Match Day Preview: Texas A&M at Auburn

Wednesday, September 30

Auburn, Ala.

8:00 PM

Texas A&M

Auburn

Sep 29, 2015 | Volleyball

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

The Matchup:	Texas A&M (7-5, 0-1) at Auburn (9-4, 1-0)
First Serve:	Wednesday, Sept. 30 - 8 p.m.
Venue:	A uburn Arena - Auburn, Alabama
Watch:	ESPNU (Cara Capuano, Jenny Hazelwood) \| WatchESPN
Live Stats:	auburntigers.com

Texas A&M-Auburn All-Time Series Record: A&M leads 6-1
A&M Home: A&M leads 3-0 | Away: A&M leads 1-1 | Neutral: 2-0 | SEC Only: A&M leads 4-1
Last Meeting: A&M won, 3-0 (25-11, 25-19, 25-15), Sept. 28, 2014, Reed Arena, College Station, Texas
Streak: A&M won 2

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- The Texas A&M volleyball team opens the road portion of its SEC season Wednesday as the Aggies travel to Auburn, Ala., to take on the Auburn Tigers. First serve is at 8 p.m. at Auburn Arena, and the match will be nationally televised on ESPNU with Cara Capuano and Jenny Hazelwood calling the action.

The Aggies (7-5, 0-1 SEC) are coming off a 3-1 (21-25, 25-13, 27-25, 25-22) loss against Arkansas in A&M's conference opener on Sunday at Reed Arena.

Auburn is 9-4 overall and 1-0 in SEC matches after opening league play with a 3-1 (25-16, 30-32, 25-22, 25-19 home victory against Tennessee on Sunday.

TEXAS 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 39-18 all-time in SEC matches, including 19-9 in away SEC matches.
Over the last three seasons, A&M is 2-1 when making its first road trip in SEC play, defeating Missouri, 3-1, in Columbia in 2012, falling at No. 3 Florida, 3-0, in 2013, and sweeping Tennessee in Knoxville in 2014.
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.

A&M-AUBURN ALL-TIME SERIES

A&M leads the all-time series, 6-1, including 4-1 in SEC matches only.
The series is tied at 1-1 in matches played at Auburn, with the Tigers getting their only victory in the all-time series with a 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-19, 25-17) win in the Aggies' last trip to Auburn (Oct. 20, 2013).
A&M has won the two most recent meetings, both in three-game sweeps at Reed Arena.
The teams faced off once last year, with A&M's Shelby Sullivan proving to be nearly unstoppable while leading the Aggies to a dominating 25-11, 25-19, 25-15 victory at Reed Arena in College Station in A&M's SEC season opener.
A&M all-time records/results vs. Auburn:

Home: 3-0    Away: 1-1    Neutral: 2-0    SEC: 4-1
Sept. 1, 1996        N     W         16-14, 15-10, 16-14
Sept. 8, 2007        N     W         30-17, 30-22, 30-15
Sept. 16, 2012      H     W         25-22, 25-16, 25-27, 25-18
Nov. 9, 2012        A     W         25-21, 26-24, 22-25, 25-23
Oct. 20, 2013       A     L          23-25, 25-22, 19-25, 17-25
Nov. 17, 2013      H     W         25-19, 28-26, 25-17
Sept. 28, 2014      H     W         25-11, 25-19, 25-15

SULLIVAN VS. AUBURN, 2014

Texas A&M middle blocker Shelby Sullivan had a record-setting performance against the Tigers in the most recent meeting, Sept. 28, 2014 at Reed Arena:
Her career-high 25.0 points set an A&M record for points in a three-set match;
Her career-high 20 kills broke the A&M record for kills in an SEC three-set match;
Hit a career-high .826 (20 kills in 23 attempts with only one error), setting an A&M SEC record and a Reed Arena record for hitting percentage when making 10 or more attack attempts;
Her .826 ranks second in A&M all-time history for hitting percentage when making 15 or more attack attempts;
Tied her personal best with a team-high seven blocks,
Set an A&M SEC single-match record and tied the Reed Arena record and her career high with three solo blocks (3).

