Texas A&M Concludes Pre-Conference Slate with 3-0 Win Over FAMU

Saturday, September 19

Tallahassee, Fla.

11:00 AM

Texas A&M

7-4

Florida A&M

0-12

Texas A&M

Florida A&M

Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics

Sep 19, 2015 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Texas A&M closed out its pre-conference schedule with a 25-13, 25-14, 25-14 victory over Florida A&M today at the Al Lawson Center.
All 14 of Texas A&M's available players saw action in the first-ever meeting between the two programs, including Aggie freshman outside hitter Margaret Connett, who made the first appearance of her career and registered a kill.

Junior Kaysie Shebeneck, making her second consecutive start at setter in place of the injured Stephanie Aiple, dished out 37 assists while directing the Aggie offense to a .500 hitting percentage, the third highest hitting percentage in school history. Emily Hardesty led the Maroon and White with nine kills while hitting .412.

Texas A&M posted a season-high 10 aces, led by junior defensive specialist Katelyn Labhart's career-high five aces. Sophomore libero Amy Nettles led the Aggies in digs with eight, and sophomore opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor and redshirt junior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers led in blocks with two apiece.

The Rattlers, looking for their first win of the season, jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the opening set before Reasor gave the Aggies their first lead at 7-6 with a second-ball attack that fell in for a kill. The Aggies, who outhit the Rattlers, .370 to .000 in the frame, held a narrow 13-12 lead before erupting for 10 consecutive points. FAMU ended the run, but the Aggies got a dump kill from Shebeneck, and Reasor ended the set with a kill.

Labhart posted three of her five aces during a 9-0 run in the second set that allowed the Aggies to break away from a 6-6 tie. Texas A&M, which hit .579 in the set, held a 23-14 lead when Hardesty and senior middle blocker Shelby Sullivan put down back-to-back kills to close out the set and give the Aggies a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Aggies led the entire third set, using a 5-0 run to build a 12-4 cushion. The Rattlers, who were outhit .577 to .226 in the set, were unable to get closer than seven points for the remainder of the match. Back-to-back kills by Sullivan and freshman Paige Panter put Texas A&M at set and match point. The Rattlers tooled the Aggie block to get within 24-14 before Panter closed out the match with her third kill of the contest.

With the win, the Aggies improve to 7-3. Florida A&M falls to 0-12.

Texas A&M opens Southeastern Conference play Sunday, Sept. 27 as the Aggies play host to Arkansas. First serve is at 1:30 p.m. at Reed Arena.

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 quotes:
Head Coach Laurie Corbelli:

On her general impressions of the match...
"The best things about today's match were two things in particular: everyone who is healthy got to play and that was really fun to get everybody in. Also, these are the matches where you are playing a team that hasn't gotten a win yet. They are just looking for a win, and so they can sneak up on you if you are not ready and focused and careful and playing your game. I was impressed that the team came ready to go. There was hardly a lag in our game. I thought we started off with a few unforced errors that could have been avoided, but once we cleaned that up, it was overall really smooth and an enjoyable match to coach."

On getting the easy win…
"It feels good to get that win under our belt. We've suffered some pretty tough losses and they were against some really, really strong teams. We have learned a lot from them. This was not one to come and learn. It was more about ourselves and our side of the net and the things that we have got to clean up and the moves we need to make a little bit sharper, and we got a chance to really use those and make sure we took care of our side."

On giving all the freshmen playing time...
"There were some tears for a player to get out there for her first time ever and get her first college kill. Margaret Connett had some tears along with her teammates having so much fun. It's really always a good thing to get as many kids on the floor as you can. We do try to do that as much as we can. Our job is to win, and yet it sure does spread good feelings throughout the team when you can see more people on the floor."

On having a week off before starting SEC play on Sunday...
"It will be nice to prepare. Most of the teams start on Wednesday night and we don't play until Sunday. Starting conference off with Arkansas at home is quite the challenge. They are having an awesome season so far, but it's nice that we will have these days to really get our minds right, get prepared, get a little bit healthier and get a good start in the SEC and get started on the right foot."