Sunday, September 6
College Station
1:00 PM
Texas A&M
4-1
3
vs
2
New Mexico State
5-2
1
2
3
4
5
F
New Mexico State
25
21
29
25
9
2
Texas A&M
27
25
27
16
15
3
Photo by: Texas A&M Athletics
Aggies Win 2015 Texas A&M Invitational
Sep 06, 2015 | Volleyball
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Jazzmin Babers and Kiara McGee each posted career highs with 20 kills apiece to lead Texas A&M to a 27-25, 25-21, 27-29, 16-25, 15-9 hard-fought victory over New Mexico State in a match that determined the champion of the Texas A&M Invitational at Reed Arena.
Babers, a junior middle blocker, took home tournament MVP honors, capping the tournament by hitting .432 and also posting 10 blocks and finishing with a career-high and match-high 27 points in the championship match. McGee, an all-tournament selection, tallied 13 digs in the victory to record the second career double-double of her career and added a career-high five blocks to finish with a career-high 22.5 points. Junior outside hitter Emily Hardesty, who had eight kills and 12 digs in the win against NMSU, joined Babers and McGee on the all-tournament team.
Sophomore setter Stephanie Aiple posted a career-high 60 assists while directing the A&M offense to a .285 hitting percentage, and she added a personal-best five blocks as well as 14 digs, one shy of her career high. Freshman middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake also posted career bests with 11 kills and nine blocks, helping A&M to a 19-6 lead in team blocks, and sophomore libero Amy Nettles pitched in a match-high 17 digs as Texas A&M won its fourth consecutive match to improve to 4-1 on the season.
A&M fought off two set points in the opening set, which featured 19 ties and nine lead changes with neither team building more than a three-point lead. NMSU took the lead at 13-12 and built the largest lead by either team at 17-14 after scoring three consecutive points. A&M chipped away at the lead and tied the score four times before Babers got a kill on a slide attack to put A&M ahead 22-21. NMSU regained the lead following a kill and an A&M attack error, but Hardesty put down a kill to even the score at 23-23. A kill by all-tournament selection Tatyana Battle put NMSU at set point but Blake countered with a kill as NMSU was called for a block error on the play. NMSU was serving for the set for a second time following a kill by Ariadnne Sierra, but Ashlie Reasor kept A&M alive with a sharp cross-court kill that tied the score at 25-25. A&M, which was outhit .222 to .189 in the frame, then took the lead following a big block by Reasor and Blake, and NMSU hit long on the ensuing play to close out the first set.
The second set was tied at 15 when Babers got an off-speed kill and Blake posted a kill courtesy of another NMSU block error. NMSU, which was outhit .441 to .171 in the stanza, then hit wide as A&M equaled its then-largest lead at 18-15. NMSU got back within a point at 20-19 and 21-20 before Babers put down two kills during a 3-0 run that put A&M serving for the set, 24-20. Bradley Nash got a kill for NMSU, but McGee followed with a powerful cross-court kill to end the set, giving A&M a 2-0 lead in the match.
A&M had its chances to win the third set and complete the sweep, but a scrappy NMSU team, which had overcome a 2-0 set deficit against Wichita State to open the tournament, continued to battle. A&M used a 4-0 run to build a 20-18 lead, but NMSU fought back and tied the score at 21 and 22. McGee and Babers then had back-to-back kills to put A&M at match point, 24-22. NMSU stayed alive with a kill, and A&M hit long and then hit into a block to return the lead to NMSU, 25-24.
McGee and Babers fought off the set point, teaming for a block to tie the score at 25-25, but Battle posted a kill to put NMSU at set point for the second time. A Hardesty kill and a Babers ace quickly return the lead to A&M, which would be serving for the match for the third time. NMSU then posted two kills -- including one set up by an A&M overpass -- and then served an ace to get the 29-27 victory and force another set.
NMSU carried the momentum into the fourth set, jumping out to a 5-0 lead. NMSU continued to pull away while outhitting A&M, .324 to .139. NMSU doubled up A&M, 20-10, following a four-point spurt, and A&M was unable to get any closer than six points before all-tournament team member Gwen Murphy put down one of her 12 kills of the match to clinch the set and send the match to a decisive fifth set.
There were five ties in the final frame, the last coming at 5-5 before A&M, which outhit NMSU .529 to .045, began to score two points for every one point scored by NMSU. The 2-for-1 scoring trend continued for the remainder of the match, with a McGee kill putting A&M at match point and Babers and Aiple teaming for a match-clinching block.