TEXAS A&M RECENT RESULTS

In its only match of the week, Texas A&M suffered a 3-1 (21-25, 25-13, 27-25, 25-22) home loss to Arkansas in its SEC opener, Sunday at Reed Arena.
It was the first-ever SEC season-opening loss by the Aggies, who joined the league in 2012. Prior to the match, A&M had not dropped a single set in its previous three SEC openers.
The match also marked the first home loss of the season for the Aggies, who entered the match 4-0 at Reed.
For the fifth time in six meetings between A&M and Arkansas, the team that lost the first set came back to win the match.
It was the first time in eight matches this season that A&M did not win the match after winning the opening set.
Sophomore outside hitter Kiara McGee led A&M with 14 kills while hitting .314, and junior outside hitter Emily Hardesty recorded her third double-double of the season with 11 kills and 11 digs against the Razorbacks.
Sophomore libero Amy Nettles led A&M in digs with 18, and junior defensive specialist Victoria Arenas added a season-high 10 digs, while junior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers had a team-leading five blocks.
Sophomore setter Stephanie Aiple returned to the lineup midway through the second set. She had missed the previous two matches after suffering a foot injury in the win against No. 15 Colorado State on Sept. 15.
Freshman defensive specialist Paige Panter drew her first career start.
The Razorbacks outhit A&M .276 to .207 for the match, leading 59-56 in kills.
Arkansas junior outside hitter Pilar Victoria led all players with 20 kills and went on to be named SEC Offensive Player of the Week.

TEXAS A&M TEAM QUICK HITS

A&M is 1-3 in true away matches this season and a combined 3-4 at away and neutral sites.
Last year A&M went 6-3 in SEC away matches.
A&M has used nine different starting lineups over 12 matches. Sophomore setter Stephanie Aiple, senior middle blocker Shelby Sullivan and senior outside hitter Angela Lowak all have missed multiple starts due to injuries.
A&M is 7-0 when leading in attack percentage, 6-0 when leading in blocks and 5-0 when leading in kills or points.
The Aggies are 0-4 when dropping the first set and 7-1 when winning the first set.
A&M is 3-0 in five-set 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. 8 Stanford, No. 16 Minnesota, No. 17 Florida State and No. 20 Colorado State, as well as two matches each against No. 9 Florida and No. 21 Kentucky. A&M posted wins against both Minnesota and Colorado State and lost to Stanford and Florida State.
The Aggies will be hosting their "Dig Pink" match on Friday, Oct. 16 as they host Alabama. Go to the volleyball page on 12thMan.com to learn more about joining the Aggies as they help raise awareness in the fight against breast cancer.

