Volleyball Hosts Missouri in Crucial SEC Showdown

Texas A&M Aggies (15-6, 8-2 SEC) vs. Missouri Tigers (20-3, 8-2 SEC)
Wednesday, Nov. 4, 5 p.m.
Reed Arena, College Station, Texas
TV: ESPNU (Cara Capuano, Jenny Hazelwood)

Texas A&M-Missouri All-Time Series Record: A&M leads 27-13
A&M Home: A&M leads 16-3 | Away: Tied 9-9| Neutral: A&M leads 2-1| SEC: A&M leads 3-2
Last Meeting: A&M won, 3-0 (25-15, 25-17, 25-12), Nov. 23, 2014, Reed Arena, College Station, Texas
Streak: A&M won 2

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas A&M, riding a season-high six-match win streak, battles Missouri in a crucial Southeastern Conference showdown on Wednesday, with the victor moving into a tie with Kentucky for first place in the league standings. First serve is at 5 p.m. at Reed Arena, and the match will be nationally televised on ESPNU with Cara Capuano and Jenny Hazelwood calling the action.

It will "Pies and Pints Night" and the first 150 fans receive a free Texas A&M pint glass and a free pizza roll. Pizza rolls will be distributed at the Reed Arena north entrance prior to the match, and pint glasses will be distributed post-match along the concourse.
In addition, the Hardchord Dynamix team will provide entertainment with a performance during the intermission. Any student with a 12th Man Sports Pass is admitted free to every home match.

The Aggies, 15-6 overall and tied with Missouri for second place in the SEC with an 8-2 conference record, are coming off a stunning 3-1 (30-28, 14-25, 25-23, 26-24) victory over league-leading and previously 20th-ranked Kentucky, Friday in Lexington, and a 3-0 (25-14, 25-23, 25-18) win at Tennessee on Sunday.

Missouri (20-3, 8-2 SEC) is coming off back-to-back five-set thrillers, defeating Alabama, 33-35, 25-20, 26-28, 25-19, 15-10, on Friday and holding off Auburn, 14-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-15, 15-11 to reach 20 wins and improve to 9-0 in home matches.

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 47-19 (.712) all-time in SEC matches -- 24-9 (.727) in home SEC matches and 23-10 (.697) in away SEC matches.
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.
The Aggies are 4-1 in away SEC matches in 2015 with wins at Auburn, South Carolina, No. 20 Kentucky and Tennessee. The one loss was at defending SEC champion and then-No. 17 Florida.
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, 5-4 in away matches and 2-1 at neutral sites for the full season.
A&M catapulted 12 spots to No. 19 in this week's NCAA RPI. A&M, which was No. 38 in the first released RPI of the season, was No. 22 in last year's final RPI.
The Aggies are receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 Poll for the first time since Sept. 21 and are listed 32nd. A&M is No. 16 in this week's PVB's (PrepVolleyball.com) College Top 50 Rankings after a No. 24 ranking last week.
A&M is 14th in the nation and second in the SEC with a .277 hitting efficiency.
In SEC matches only, A&M leads the conference in assists (13.50) and kills (14.47) per set and is second in hitting percentage (.291).
For the full season, the Aggies lead the SEC with 13.08 assists per set, are second in the league in both kills (14.01) per set and hitting efficiency (.277) and are fourth in blocks (2.44) per set.
A&M is last in the league in aces per set (0.92) and second to the last in opponent hitting percentage (.223) for the full season.
During its six-match win streak, A&M is outhitting its opponents, .292 to .184, while averaging 14.86 kills per set. Opponents are averaging 12.52 kills per set during the six-match stretch.
A&M is 14-0 when leading its opponent in attack percentage, 12-0 when leading in blocks, 12-0 when leading in points and 11-0 when leading in kills.
The Aggies are 13-1 when winning the first set and 1-5 when dropping the first set.
A&M is 4-0 in five-set matches.
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 also won its first match when hitting below .200, improving to 1-2.
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.
After using 10 different starting lineups over the first 13 matches, A&M has used basically the same starting lineup over the last nine matches with the only difference being freshman defensive specialist Amy Houser starting five matches in the back row in place of sophomore opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor. 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 nine 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.
A&M is 3-3 against teams in this week's Top 25, including victories against current No. 4 Minnesota, No. 15 Colorado State and No. 21 Kentucky.
Eight of A&M's scheduled 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 Colorado State and No. 17 Florida State, as well as two matches each against No. 11 Florida and No. 21 Kentucky. A&M also will play two matches against Missouri, which is receiving votes.

