SEC CHAMPIONS!

Wednesday, November 25

Columbia, Mo.

6:30 PM

Texas A&M

22-6 (15-2SEC)

Missouri

25-5 (13-4SEC)

Texas A&M

Mizzou

Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics

Nov 25, 2015 | Volleyball

Box Score

COLUMBIA, Mo. – No. 19 Texas A&M won its first-ever conference championship, capturing the Southeastern Conference title outright with an exciting 19-25, 25-20, 25-27, 25-22, 15-10 victory over Missouri tonight at the Hearnes Center.

It was the 13^th consecutive victory for the Aggies, who improve to 22-6 overall and 15-2 in SEC matches. A&M also improved to 7-0 in five set matches this season and handed Missouri its first home loss of the season as the Tigers entered the match 10-0 at the Hearnes Center.

Missouri, which was in a must-win situation in order to keep its title hopes alive, falls to 25-5 overall and 13-4 in SEC play.

Like it has done so many times this season, A&M had to fight from behind to get the victory. Missouri held a 2-1 lead in sets and had the momentum after going on a 3-0 run to build a 22-18 lead in the fourth set. Jazzmin Babers ended the Tigers' rally with a kill, and the Aggies went on to reel off seven unanswered points to close out the frame and force a fifth set.

After evening the match at 2-2, the Aggies took a 4-2 lead in the fifth set after a 3-0 run and never looked back. Kiara McGee later had two kills during another 3-0 surge that put the Aggies up, 10-6. Missouri cut the lead to 11-9 with a kill and a solo block before McGee ended the rally with a kill, and Emily Hardesty followed with a kill to the baseline to put A&M up, 13-10. Kira Larson countered with one of her team-high 17 kills to put the Tigers within 13-10, but Babers answered with her match-high 21^st kill to put A&M at match point. The match ended on the next play as Julia Towler's attack was unable to clear the net, setting off a celebration by the visiting Aggies.

The match began with 10 ties in the opening set, the last coming at 13-all before A&M committed three consecutive errors. Missouri went on to build its largest lead at 22-16 following a kill and an A&M attack error. A&M managed to twice get within four points, the last coming at 23-19 on a kill by Kiara McGee, who led all players with six kills in the stanza. Missouri then equaled its largest lead after Towler put down back-to-back kills to close out a 25-19 victory.

Missouri outhit A&M, .345 to .188 in the frame and held the Aggies' two All-SEC middle blockers to a combined two kills.

A&M, which entered the match 2-5 this season when dropping the first set, including a 3-2 victory against No. 14 Florida on Sunday, used a six-point run to build a 7-2 lead early in the second set. The middles were much more involved, combining for nine kills.

A&M equaled its largest lead at 16-10, but Missouri went on a 5-1 run to get back within 17-15. A&M kept its two-point margin at 20-18 before Shelby Sullivan got a kill on the slide attack and Missouri had an error to put A&M up, 22-18. The teams exchanged points with a Missouri service error putting the Aggies at set point. Ashlie Reasor ended the set, attacking the second ball and getting the kill.

The third set was tied 12 times, and A&M fought off two set points before Missouri posted back-to-back kills to close out the 27-25 win.

Despite trailing the match 2-1, the Aggies began their comeback, winning the final two sets.

Babers finished with 21 kills and McGee and Sullivan also posted double-figure kills with 17 and 11, respectively. Stephanie Aiple, the SEC Player of the Year, dished out a career-high 62 assists, and sophomore libero Amy Nettles had a career-high 30 digs.

A&M outhit Missouri, .257 to .233, despite getting outblocked, 18-9.

A&M closes out the regular season at Arkansas on Saturday. First serve against the Razorbacks, who defeated A&M at Reed Arena in the SEC opener on Sept. 27, begins at 1:30 p.m. at Barnhill Arena in Fayetteville. The match will be broadcast on SEC Network + via WatchESPN.com

The 64-team NCAA Championship bracket will be announced Sunday, Nov. 29 at 8 p.m. on ESPNU.

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.

