Volleyball Faces No. 22 Arizona State in NCAA First Round in Austin

Complete Match Notes

NCAA Championship – First Round
Texas A&M (21-8) vs. No. 22 Arizona State (19-13)
4:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 4
Gregory Gym, Austin, Texas
TV: Longhorn Network
Audio: 12thMan.com; RadioAggieland.com; The Zone HD 95.1-3 FM (College Station area)

NCAA Championship – Second Round
Texas A&M/No. 22 Arizona State winner vs. No. 6 Texas/Northwestern State winner
8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 5
Gregory Gym, Austin, Texas
TV: Longhorn Network
Audio: 12thMan.com; RadioAggieland.com; The Zone HD 95.1-3 FM (College Station area)

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AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas A&M (21-8, 13-5 SEC) received an at-large bid to the 2014 NCAA Volleyball Championship and will face 22nd-ranked Arizona State in the first round, Thursday at Gregory Gym in Austin, Texas. The match against the Sun Devils, an at-large selection from the Pacific-12 Conference, begins at 4:30 p.m. and will be followed by a first-round match-up between No. 2 seed Texas, the automatic qualifier from the Big 12 Conference, and Northwestern State, the Southland Conference automatic qualifier, at 7 p.m. The two winners will meet in the second round, Friday at 8 p.m. at Gregory Gym, with the winner earning a berth into the Minneapolis Regional, Dec. 12-13.

Tickets: All-session and single-day tickets may be purchased online at TexasSports.com/tickets, by calling 512-471-3333 or in person at the Bellmont Hall Ticket Office (Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and Friday 9 a.m.-4 p.m.) while supplies last. All-session reserved seats are SOLD OUT. All-session general admission tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and youth. Single-day tickets are $15 for reserved seating, $10 for adult general admission and $6 for students and youth.

Texas A&M, which closed out the regular season riding a season-best six-match win streak to finish in a tie for fourth in the Southeastern Conference, is making its fourth consecutive and 22nd overall appearance in the NCAA tournament. This marks the Aggies' 18th appearance under 22nd-year head coach Laurie Corbelli, making A&M one of only 14 teams in the nation that has made at least 18 NCAA tournament appearances since she was hired in 1993. The Aggies, who capped the regular season with a 3-2 come-back victory at Ole Miss on Nov. 28, are one of five teams from the SEC to be participating in the postseason tournament.

Arizona State (19-13, 9-11 Pac 12), one of an NCAA record-setting 10 teams from the Pac-12 to be in the 64-team field, also received an at-large bid and is making its third consecutive and 18th overall appearance in the NCAA tournament.  The Sun Devils are 8-17 all-time in the postseason tournament.

Texas (23-2), a two-time NCAA champion (1988, 2012) is making its 11th consecutive and 31st overall NCAA tournament, having received an automatic bid by winning the Big 12 Conference title with a 15-1 record. Northwestern State (16-16) is making its first appearance in the tournament, receiving an automatic berth after winning the Southland Conference tournament championship.

FOLLOW THE ACTION:

• The Longhorn Network will broadcast all three matches from the Austin subregional. Paul Sunderland and Nell Fortner will be calling the action.
• Fans can listen to the match on The Zone HD 95.1-3 FM in the Bryan-College Station area and worldwide for free on RadioAggieland.com and 12thman.com.
• Updates and other information can be found by following @AggieVolleyball on Twitter.com

TEXAS A&M TOURNAMENT NOTES:

• A&M is making its 22nd overall appearance (1981, '82, '85, '86, '93, '94, '95, '96, '97, '98,' 99, 2000, '01, '02, '03, '04, '05, '09, '11, '12, '13, '14) since the inception of the tournament in 1981…A&M is 15-1 in first-round matches under Corbelli -- A&M had a first-round bye in 1995 -- and 17-3 all-time in NCAA first-round matches...A&M sports a 25-21 (.543) all-time record in the NCAA tournament, including a 23-17 (.575) mark during Corbelli's A&M tenure...This is the third consecutive year and the fifth time overall A&M's NCAA run has gone through Austin (1985, '93, 2013, '14), where the Aggies are 2-4 all-time in NCAA postseason play. All four losses were to Texas in the second round…Last year in Austin, A&M went 1-1, defeating UTSA, 3-0, in the first round and falling to former Big 12-rival Texas, 3-1, in the second round…A&M's best finish in an NCAA tournament was a regional final appearance in both 1999 and 2001…The SEC landed five teams in the tournament field: No. 8 seed Florida, No. 13 seed Kentucky, Alabama, LSU and Texas A&M…Florida earned the SEC's automatic bid by winning the conference title with an 18-0 record...The Aggies are 4-6 this year against teams in the NCAA tournament field.

NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES:

• Thirty-two conferences were awarded automatic qualification, and the remaining 32 slots were filled with at-large selections to complete the bracket...The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and placed within four regions...Sixteen first-and second-round matches will be played Dec. 4-5 or 5-6 on the campuses of participating institutions...Winners will advance to four predetermined regional sites: Ames, Iowa, Louisville, Ky., Minneapolis and Seattle...The four regional winners will meet at the Final Four, to be held at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Okla., Dec. 18 and 20...Stanford is the No. 1 seed in the 64-team bracket…Penn State is the defending national champion...For complete tournament bracket and information, visit the NCAA official Website at www.NCAAsports.com.

SERIES HISTORY VS. ARIZONA STATE:

• ASU owns a 4-0 lead in the all-time series, although the teams have not met since 1988, three-plus years before anyone on the A&M roster was born.
• ASU is 3-0 against the Aggies at neutral sites, including a 15-12, 15-9, 15-11 victory by the then-16th-ranked Sun Devils in the first-ever meeting between the two schools on Nov. 25, 1983, at the LSU Festival in Baton Rouge, La.
• The most recent meeting was Sept. 10, 1988, at G. Rollie White Coliseum in College Station. ASU won the match, 3-15, 15-11, 15-6, 10-15, 15-8.
• This will be the first meeting between the two teams in an NCAA tournament match.
• Texas A&M's all-time results vs. ASU:

SCOUTING ARIZONA STATE

• The Sun Devils (19-13, 9-11 Pac-12) are one of an NCAA-record 10 schools from the Pac-12 to receive a bid to the NCAA tournament. ASU finished in a three-way tie with Utah and Oregon State for seventh place in the Pac-12.
• ASU closed out the regular season by knocking off No. 17 UCLA, 3-2 on Nov. 26 and then falling to No. 14 Arizona, 3-0, in the season finale on Nov. 28.
• ASU is 9-6 away from home, including 2-1 at neutral sites.
• Fourteen of ASU's 32 matches have been decided in five matches. The Sun Devils are 8-6 in 5-set matches, 4-2 in 4-set matches and 7-5 in 3-set matches.
• In each of the last two years, ASU has lost its NCAA first-round match, 3-2, In 2013, the Sun Devils lost to BYU at Hawaii, and in 2012, ASU fell to Oklahoma in a match played at BYU.
• With a 19-13 record, ASU is aiming to reach the 20-win milestone for the sixth time since joining the Pac-12 in 1986. Last year, the Sun Devils finished 19-14, falling short of putting together back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since the 92-93 seasons.
• All-Pac-12 junior outside hitter Macey Gardner ranks 25th in the nation in both kills (4.31) and points (4.84) per set.
• Gardner has 560 total kills, the third most kills in a season in school history. She needs 18 kills to move into second and improve upon her own personal record of 577 kills set in 2012.
• ASU lists one Texan on its roster, 6-0 freshman setter Madison McDaniel from The Woodlands.
• The Sun Devils have only two seniors, including setter/defensive specialist Shannan McCready. She and Texas A&M associate head coach John Corbelli both graduated from Punahou School in Hawaii.
• Jason Watson (BYU, 1995) is 106-116 in his seventh season as head coach of the Sun Devils. He is 180-134 in the 10th season of his head coaching career.

COMMON FOES:

• A&M and ASU faced three common opponents this season: Ohio, Iowa and USC. A&M and ASU both went 3-0 against the common opponents.
• ASU held off Ohio, 3-2, on Aug. 31 at the Rainbow Wahine Invitational in Honolulu, and A&M swept Ohio in the Bobcats' home opener on Sept. 5.
• Both teams got 3-0 home wins over Iowa, and both teams got road wins at USC, with the Aggies defeating the then-No. 6 Women of Troy, 3-2, on Sept. 11, and ASU taking down the No. 9 Trojans, 3-1, on Sept. 26.

TEXAS A&M RECENT RESULTS:

• Texas A&M rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Ole Miss, 25-19, 18-25, 24-26, 25-16, 15-13 on Nov. 28 at the Gillom Sports Center in Oxford, Miss., in both teams' regular-season finale. With the victory, the Aggies closed out the regular season riding a season-best six-match win streak.
• Middle blocker Shelby Sullivan led the Aggies with 18 kills – including the match winner – committing only one error while taking 27 swings for a .630 hitting percentage. Middle blocker Jazzmin Babers also posted double-figure kills with 12 while hitting .391 and pitched in a match-high six blocks.
• The Aggies hit above .300 for the sixth consecutive match as freshman setter Stephanie Aiple directed the offense to a .325 hitting percentage while dishing out a career-high 57 assists. Freshman libero Amy Nettles spearheaded the Aggies' back-row play, leading all players with 24 digs for her fourth 20-plus dig performance in the last 10 matches.
• A&M, which entered the match 5-3 in five-set matches, built a 10-6 lead in the final set when the Rebels began to rally, outscoring A&M, 6-2, to tie the score at 12-all. Sullivan then posted back-to-back kills to put the Aggies at set and match point. Nakeyta Clair countered with her 17th kill of the match to keep the Rebels alive, but Sullivan once again came through, getting a kill on the slide attack to clinch the victory for the Aggies.
• The Aggies improved to 10-0 in the all-time series against the Rebels, albeit not without a fight as this marked the second time in the last three trips to Oxford that the match was decided in five sets.

