All three Aggies receive the honor for the first time in their careers, while Aiple, a freshman setter from Round Rock, Texas, and Babers, a redshirt sophomore middle blocker from Bowling Green, Ohio, become A&M's first underclassmen to garner the accolade from the AVCA.
The trio, named to the AVCA All-South Region team earlier this month, led Texas A&M to a 21-9 record in 2014 as the Aggies 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. In addition, A&M advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive year and for the 18th time under 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.
Aiple, who recently became the second A&M player in program history to be named AVCA region freshman of the year, orchestrated a balanced attack in which the Aggies hit .263 for the full season, ranking 22nd in the nation. It marked the Aggies' fifth highest season hitting percentage in the 40-year history of the program and the best team hitting efficiency since the Aggies hit .272 in 2007. In conference matches only, the Aggies hit a school record .283 and finished in a tie for fourth place in the Southeastern Conference with a 13-5 record.
The highly touted Aiple received numerous honors throughout her rookie campaign, including becoming the first A&M player to be named ESPNW National Player of the Week after leading the Aggies to victories over both No. 6 Southern California and No. 13 San Diego. A member of the 2014 SEC All-Freshman Team and a three-time SEC Freshman Player of the Week honoree, Aiple ranks 52nd in the nation and fifth in the SEC with 10.76 assists per set for the full season. Aiple, who averaged 10.86 assists per set in conference matches only and led A&M with eight double-double performances, 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 in 2014.
Babers and Sullivan, both members of the 2014 All-SEC Team, quickly established themselves as Aiple's go-to playmakers in the front row and became one of the most formidable middle blocking duos in the country. Babers, hit .400 for the season, ranking 18th in the nation and tying the all-time school record first set by former Aggie All-American Sheri Brinkman in 1984. Babers finished the season with 2.63 kills per set after posting double-digit kills in 12 of the last 14 matches of the season.
Babers, who has started every match of her career, ranked fourth in the SEC with 1.20 blocks per set for the full season. She set a school record with 13 block assists against UTSA (Aug. 30), and her 14 total blocks against the Roadrunners ties for second in the A&M single-match record books and tied for the most by an SEC player this season.
Sullivan, a junior from Richardson, Texas, hit .374 and led the Aggies with 2.84 kills and 3.57 points per set for the full season. The team captain was second on the team with 1.01 blocks per set. Sullivan tallied double figures in kills in a team-high 19 matches, taking team-high honors in kills in a team-best 11 matches. She also led A&M in points in a team-high 12 matches.
In A&M's SEC season opener against Auburn, the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year 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. Sullivan 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 was the highest by an SEC player this year when having a minimum of 12 kills, and her 25 points were the most by an SEC player in a three-set match in 2014.
For the complete list of 2014 AVCA All-Americans, go to AVCA.org.
Texas A&M All-Time AVCA All-Americans:
First Team
Amber Woolsey............ 1999
Jenna Moscovic............. 2001
Laura Jones................... 2005
Second Team
Sherri Brinkman...... 1984, '85
Stacy Sykora............ 1997, '98
Melissa Munsch............ 2003
Laura Jones................... 2004
Third Team
Melissa Munsch............ 2004
Sarah Ammerman........ 2009
Honorable Mention
Jennifer Banse.............. 2009
Kelsey Black.................. 2011
Lindsey Miller......... 2011, '12
Alisia Kastmo................ 2012
Allie Sawatzky......... 2012, '13
Stephanie Aiple........... 2014
Jazzmin Babers............. 2014
Shelby Sullivan............ 2014
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