player in a three-set match in 2013 -- while hitting .517

SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE:

  • Mississippi State, 7-24 overall and 2-14 in SEC matches, is 5-11 in home matches.
  • The Bulldogs' two conference wins were five-set home victories against both Tennessee (Oct. 17) and third-place LSU (Nov. 16), a team that defeated A&M.
  • State leads the league with 15.91 digs per set.
  • Individually, freshman libero Payton Harris is second in the nation and leads the SEC with 6.10 digs per set. The Houston Cy-Fair High School product had 59 digs in a 3-2 win against Northwestern State on Sept. 13.
  • MSU closes out the regular season at Auburn on Saturday.
  • Jenny Hazelwood (Mississippi State '00) is in her sixth season as head coach of the Bulldogs.

A&M SERIES RECORD VS. OLE MISS:

  • A&M is 9-0 all-time against Ole Miss, including 4-0 in SEC meetings and 2-0 in matches played in Oxford.
  • Ole Miss was A&M's first-ever SEC opponent, and the Aggies defeated the Rebels, 25-21, 25-23, 25-16, on Sept. 14, 2012 at Reed Arena to mark A&M's first SEC victory in any sport.
  • The teams most recently met on Nov. 9 at Reed Arena in College Station. Four Texas A&M players posted double-figure kills to lead the Aggies to a 19-25, 25-16, 25-23, 25-18 victory over the Rebels. Outside hitter Angela Lowak paced the Aggie offense with a season-high 16 kills. She also led A&M with a team-high 15 digs. Middle blockers Jazzmin Babers and Shelby Sullivan finished with 13 kills each, and outside hitter Emily Hardesty had 10 kills without an error and also scooped up 13 digs. A&M setter Stephanie Aiple set up the balanced offense, dishing out 51 assists as the Aggies outhit the Rebels, .324 to .232 for the match. Aiple also pitched in on defense, accounting for 12 digs. Nakeyta Clair led the Rebels with 17 kills while hitting .405, and Ty Laporte and Lexi Thompson added 13 kills apiece in the loss.
  • In the first-ever meeting in Oxford (Nov. 23, 2012), A&M held off the Rebels, 25-9, 24-26, 27-25, 20-25, 15-10, in the regular-season finale.

SCOUTING OLE MISS:

  • Ole Miss is 21-9 overall, including 7-9 in SEC matches and 11-3 in home matches entering a match against Georgia on Wednesday in Oxford.
  • The Rebels are one win away from equaling the most home wins in a season (12).
  • The Rebels have reached the 20-win milestone for the first time since 2007.
  • Ole Miss split a pair of matches last weekend, dropping a 3-1 decision to No. 6 Florida and defeating Alabama 3-2, both at home. The Rebels handed Florida just their fourth dropped set in SEC play this year.
  • Junior Nakeyta Clair set the single season record for kills (337) with 9 against Florida
  • The Rebels completed the season series sweep against Alabama, a team that split with the Aggies.
  • Sophomore Melanie Crow set the single season record for aces (35) with a career-high five in the win over Alabama.
  • Junior middle blocker Nakeyta Clair leads the Rebels and is third in the SEC with a .403 hitting percentage for the full season. She also ranks sixth in the conference in both points (4.01) and kills (3.37) per set for the full season.
  • Senior libero Cara Fisher is in her second season at Ole Miss after transferring from Blinn College. She is ninth in the SEC with 3.50 digs per set for the full season.
  • Ole Miss is hitting .249 for the full season, ranking fifth in the SEC.
  • Ole Miss began the season 10-0, marking the best start in school history. South Carolina snapped the win streak with a 3-2 victory in both teams' SEC season opener in Columbia, S.C.
  • Head coach Steven Roberts is in his first season as head coach of the Rebels. He comes from Tulsa, where he led the Golden Hurricane to a 78-24 record, two Conference USA regular season titles, a Conference USA tournament championship and two appearances in the NCAA tournament.

TEXAS A&M: BY THE NUMBERS:

  • A&M is 13-0 when leading in kills, 13-0 when leading in points, 12-0 when hitting .300 or above and 15-2 when hitting .200 or above.
  • A&M is 18-1 when leading in attack percentage.
  • The Aggies also are 14-3 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 1.18 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 58 consecutive starts dating back to the 2013 season opener. Sullivan has played in 58 consecutive matches, having started 57 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), three sophomores (Babers, MB; Hardesty, OH; and Labhart, DS) and one freshman (Aiple, S). Freshman Amy Nettles was the starting libero for the eighth consecutive match, and freshman opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor came in for Labhart in the front row.
  • 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 week 15th in the nation in hitting percentage (.409) and Sullivan was 48th (.369). Aiple was 55th in the country with 10.76 assists per set. As a team, A&M was 29th in the nation with a .261 hitting percentage.
  • Head coach Laurie 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 celebrated Senior Day with a 25-15, 25-17, 25-12 sweep against Missouri in the Aggies' final appearance of the regular season at Reed Arena on Sunday.
  • The Aggies outhit Missouri, .349 to .103, and three A&M players posted double-digit kills as A&M won its fourth consecutive match. In addition, the Aggies completed the season series sweep against their former Big 12 Conference foes, having defeated Missouri, 3-1, earlier this month in Columbia, Mo.
  • Angela Lowak, Emily Hardesty and Jazzmin Babers had 10 kills each to pace the A&M offense. Setter Stephanie Aiple dished out 37 assists to surpass 1,000 assists for the season and also had 10 digs to post her team-leading seventh double-double of the season. Freshman libero Amy Nettles led all players with 15 digs, and Babers had a match-high five blocks.

UPCOMING -- NCAA SELECTION SHOW:

  • The 64-team NCAA tournament field will be announced Sunday, Nov. 30 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPNU. The Aggies are expecting to make their fourth consecutive appearance in the tournament.

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.