TEXAS A&M TEAM NOTES:

• With a 21-8 record, A&M has reached 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, which was picked to finish sixth in the SEC according to a preseason poll of the league's head coaches, finished in a tie with Alabama for fourth place with a 13-5 SEC record, bettering A&M's 10 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. That was the last year the SEC recognized divisional winners in volleyball.
• A&M's six-match winning streak is the second longest active win streak in the SEC. SEC champion Florida has won 20 straight.
• A&M hit above .300 in each of its last six matches of the regular season to finish with an all-time high .283 conference hitting percentage. It smashes A&M's previous conference record hitting percentage of .265 set in 1995, the final year of the Southwest Conference.
• A&M held its opponent to below .200 in hitting percentage in four of the last five matches. A&M is outhitting its opponents, .266 to .198, for the full season.
• A&M is 3-0 at neutral sites this season, having defeated both Virginia Tech and VCU at the Baymont Inn & Suites Invitational in Athens, Ohio, and No. 13 San Diego at the USC Classic in Los Angeles. The Aggies are a combined 11-3 when playing away from Reed Arena.
• 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. 13, respectively.
• A&M is 15-0 when leading its opponent in kills, 14-0 when leading in points, 14-0 when hitting .300 or above and 18-2 when hitting .200 or above.
• A&M is 20-1 when leading in attack percentage.
• The Aggies also are 16-3 when winning the first set and 5-5 when dropping the first set.
• 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 564-326 overall and 464-220 at A&M, where she has directed the Aggies to 18 NCAA tournaments, including A&M's fourth consecutive appearance this season.
• The 2014 season marks the 40th season of volleyball as an intercollegiate varsity sport at Texas A&M. The Aggies are 953-523-2 all-time.

TEXAS A&M PLAYER NOTES:

• Middle blocker Jazzmin Babers ranks 16th in the nation with a .406 hitting percentage and finished second in the SEC with a .449 hitting percentage in conference matches only.
• Babers, who has led the team in kills in eight matches, has posted double-digit kills in 11 of the last 13 matches and in 15 matches overall. In four of the matches, she posted double-digit kills without an error, including in wins against No. 6 USC (14k-0e-24ta) and No. 16 Kentucky (10k-0-e-19ta).
• Babers is hitting .466 and averaging 3.02 kills and 3.67 points per set when posting 10 or more kills.
• Babers, a member of the All-SEC team, is 88th in the country and fifth in the SEC with 1.17 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 started every match of her career (60), and junior middle blocker Shelby Sullivan has played in 60 consecutive matches, having started 59 of them.
• 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. The two-time All-SEC Team honoree 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, Sullivan hit a combined .382 and averaged 2.88 kills, 1.04 blocks and 3.56 points per set.
• Sullivan has led or tied for the team high in kills in a team-best 11 matches. She has posted double-figure kills in a team-leading 18 matches, including in nine of the last 13 matches. She is hitting .406 and averaging 3.21 kills and 3.90 points when posting 10 or more kills in a match.
• Setter Stephanie Aiple, a three-time SEC Freshman Player of the Week and a member of the SEC All-Freshman Team, is the top freshman setter in the league, leading all rookie setters and ranking fifth overall in the conference and 52nd in the nation with 10.81 assists per set for the full season. She also led all freshmen setters and ranked sixth overall in the SEC in conference matches only with 10.86 assists per set.
• Aiple, who surpassed 1,000 digs in the win against Missouri on Nov. 23 and leads A&M with seven double-doubles, directs an A&M offense that enters postseason play ranked third in the SEC and 22nd in the nation with a .266 hitting percentage for the full season.
• Aiple 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. She enters NCAA tournament play coming off a career-high 57-assist performance at Ole Miss on Nov. 28.
• 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 2.61 kills per set, and junior outside hitter Angela Lowak and freshman opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor are averaging 2.47 and 2.17 kills per set, respectively.
• A&M is 10-0 when an outside hitter -- Lowak, Reasor or sophomore Emily Hardesty -- leads the team outright in kills and 14-0 when an outside hitter leads or ties a middle blocker for the team high in kills.
• 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 4.38 kills per set, posting double-figure digs in each of the last seven matches and recording four 20-plus dig performances over the last 10 matches. 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 14th in the SEC with 3.02 digs per set for the full season. She finished eighth in the league with 3.75 digs per set in conference matches only.
• Outside hitter Emily Hardesty leads A&M with 14 double-figure dig performances this season. The sophomore, who has three double-doubles, is 19th in the SEC with 2.69 digs per set for the full season.
• Hardesty started the first 12 matches of the season at outside hitter before the 6-3 sophomore was moved to the libero position for the next five matches, 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.
• 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 10th consecutive match, and freshman opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor came in for Labhart in the front row.
• 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.

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.