TEXAS A&M PLAYER QUICK HITS

Sophomore Stephanie Aiple was named SEC Player of the Week for the first time in her career on Monday and also received her third consecutive SEC Setter of the Week honor, and senior middle blocker Shelby Sullivan was named SEC Defensive Player of the Week after leading A&M to road victories against then-No. 20 Kentucky and Tennessee.
Sullivan is 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 is 11th in the nation and third in the SEC with a .424 hitting efficiency for the full season.
Babers also is third in the SEC and 31st 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, leads the league with a .461 hitting efficiency in conference matches only. She is third in the conference with 1.35 blocks per set, fifth with 4.21 points per set and sixth with 3.47 kills per set in SEC play.
Babers has started every match of her career (82) and is hitting .369 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 21 matches this season, ranks seventh in the A&M all-time career records with 335 block assists. She also ranks ninth in the career records for total blocks with 381 and needs 10 more total blocks to move into eighth place, surpassing Margaret Spence, who had 390 total blocks from 1983-86.
Sophomore setter Stephanie Aiple is ranked 16th in the nation and second in the SEC with 11.35 assists per set for the full season. Aiple also is second in the conference with 11.42 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 .378 this season and .379 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 78 sets -- all at the libero position -- and Babers is the only player to have started all 21 matches. Meanwhile, sophomore setter Stephanie Aiple (foot), senior middle blocker Shelby Sullivan (knee) and senior outside hitter Angela Lowak (ankle, knee), all returning starters from last year, 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 2.77 kills and 3.09 points per set for the full season and 2.94 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 six-match win streak, sophomore opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor is hitting .328 with 2.81 kills and 3.24 points per set. For the season, Reasor is hitting .219 with 2.08 kills and 2.53 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 17 matches, including each of the last six matches. She is averaging a team-high 3.77 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 3.68 digs per set in conference matches only. In home matches only, Nettles is averaging 4.12 digs per set.
Nettles 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-MISSOURI ALL-TIME SERIES

Texas A&M owns a 27-13 lead against Missouri in the all-time series which began in 1981.
The Aggies also lead 16-3 in matches played in College Station.
A&M has won five of the last six meetings, with Missouri's most recent victory being a 25-17, 29-27, 25-20 win at Reed Arena in 2013, the year the Tigers won the SEC with a perfect 18-0 record and finished 35-1 overall.
The Aggies won both meetings last year, defeating the Tigers, 3-1 (17-25, 25-13, 25-13, 25-16) on Nov. 2 in Columbia and 25-15, 25-17, 25-12 on Nov. 23 in the Aggies' final home match of 2014.
A&M holds a narrow 3-2 edge in match-ups as SEC foes.
In the 16 years as members of the Big 12 Conference, A&M led the conference series, 21-11, although Missouri closed out Big 12 play with three consecutive wins against the Aggies.
A&M and Missouri will meet again on Wednesday, Nov. 25 at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo.
In the most recent match-up (Nov. 23, 2014), 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. The Aggies, who never trailed the entire match – there were only two ties throughout the entire contest – outhit Missouri, .349 to .103, and three A&M players posted double-digit kills as A&M won its fourth consecutive match. 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. Carly Kan led the Tigers with eight kills but was held to a .143 hitting efficiency.
A&M's records/last 10 results vs. Missouri:

Overall: 27-13   H: 16-3   A: 9-9   N: 2-1   SEC: 3-2
Nov. 28, 2009      H     W      25-18, 29-27, 25-20
Oct.   13, 2010      H     L       23-25, 25-20, 23-25, 25-11, 9-15
Nov. 13, 2010      A     L       17-25, 23-25, 14-25
Sept. 24, 2011      A     L       25-23, 23-25, 24-26, 23-25
Nov. 12, 2011      H     W      25-17, 25-22, 25-20
Sept. 28, 2012      A     W      25-20, 23-25, 25-23, 25-17
Nov. 16, 2012      H     W      25-20, 18-25, 25-15, 25-15
Oct.   27, 2013      H     L       17-25, 27-29, 20-25
Nov.   2,   2014      A     W      17-25, 25-13, 25-13, 25-16
Nov. 23, 2014      H     W      25-15, 25-17, 25-12

