Volleyball Takes Five-Match Win Streak into Tennessee

Sunday, November 1

Knoxville, Tenn.

12:30 PM

Texas A&M

Tennessee

Oct 31, 2015 | Volleyball

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

Texas A&M Aggies 14-7, 7-2 SEC) vs. Tennessee Volunteers (20-6, 6-5 SEC)
Sunday, Nov. 1, 1:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. CT)
Thompson-Boling Arena, Knoxville, Tenn.
SEC Network +

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Texas A&M aims to build on its season-high five-match win streak Sunday, when the Aggies take on the Tennessee Volunteers. First serve is at 1:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. CT) at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn., with live streaming of the match available on SEC Network +.

The Aggies (14-6, 7-2 SEC) are coming off a crucial 3-1 (30-28, 14-25, 25-23, 26-24) victory over league-leading and 20th-ranked Kentucky, Friday at Memorial Coliseum in Lexington. With the win, which marked A&M's first-ever win in Lexington, the Aggies climbed into a tie with Missouri for second place in the SEC standings and moved within a half game of the Wildcats for the conference lead.

Tennessee (20-6, 6-5 SEC), which has already won five more SEC matches than it did in the entire 2014 season, reached the 20-win milestone and climbed into fifth place in the SEC with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 26-24) victory over LSU, Friday at Thompson-Boling Arena.

A&M IN THE SEC

This marks A&M's fourth season as a member of the SEC.
Last year, A&M went 13-5 in SEC play, tying Alabama for fourth place.
A&M's best SEC finish was in 2012, its inaugural season in the conference. The Aggies went 16-4, winning the SEC Western Division and placing second overall.
A&M is 46-19 (.708) all-time in SEC matches -- 24-9 (.727) in home SEC matches and 22-10 (.688) in away SEC matches.
The Aggies are 3-1 in away SEC matches in 2015 with wins at Auburn, South Carolina and No. 20 Kentucky. The one loss was at defending SEC champion and then-No. 17 Florida.
The Aggies are 4-1 in home SEC matches this year. Since suffering its only home loss of the season in the SEC opener to Arkansas, A&M has won its last four home matches all in three-set sweeps, having defeated Ole Miss, Alabama, Mississippi State and LSU.
Last year A&M went 7-2 in conference home matches and 6-3 in SEC away matches.
The Aggies are picked to finish fourth in the SEC in 2015 according to a preseason vote of the league's head coaches. Florida, the 2014 SEC champion after posting a perfect 18-0 record in conference play, is picked to defend its title.
Senior middle blocker Shelby Sullivan was named to the nine-member Preseason Volleyball All-SEC Team for the second consecutive year. She was an All-SEC Team selection at the conclusion of each of the last two seasons and she was the 2014 SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year.