NMSU, which had its three-match win streak snapped to fall to 5-1, had four players with double-digit kills, including Battle who had a team high 18 kills. Nash and Sasha-lee Thomas had 14 kills apiece, and Murphy added 12 kills as NMSU led A&M in team kills, 74-68.
Next up for A&M will is the Iowa Comfort Suites Challenge in Iowa City, Iowa, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 11-12. The Aggies open the tournament Friday at 1:30 p.m. against former Big 12 Conference-foe Iowa State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. A&M also plays Milwaukee on Friday at 6 p.m. and closes out the tournament Saturday at 7 p.m. against the host Hawkeyes.
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 the team's performance…
"We had swings at match point in set three that we didn't finish, so the big battle was us against ourselves. Could we get that win in four or five? Because finishing is so important, when we were so close and didn't do that, the whole momentum can shift to the other team. We didn't lose our faith or our confidence. We had no momentum, so to come back and battle point for point is huge. Kiara McGee was hot, Jazzmin Babers was hot, and Emily Hardesty was unstoppable; what a leader on the court. It's the way they all rose to the occasion. When you're up and you lose that lead you have to regain your composure and focus on everything to come back and get the win. That gives me so much faith in the future of our season."
On the team's mood in the huddle after losing set four…
"I think they were (peeved) because the game got a little out of control when set four didn't go our way. They're great in the huddle because I see all eyes on coaches; they want to get every little bit of information from them that they can. They're great listeners. They take what we give them and turn it into action. The attitude was just 'we're going to win.'"
On the team's serve-receive…
"In places I saw improvement. I've been making notes about our serve-receive improving all weekend. I thought in set four we had a little trouble with it today. I bet Stephanie Aiple ran three miles today chasing down passes. It's a good thing that she's willing to and capable of that, because that was really what changed in set four, us not being able to effectively pass the ball. We weren't getting aced as much, but we were passing the ball straight up. Our serve-receive still needs a lot of work."
On the team's fight…
"We talk about determination, and I think once they start to figure out what that looks like they can see how much it matters. If they're challenged like they were today and were not able to keep fighting, then we would never have been able to do it. You have to fight for position in volleyball. You aren't standing still very often. You're constantly having to get great position. I'm really proud at how they fought."
Stephanie Aiple, Setter, Texas A&M
On having a career-high 60 assists…
"Our passing definitely helped and our defense helped a lot, but I try to get on every single ball I can. I've been working a lot in practice recently to get really good position and getting to the ball earlier so I've been able to chase down more balls than usual."
On her mindset during a close match…
"I think about the present and the point that we're trying to get. It's making eye-contact with the other players and saying 'we're getting this point.' What's going through my mind is just trying to encourage the team."
On the competition this weekend…
"I think this tournament was great competition for us. We had great teams come in. We battled with Wichita State; we had a great mindset going into that game. Although it doesn't look like they had such a great performance, they challenged us and we challenged them. Of course New Mexico State is a great team. They had several hitters that dominated us. It was great competition to lead us into the next two weeks."
Texas A&M Invitational All-Tournament Team
MVP: Jazzmin Babers, Texas A&M
Sarah Siemens, Abilene Christian
Tatyana Battle, New Mexico State
Gwen Murphy, New Mexico State
Kiara McGee, Texas A&M
Emily Hardesty, Texas A&M
Emily Hiebert, Wichita State
Tournament Standings:
Texas A&M 3-0
New Mexico State 2-1
Wichita State 1-2
Abilene Christian 0-3
Texas A&M Invitational Schedule/Results:
Friday, Sept. 4
Wichita State def. Abilene Christian, 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-21)
New Mexico State def. Wichita State, 3-2 (20-25, 23-25, 25-21, 30-28, 15-13)
Saturday, Sept. 5
New Mexico State def. Abilene Christian, 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-20)
Texas A&M def. Wichita State, 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-12)
Texas A&M def. Abilene Christian, 3-1 (25-14, 25-21, 26-28, 25-20)
Sunday, Sept. 6
Texas A&M def. New Mexico State, 3-2 (27-25, 25-21, 27-29, 16-25, 15-9)
Babers, a junior middle blocker, took home tournament MVP honors, capping the tournament by hitting .432 and also posting 10 blocks and finishing with a career-high and match-high 27 points in the championship match. McGee, an all-tournament selection, tallied 13 digs in the victory to record the second career double-double of her career and added a career-high five blocks to finish with a career-high 22.5 points. Junior outside hitter Emily Hardesty, who had eight kills and 12 digs in the win against NMSU, joined Babers and McGee on the all-tournament team.