SCOUTING MISSOURI

Missouri is 20-3 overall and 8-2 in SEC play after holding off Auburn, 3-2 (14-25, 25-19, 21-25, 25-15, 15-11) Sunday at the Hearnes Center in Columbia.
The Tigers, have won each of their last two matches–both in five sets–and five of their last six matches with the only loss being at Florida, 3-0, on Oct. 25.
Missouri is No. 14 in this week's NCAA RPI. The Tigers are receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 Poll and are listed 30th, two spots ahead of A&M. The Tigers are 29th in PVB's College Top 50 Rankings.
Missouri is 5-3 in away matches.
Middle blocker Alyssa Munlyn is this week's SEC Freshman of the Week after posting 20 kills while hitting .515 and also totaling 14 blocks in wins against Alabama and Auburn. She is hitting .429 and averaging 1.12 blocks per set in SEC matches only.
Junior outside hitter Carly Kan is second in the SEC with 4.08 kills and 4.64 points per set for the full season. She is tied for the conference lead with 14 double-doubles, which includes a 13-kill, 14-dig performance against Auburn in Missouri's most recent outing.
Junior libero Alexa Ethridge, who had 23 digs in the win against Auburn, and redshirt sophomore Kira Larson, a right side/middle blocker, both are in their first season at Missouri after transferring from Nebraska. Ethridge is averaging 3.90 digs per set, and Larson is hitting .330 while averaging 2.28 kills and 0.75 blocks per set. Both have appeared in all 92 sets.
Missouri had 23 blocks in the Oct. 28 win against Alabama. It is the most blocks by an SEC team this season.
Wayne Kreklow is in his 11th season as the head coach of the Tigers. He is married to Missouri assistant coach Susan Kreklow, and Tiger setter Ali Kreklow is their daughter.

TEXAS A&M RECENT RESULTS

Four Texas A&M players recorded double-digit kills as the Aggies extended their season-high win streak to six with a 25-14, 25-23, 25-18 victory against Tennessee, Sunday afternoon at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville.
A&M's Jazzmin Babers had a team-high 11 kills against the Volunteers to tie for match-high honors. Kiara McGee pitched in 10 kills, as did Shelby Sullivan and Emily Hardesty, who were both errorless in a combined 51 swings. Then two-time reigning SEC Setter of the Week Stephanie Aiple orchestrated the balanced attack with 38 assists, and A&M outhit the Volunteers .296 to .147.
Defensively, A&M's Victoria Arenas had a season-high 13 digs to tie libero teammate Amy Nettles for match-high honors. Gabby Litwin added eight digs, and Sullivan completed her stellar all-around game with a match-high five blocks.
It marked A&M's fifth consecutive win in the series against Tennessee.

UPCOMING

A&M concludes its two-match homestand Sunday, Nov. 8 as the Aggies play host to the Georgia Bulldogs. First serve is slated for 1:30 p.m. at Reed Arena.
The match will be broadcast on SEC Network +.
A&M has only two home matches remaining after the Georgia match: a rematch against league-leader Kentucky on Wednesday, Nov. 18 at 9 p.m., and against defending champion Florida, Sunday, Nov. 22, at 1 p.m. The Florida match also will be the Aggies' "Senior Day", and Angela Lowak and Shelby Sullivan will be honored following the match.

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.

VOTE here for Texas A&M's Shelby Sullivan for the Senior CLASS Award

Schedule

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Players Mentioned

Stephanie Aiple

Victoria Arenas

Jazzmin Babers

Kaitlyn Blake

Montse Castro

Emily Hardesty

Amy Houser

Katelyn Labhart

Gabby Litwin

Angela Lowak

Kiara McGee

Amy Nettles

Ashlie Reasor

Kaysie Shebeneck

Shelby Sullivan

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