TEXAS A&M QUICK HITS

A&M is 8-1 in home matches, 4-4 in away matches and 2-1 at neutral sites for the full season.
A&M entered the weekend 10th in the nation with a .281 hitting efficiency.
In SEC matches only, A&M leads the conference in assists (13.39) and kills (14.32) per set and is second in hitting percentage (.291).
For the full season, the Aggies are second in the league in assists (13.01) and kills (13.93) per set, third in hitting efficiency (.276) and fourth in blocks (2.41) per set.
A&M is last in the league in opponent hitting percentage (.226) and aces per set (0.95) for the full season.
During its five-match win streak, A&M is outhitting its opponents, .291 to .191, while averaging 14.67 kills per set. Opponents are averaging 12.67 kills per set during the five-match stretch.
The Aggies hit .429 in the sweep against Alabama on Oct. 16 and .410 in the 3-0 win against Mississippi State on Oct. 18, marking the first time since the first two matches of the 2009 season that hit above .400 in back-to-back matches. A&M, which hit above .400 only once in 2014, has hit above .400 five times overall this season, including a season-high .500 at Florida A&M, marking the third highest hitting percentage in school history. A&M hit .481 at Auburn and .470 against Wichita State, which also rank in the top 10 in program history.
A&M is 13-0 when leading its opponent in attack percentage, 11-0 when leading in blocks, 11-0 when leading in points and 10-0 when leading in kills.
The Aggies are 13-1 when winning the first set and 1-5 when dropping the first set.
A&M's win at Kentucky marked the first time this season the Aggies won despite being outhit (230 to .194). A&M is now 1-6 when being outhit.
A&M is 4-0 in five-set matches.
A&M climbed one spot to No. 31 in this week's NCAA RPI. A&M was No. 38 in the first two weeks the RPI was released and was No. 32 last week. Last year A&M finished 22nd.
After using 10 different starting lineups over the first 13 matches, A&M has used basically the same starting lineup over the last eight matches with the only difference being whether opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor starts in the front row or freshman defensive specialist Amy Houser starts in place of Reasor in the back row. Setter Stephanie Aiple, outside hitters Emily Hardesty and Kiara McGee and middle blockers Jazzmin Babers and Shelby Sullivan have all been in the starting lineup in the last seven matches.
A&M's season schedule includes 10 matches against teams that reached at least the second round of the NCAA Championship tournament and were ranked in the top 25 or received votes in the final 2014 AVCA Division I Coaches Poll.
Eight of A&M's matches are against teams ranked in the top 25 in this week's AVCA Top 25 Poll: No. 4 Minnesota, No. 7 Stanford, No. 15 Florida State and No. 18 Colorado State, as well as two matches each against No. 12 Florida and No. 20 Kentucky. A&M has an additional two matches against Missouri, which is receiving votes.
The Aggies are currently 3-3 against teams that are in this week's Top 25.