Sophomore setter Stephanie Aiple posted a career-high 60 assists while directing the A&M offense to a .285 hitting percentage, and she added a personal-best five blocks as well as 14 digs, one shy of her career high. Freshman middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake also posted career bests with 11 kills and nine blocks, helping A&M to a 19-6 lead in team blocks, and sophomore libero Amy Nettles pitched in a match-high 17 digs as Texas A&M won its fourth consecutive match to improve to 4-1 on the season.
A&M fought off two set points in the opening set, which featured 19 ties and nine lead changes with neither team building more than a three-point lead. NMSU took the lead at 13-12 and built the largest lead by either team at 17-14 after scoring three consecutive points. A&M chipped away at the lead and tied the score four times before Babers got a kill on a slide attack to put A&M ahead 22-21. NMSU regained the lead following a kill and an A&M attack error, but Hardesty put down a kill to even the score at 23-23. A kill by all-tournament selection Tatyana Battle put NMSU at set point but Blake countered with a kill as NMSU was called for a block error on the play. NMSU was serving for the set for a second time following a kill by Ariadnne Sierra, but Ashlie Reasor kept A&M alive with a sharp cross-court kill that tied the score at 25-25. A&M, which was outhit .222 to .189 in the frame, then took the lead following a big block by Reasor and Blake, and NMSU hit long on the ensuing play to close out the first set.
The second set was tied at 15 when Babers got an off-speed kill and Blake posted a kill courtesy of another NMSU block error. NMSU, which was outhit .441 to .171 in the stanza, then hit wide as A&M equaled its then-largest lead at 18-15. NMSU got back within a point at 20-19 and 21-20 before Babers put down two kills during a 3-0 run that put A&M serving for the set, 24-20. Bradley Nash got a kill for NMSU, but McGee followed with a powerful cross-court kill to end the set, giving A&M a 2-0 lead in the match.
A&M had its chances to win the third set and complete the sweep, but a scrappy NMSU team, which had overcome a 2-0 set deficit against Wichita State to open the tournament, continued to battle. A&M used a 4-0 run to build a 20-18 lead, but NMSU fought back and tied the score at 21 and 22. McGee and Babers then had back-to-back kills to put A&M at match point, 24-22. NMSU stayed alive with a kill, and A&M hit long and then hit into a block to return the lead to NMSU, 25-24.
McGee and Babers fought off the set point, teaming for a block to tie the score at 25-25, but Battle posted a kill to put NMSU at set point for the second time. A Hardesty kill and a Babers ace quickly return the lead to A&M, which would be serving for the match for the third time. NMSU then posted two kills -- including one set up by an A&M overpass -- and then served an ace to get the 29-27 victory and force another set.
NMSU carried the momentum into the fourth set, jumping out to a 5-0 lead. NMSU continued to pull away while outhitting A&M, .324 to .139. NMSU doubled up A&M, 20-10, following a four-point spurt, and A&M was unable to get any closer than six points before all-tournament team member Gwen Murphy put down one of her 12 kills of the match to clinch the set and send the match to a decisive fifth set.
There were five ties in the final frame, the last coming at 5-5 before A&M, which outhit NMSU .529 to .045, began to score two points for every one point scored by NMSU. The 2-for-1 scoring trend continued for the remainder of the match, with a McGee kill putting A&M at match point and Babers and Aiple teaming for a match-clinching block.
NMSU, which had its three-match win streak snapped to fall to 5-1, had four players with double-digit kills, including Battle who had a team high 18 kills. Nash and Sasha-lee Thomas had 14 kills apiece, and Murphy added 12 kills as NMSU led A&M in team kills, 74-68.
Next up for A&M will is the Iowa Comfort Suites Challenge in Iowa City, Iowa, Friday and Saturday, Sept. 11-12. The Aggies open the tournament Friday at 1:30 p.m. against former Big 12 Conference-foe Iowa State at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. A&M also plays Milwaukee on Friday at 6 p.m. and closes out the tournament Saturday at 7 p.m. against the host Hawkeyes.