Texas A&M postmatch quotes:

Texas A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli:

On how it feels to be SEC Champions…
"I don't know yet honestly. I'm still kind of just shaking. It's just a really phenomenal comeback, again, from this group of girls. I'm just stunned. We were down in the fourth set, down two sets to one, 22-20 and we fought back and win and come set 5 and we are just rocking. With a slow start and the looks on faces, and we had to make a total 180 degree change with our approach to the game. We knew it was going to be a tough start with just the emotion and the tenseness and the starter (Gabby Litwin) that went to the hospital. It took the breath out of everybody. We just decided we have got to make a change in our attitude and the way we approach this. It just took us some time, but once we saw that we could control it, our passing just came together at the end so beautifully. Our blocking never really got together, but I thought our serving was great. Amy Houser came in and just did a beautiful job, and so did Victoria Arenas, so did Kaitlyn Blake; all the players that we needed tonight to come on and do a good job and they did. And the regular starters were just fantastic. They just hung in there so tough, and just relentless. I just thanked them and told them that they have built a reputation for themselves that is a really good reputation to have. Once we are down, you can't ever let up. They kind of proved it again tonight."

To win the SEC title outright with a match remaining…
"It's wonderful. I want to go and finish out with a win as well, but to win it outright and know that no one can catch us is just an awesome feeling. It's hard because there is still more to play, and so I think that's got me confused a little bit. It just hasn't really sunk in yet. All the hours, the hard work, the encouragement, the relationships are really amazing. It's an amazing group of friends on this team. They just don't want to let each other down. They just keep fighting for each other. It's just a nice relief to have it clinched and finally get a ring. I have never gotten a ring in my career, so I'm really happy to be able to do that for Texas A&M."
On individual player perfromances…
"Jazz Babers was on fire. I think after everyone's slow start, when we didn't really use our middles much in the first set. There were only two kills by the middles, and that's not how we win. We reminded them. We talked with them. We made sure they understood we needed to change, and they are just really good at making those changes. (Stephanie) Aiple was just on fire the whole night. She kept her intensity, which she always does. She delivered beautiful sets, like she always does. She is such a reliable setter and got some really key blocks. (Shelby) Sullivan was just so hyped up that it was about settling her in. They were all over her and just knew they had to slow her down, and I think she never let it get to her. She had an awesome match. (Emily) Hardesty is a player who I have a lot of respect for. She is asked to do every single thing on the floor. Just about the only player on our team that does everything, in the back row, in the front row, passing, blocking, digging, serving, attacking. They go at her a lot and she has to be able to handle the entire, two-and-a-half hours, five-set matches with hardly a break. We tried to give her a little bit of a break today offensively, but we just ended up making some other changes and Hardesty got back to the front row and just lit it up. I couldn't be more proud off her. She is just a very trustworthy and very reliable player as well. "
On sophomore outside hitter Kiara McGee...
"That's what is such a beautiful thing about Kiara, is she has learned not to ever quit. She is such a brand new player on the floor for college Division I volleyball, at a high level, and she's so physical, but she does not have a lot of experience. Yet she's been put in a position where she needs to learn it really quickly. They were all over her. When we were struggling, sometimes it shows up in our offense, but she started making a few changes with her position, a few things that she needed to work on individually with fundamentals and position, and she just came through beautifully. I love when they come down and they celebrate with a lot of authentic intensity. Because they are saying to each other that we are not letting this one go, and they just make that decision. I don't know now they do it, but they did it."
On sophomore libero Amy Nettles...
"Nettles was phenomenal. Again, a slow start for all of us, but they served her every single ball, and then had to be in the right spots for their incredible attacks. They had some of the most beautiful attacks that I have seen all season. (It was a) coordinated team offense by Missouri. It just broke up our block. It was just a great performance offensively by them I thought. As we started to keep the pressure on with Kiara (McGee) hitting some new shots she hadn't used in the first few sets. I think it just kind of took the air out of them when she was just getting a lot of kills to the areas that she just knew were going to work."
To win on Missouri's home court...
"I've been here 20 times at least. We have had some awesome wins here. We have had some really tough losses here. I've got a lot of mixed emotions in this gym, but this one will be one I will never, ever forget. I've never won a conference championship, and so this group, on this floor, it's just amazing that they were able to fight such a great team and come out ahead on the road. I'm just really proud."