TEXAS A&M PLAYER QUICK HITS

Redshirt junior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers has started every match of her career (73) and is hitting .355 for her career.
Babers, who enters the weekend third in the SEC and 38th in the nation with 1.32 blocks per set, has led or tied for the team lead in blocks in 11 of 12 matches this season.
Babers, who has posted double-figure blocks twice this season, ranks ninth in the A&M all-time career records with 296 block assists. She needs three more block assists to move into seventh place, surpassing both Tara Pulaski (1999-03) and Sherri Brinkman (1983-85), who are currently tied for seventh with 298 career block assists.
Senior middle blocker Shelby Sullivan is hitting .372 this season and .378 for her career, putting her on pace to shatter the A&M career record for hitting percentage (.342) held by Sherri Brinkman (1983-85).
Outside hitter Angela Lowak is out indefinitely after suffering a knee injury (dislocated patella) at Florida State on Sept. 19. The senior co-captain had posted double-figure kills in four consecutive matches before the FSU match, and she was leading the team with 3.22 kills per set before suffering the injury.
Sophomore libero Amy Nettles has led or tied for the team lead in digs in every match this season. She is averaging a team-high 3.90 digs per set, ranking eighth in the SEC.
Nettles, who has posted double-figure digs in a team-leading 10 matches, is the only A&M player to have played in all 48 sets this season. She also 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 outside hitter Kiara McGee is hitting .333 over the last two matches and averaging 3.0 kills and 3.43 points per set. For the season, McGee is hitting .193 with 2.71 kills and 3.08 points per set.
Junior outside hitter Emily Hardesty has led the team in kills in three of the last four matches.
The versatile freshman Kaitlyn Blake has started seven matches as either an opposite hitter or middle blocker. She is hitting .268 and averaging 2.08 kills and 0.84 blocks per set for the season. The Allen High School product had a career-high and team match-high 14 kills while hitting .321 in the loss to Iowa State.
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, replacing sophomore starter Stephanie Aiple, who 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 8.88 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.
Aiple is ranked 23rd in the nation and fourth in the SEC with 11.26 assists per set. 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.
Freshman 6-7 outside hitter/middle blocker Montse Castro has returned to the team after spending last two weeks competing for Mexico at the Women's U20 World Championship in Puerto Rico.
Four players -- Jazzmin Babers, Katelyn Labhart, Angela Lowak and Shelby Sullivan -- each received their Aggie Ring on Friday, Sept. 25, celebrating one of the most revered and symbolic traditions at Texas A&M. The tradition began with the Class of 1889.

SCOUTING AUBURN

Auburn is 9-4 overall and 1-0 in the SEC after opening league play with a 3-1 (25-16, 30-32, 25-22, 25-19) victory against Tennessee on Friday, Sept. 25 at Auburn Arena.
The Tigers are 5-1 in home matches with the only loss being a five-setter against Syracuse on Sept. 4.
Auburn was picked to finish ninth in the SEC according to a preseason vote of the league's head coaches. Last year Auburn went 5-13, tying Georgia for 10th place.
Sophomore libero Jesse Earl was named the SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. She had 26 digs against the Lady Vols and is averaging a team-leading 3.98 digs per set for the full season, ranking fifth in the SEC.
Sophomore setter Alexa Filley posted her sixth double-double of the season with 46 assists and 19 digs in the win against Tennessee. She is averaging 10.57 assists and 2.55 digs per set for the full season.
Four players posted double-figure kills in the 3-1 win against Tennessee: Courtney Crable (16), Brenna McIlroy (12), Emily Klitzke (11) and Breanna Barksdale (10). Auburn posted 60 kills overall and hit .151 while holding Tennessee to 41 kills and a .081 hitting percentage.
Freshman outside hitter Brenna McIlroy, who is from A&M coach Laurie Corbelli's home town of Garland, Texas, leads the Tigers with 2.90 kills per set for the full season.
The A&M match is the Tigers' second of three consecutive home matches to open league play. Auburn concludes the home stretch Sunday as the Tigers host LSU.
Rick Nold (Louisville, 1998) is in his fifth season as head coach of the Tigers.

UPCOMING
A&M returns home Sunday to play host to Ole Miss. First serve is at 1 p.m. at Reed Arena, and the match will be televised by SEC Network with Paul Sunderland and Nell Fortner calling the action. The match marks Laurie Corbelli's 699th match as head coach of the Aggies.

SULLIVAN SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Texas A&M middle blocker Shelby Sullivan has been selected as a candidate for the Senior CLASS Award for volleyball. 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.
From Richardson, Texas, Sullivan is one of 30 candidates representing NCAA Division I volleyball student-athletes who were selected based on their notable achievements in four areas: competition, classroom, character and community. In the classroom, the 2014 SEC Scholar Athlete of the Year for volleyball sports a 3.841 cumulative grade-point average as a student in Texas A&M's highly regarded Mays Business School five-year Professional Program in which she is simultaneously earning a bachelor's degree in accounting and a master's degree in finance.