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 the team's performance…
"We had swings at match point in set three that we didn't finish, so the big battle was us against ourselves. Could we get that win in four or five? Because finishing is so important, when we were so close and didn't do that, the whole momentum can shift to the other team. We didn't lose our faith or our confidence. We had no momentum, so to come back and battle point for point is huge. Kiara McGee was hot, Jazzmin Babers was hot, and Emily Hardesty was unstoppable; what a leader on the court. It's the way they all rose to the occasion. When you're up and you lose that lead you have to regain your composure and focus on everything to come back and get the win. That gives me so much faith in the future of our season."
On the team's mood in the huddle after losing set four…
"I think they were (peeved) because the game got a little out of control when set four didn't go our way. They're great in the huddle because I see all eyes on coaches; they want to get every little bit of information from them that they can. They're great listeners. They take what we give them and turn it into action. The attitude was just 'we're going to win.'"
On the team's serve-receive…
"In places I saw improvement. I've been making notes about our serve-receive improving all weekend. I thought in set four we had a little trouble with it today. I bet Stephanie Aiple ran three miles today chasing down passes. It's a good thing that she's willing to and capable of that, because that was really what changed in set four, us not being able to effectively pass the ball. We weren't getting aced as much, but we were passing the ball straight up. Our serve-receive still needs a lot of work."
On the team's fight…
"We talk about determination, and I think once they start to figure out what that looks like they can see how much it matters. If they're challenged like they were today and were not able to keep fighting, then we would never have been able to do it. You have to fight for position in volleyball. You aren't standing still very often. You're constantly having to get great position. I'm really proud at how they fought."
Stephanie Aiple, Setter, Texas A&M
On having a career-high 60 assists…
"Our passing definitely helped and our defense helped a lot, but I try to get on every single ball I can. I've been working a lot in practice recently to get really good position and getting to the ball earlier so I've been able to chase down more balls than usual."
On her mindset during a close match…
"I think about the present and the point that we're trying to get. It's making eye-contact with the other players and saying 'we're getting this point.' What's going through my mind is just trying to encourage the team."
On the competition this weekend…
"I think this tournament was great competition for us. We had great teams come in. We battled with Wichita State; we had a great mindset going into that game. Although it doesn't look like they had such a great performance, they challenged us and we challenged them. Of course New Mexico State is a great team. They had several hitters that dominated us. It was great competition to lead us into the next two weeks."
Texas A&M Invitational All-Tournament Team
MVP: Jazzmin Babers, Texas A&M
Sarah Siemens, Abilene Christian
Tatyana Battle, New Mexico State
Gwen Murphy, New Mexico State
Kiara McGee, Texas A&M
Emily Hardesty, Texas A&M
Emily Hiebert, Wichita State
Tournament Standings:
Texas A&M 3-0
New Mexico State 2-1
Wichita State 1-2
Abilene Christian 0-3
Texas A&M Invitational Schedule/Results:
Friday, Sept. 4
Wichita State def. Abilene Christian, 3-0 (25-17, 25-12, 25-21)
New Mexico State def. Wichita State, 3-2 (20-25, 23-25, 25-21, 30-28, 15-13)
Saturday, Sept. 5
New Mexico State def. Abilene Christian, 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-20)
Texas A&M def. Wichita State, 3-0 (25-12, 25-16, 25-12)
Texas A&M def. Abilene Christian, 3-1 (25-14, 25-21, 26-28, 25-20)
Sunday, Sept. 6
Texas A&M def. New Mexico State, 3-2 (27-25, 25-21, 27-29, 16-25, 15-9)
Team Stats
NMSU
TAMU
Kills
74
68
Errors
28
19
Attempts
188
172
Hitting %
.245
.285
Points
85.0
91.0
Assists
67
64
Aces
5
4
Blocks
6.0
19.0
Game Leaders
Kills
20
Aces
0
Blocks
5
Kills
20
Aces
1
Blocks
10
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
9
Kills
9
Aces
0
Blocks
4
Players Mentioned
S
/ VolleyballMB
/ VolleyballMB/OPP
/ Volleyball
OH
/ VolleyballOH
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ VolleyballOPP
/ VolleyballMedia Availability: Jamie Morrison
Monday, December 22
Media Availability: Logan Lednicky
Monday, December 22
Media Availability: Ifenna Cos-Okpalla
Monday, December 22
NCAA Championship Postgame: Morrison, Cos-Okpalla, Lednicky, Stowers
Sunday, December 21