TEXAS A&M PLAYER QUICK HITS

Sophomore Stephanie Aiple repeated as SEC Setter of the Week and sophomore outside hitter Kiara McGee was named SEC Offensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career on Monday after leading the Aggies to a 3-0 sweep against LSU in A&M's only match last week. Aiple had 40 assists for a 13.33 per set average against the Tigers. Her 40 assists is the second most by an A&M player in a three-set match this season. McGee averaged 5.33 points per set while taking match-high honors with 13 kills. Her .476 hitting percentage is a career high when posting 10 or more kills. McGee also had three blocks -- including one solo -- to finish with 16.0 points.
Texas A&M middle blocker Shelby Sullivan has been selected one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award for volleyball. The 10 finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 candidates announced in September. The Senior CLASS Award recipient will be announced during the 2015 NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship in December. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
Redshirt junior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers entered the weekend leading the SEC and ranked sixth in the nation with a .435 hitting percentage for the full season. Babers also was third in the SEC and 28th nationally with 1.34 blocks per set for the full season.
In SEC matches only, Babers, who was the SEC Player of the Week on Oct. 5 and is a two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Week, enters the Tennessee match leading the league with a .488 hitting efficiency in conference matches only. She is third in the conference with 1.35 blocks per set, fifth with 4.19 points per set and sixth with 3.45 kills per set in SEC play.
Babers has started every match of her career (81) and is hitting .371 for her career.
Babers, who has posted double-figure blocks twice this season and has led or tied for the team lead in blocks in 16 of 20 matches this season, ranks seventh in the A&M all-time career records with 331 block assists. She also ranks ninth in the career records for total blocks with 377 and needs 14 more total blocks to move into eighth place, surpassing Margaret Spence, who had 390 total blocks from 1983-86.
Sophomore setter Stephanie Aiple entered the weekend 16th in the nation and is third in the SEC with 11.29 assists per set for the full season. Aiple also is third in the conference with 11.30 assists per set in league play.
After missing two matches with a foot injury suffered against No. 15 Colorado State on Sept. 15, Aiple returned to the court in the second set against Arkansas on Sept. 27. Aiple returned to the starting lineup in the sweep against Auburn on Sept. 30, directing the Aggie offense to a .481 hitting percentage, the fifth highest team hitting percentage in program history and setting an A&M record for highest hitting percentage in a three-set SEC match.
Senior middle blocker Shelby Sullivan is hitting .369 this season and .377 for her career, putting her on pace to shatter the A&M career record for hitting percentage (.342) held by Sherri Brinkman (1983-85).
Amy Nettles is the only player to have appeared in all 75 sets -- all at the libero position -- and Babers is the only player to have started all 20 matches. Meanwhile, sophomore setter Stephanie Aiple (foot), senior middle blocker Shelby Sullivan (knee) and senior outside hitter Angela Lowak (ankle, knee), returning starters from last year, all have missed multiple starts at some point in the season due to injuries.
Sophomore outside hitter Kiara McGee, who is second on the team among active players with 2.75 kills and 3.08 points per set for the full season and 2.90 kills per set in SEC matches only, is averaging a team-best 3.42 kills while hitting at a .275 clip in home matches only.
Jazzmin Babers is averaging 1.58 blocks per set in home matches only.
During A&M's five-match win streak, sophomore opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor is hitting .336 with 3.06 kills and 3.50 points per set. For the season, Reasor is hitting .242 with 2.41 kills and 2.57 points per set.
Sophomore libero Amy Nettles has led or tied for the team lead in digs in all but two matches this season and has posted double-figure digs in a team-leading 16 matches. She is averaging a team-high 3.75 digs per set for the full season, ranking ninth in the SEC. She is first on the team and is 10th in the league with 3.61 digs per set in conference matches only. In home matches only, Nettles is averaging 4.12 digs per set.
Nettles, who celebrated her 20th birthday on Wednesday, Oct. 28, is the only player to reach 20 or more digs in a match this season, posting a season-high and tying her career high with 27 in the 3-2 win against No. 15 Colorado State and notching 20 digs in a 3-1 win against Milwaukee.
Sophomore setter Stephanie Aiple leads A&M with four double-doubles and junior outside hitter Emily Hardesty has three double-doubles.
The athletic and versatile Kaitlyn Blake has started seven matches as either an opposite hitter or middle blocker and also has subbed in as an outside hitter. The freshman has appeared in 16 matches overall and is hitting .258 and averaging 1.98 kills and 0.71 blocks per set for the season.
Junior setter Kaysie Shebeneck made her first three starts of the season at No. 18 Florida State, at Florida A&M and at home against Arkansas after Aiple suffered a foot injury in the second set against Colorado State. Shebeneck, who led the Aggies to a 3-2 victory against the Rams, is averaging 8.39 assists per set and directed the Aggie offense to a .500 hitting percentage against Florida A&M, marking the third highest hitting percentage in program history. Shebeneck started four matches at setter last season. As a freshman, she started five at the opposite hitter position.
Outside hitter Angela Lowak is out indefinitely after suffering a knee injury (dislocated patella) at Florida State on Sept. 19. The senior co-captain posted double-figure kills in four consecutive matches leading up to the FSU match, and she was leading the team with 3.22 kills per set before suffering the injury.
Freshman 6-7 outside hitter/middle blocker Montse Castro spent two weeks competing for Mexico at the Women's U20 World Championship in Puerto Rico in September. Castro, believed to be the tallest player in the history of the A&M program, has yet to appear in a match.
Four players -- Jazzmin Babers, Katelyn Labhart, Angela Lowak and Shelby Sullivan -- each received their Aggie Ring on Sept. 25, celebrating one of the most revered and symbolic traditions at Texas A&M. The tradition began with the Class of 1889.

A&M-TENNESSEE ALL-TIME SERIES

The all-time series between Texas A&M and Tennessee is tied at 6-6, including 3-3 in matches played in Knoxville.
The Aggies have won the last four meetings, including three consecutive sweeps, to lead 4-1 in SEC matches only.
In the most recent meeting (Nov. 16, 2014), A&M defeated the Volunteers, 25-21, 25-14, 25-23 at Reed Arena. Setter Kaysie Shebeneck, who drew the starting nod while Stephanie Aiple rested after making 21 consecutive starts, directed the Aggie offense to a .312 hitting percentage with 38 assists. Opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor led all players with 10 kills while hitting .381, and outside hitter Emily Hardesty and middle blocker Jazzmin Babers added nine kills apiece for the Aggies. Babers tied Shebeneck with six blocks as A&M held the Lady Vols to a .164 hitting efficiency. Libero Amy Nettles had a match-high 14 digs, and Hardesty and outside hitter Angela Lowak added 13 and 11 digs, respectively. Kanisha Jimenez and Ashley Mariani led the Lady Vols with eight kills each, and Jimenez also took team-high honors in digs with 12.
Tennessee's most recent victory against the Aggies was Oct. 19, 2012, at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas, in the teams' first meeting as SEC foes.
A&M's records/results vs. Tennessee:

Overall: 6-6 H: 2-2 A: 3-3 N: 0-1 SEC: 3-1

Nov. 12-13, 1982 A   L      8-15, 15-12, 16-14, 6-15, 8-15
Oct. 7, 1983 H L   1-15, 13-15, 7-15
Oct. 14, 1983 N L   12-15, 10-15, 14-16
Nov. 2, 1985 A W 15-6, 15-6, 15-5
Oct. 31, 1987 A L   14-16, 13-15, 9-15
Oct. 29, 1994 H W 15-0, 15-4, 15-10
Dec. 4, 2004 A L   21-30, 30-24, 23-30, 30-32
Oct. 19, 2012 H L   21-25, 19-25, 21-25
Nov. 21, 2012 A W 15-25, 25-22, 25-20, 27-29, 15-9
Nov. 15, 2013 H W 25-17, 25-14, 25-10
Oct. 23, 2014 A W 25-14, 25-21, 25-15
Nov. 16, 2014 H W 25-21, 25-14, 25-23

SCOUTING TENNESSEE

Tennessee won its second consecutive match and moved into fifth place in the SEC standings with a 25-17, 25-18, 26-24 victory against LSU on Friday.
The Volunteers, who overcame a seven-point deficit and saved two set points in the third set en route to the sweep against the Tigers, improved to 20-6 overall to achieve their 22nd 20-win season in program history.
Tennessee also improved to 6-5 in SEC matches to move into fifth place in the conference standings.
Tennessee is 9-1 in home matches for the full season and 4-1 at Thompson-Boling in SEC matches only.
The Volunteers, picked to finish last in the SEC according to a preseason vote of the league's head coaches, have already more than doubled their total number of wins last season when they went 8-24 overall and finished last in the SEC with a 1-17 record.
In the win against LSU, Kendra Turner led the Vols with 11 kills, and Kanisha Jimenez added 10 kills while hitting at a .346 clip. Setter Lexi Dempsey recorded her team-leading 11th double-double of the season with 31 assists and 10 digs.
Tennessee, which outhit LSU, .213 to .114, is outhitting its opponents, .228 to .159, for the full season, and ranks second in the SEC for opponent hitting percentage in all matches.
Tennessee has five players averaging more than two kills per set, including Jimenez, who leads the Vols with 3.00 kills per set for the full season.
Erica Treiber, a 6-1 freshman middle hitter, ranks 10th in the SEC with a .345 hitting efficiency and is sixth in the league with 1.12 blocks per set for the full season.

TEXAS A&M RECENT RESULTS

Texas A&M fought off two match points in the first set and also overcame multi-point deficits late in the third and fourth sets to post a thrilling 30-28, 14-25, 25-23, 26-24 victory over 20th-ranked and Southeastern Conference leader Kentucky, Friday at Memorial Coliseum.
With the win, the Aggies extended their win streak to a season-best five matches and notched their first victory in Lexington in program history.
Kentucky suffered the loss despite leading in hitting percentage (.230 to .194), kills (65-56), aces (4-1), blocks (13-10) and points (82-67).
Eight of the last 10 sets played between the two teams in Lexington have been decided by the minimum two points.
Typical of recent A&M-Kentucky contests in Lexington, the teams had to work overtime in the opening set with both teams fighting off a combined six match points before A&M pulled off the 30-28 victory. It was the first time the Aggies won a set in Lexington since joining the SEC in 2012.

UPCOMING

The Aggies return to Reed Arena for a two-match homestand, hosting Missouri on Wed., Nov. 4 and Georgia on Sun., Nov. 8.
The match against the Tigers, who are tied with A&M for second place in the SEC standings, begins at 5 p.m. and will be televised by ESPNU.
The first 150 fans at the Missouri match receive a free pint glass and a pepperoni roll.
A&M has only two home matches remaining after the Georgia match, which begins at 1:30 p.m.

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 and Instagram by following @AggieVolleyball.