COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Texas A&M volleyball team celebrated its historic Southeastern Conference championship season and presented the individual player awards at the Aggies' annual end-of-the-season banquet, held this evening at the All-American Club at Kyle Field.
SEC Player of the Year Stephanie Aiple, a sophomore setter from Round Rock, Texas, was presented the team's MVP award after leading the Aggies to the 2015 SEC championship title, a 24-7 overall record and a No. 18 ranking in the final AVCA Top 25 Poll after advancing to the second round of the NCAA Championship.
Middle blockers Jazzmin Babers, a redshirt junior from Syracuse, N.Y., and senior co-captain Shelby Sullivan, from Richardson, Texas, shared the team's Best Offensive Player award, and sophomore libero Amy Nettles was presented the Best Defensive Player award for a second consecutive year.
In addition, sophomore Kiara McGee (San Antonio) was the recipient of the Most Improved Player award, and she presented senior co-captain Angela Lowak, an outside hitter from New Braunfels, Texas, with the Most Inspirational Player award.
Head coach Laurie Corbelli presented Lowak and junior defensive specialist Katelyn Labhart (Whitesboro, Texas) the Aggie Excellence award, which recognizes those who best represent A&M's core values of respect, integrity, leadership, excellence, loyalty and selfless service.
Aiple became the first A&M player to be named SEC Player of the Year and the second player in school history to ever earn conference player of the year honors. A league-leading six-time SEC Setter of the Week honoree and a two-time SEC Player of the Week selection, Aiple went on to earn AVCA Honorable Mention All-America distinction for the second consecutive year.
Aiple led A&M with seven double-doubles and recorded 50 or more assists in eight matches in 2015. She tallied a career-high 62 assists in the win against Missouri -- including 14 assists in the decisive 15-10 fifth-set victory -- to clinch the SEC championship. Aiple averaged 11.44 assists per set for the full season, ranking 15th in the nation and second in the SEC, as Texas A&M led the conference with 13.22 assists per set as a team. Aiple also orchestrated an Aggie offense that ranked second in the league with 14.09 kills per set and a .272 hitting efficiency, marking the team's second highest hitting percentage since 1985.
Babers was named AVCA Division I Second-Team All-America after hitting .412 to break the all-time Texas A&M season record of .400 set by former two-time AVCA All-American Sherri Brinkman in 1984 and tied by Babers last year. Babers, whose .412 hitting percentage ranked 15th in the nation, led the SEC with a .441 hitting percentage in league matches only.
Babers led A&M with 3.17 kills and 3.96 points per set for the full season, and she also led the Aggies and ranked third in the SEC and 25th in the country with 1.37 blocks per set. Babers, who has started every match (92) of her career, will enter her senior year ranked sixth in the A&M career records with 381 block assists and eighth in career blocks with 434.
Sullivan was named AVCA Honorable Mention All-America for the second consecutive year and All-SEC for a third consecutive year after hitting .377 for the full season. She completed her stellar career with a school-record .379 hitting percentage, smashing the longstanding career record of .342 held by Brinkman since 1985.
The team co-captain averaged 2.38 kills, 0.94 blocks and 3.09 points per set for the full season and hit .392 with 2.55 kills, 1.12 blocks and 3.42 points per set in SEC matches and collected both SEC defensive and offensive player of the week honors this season. Sullivan also was a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, recognizing notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom character and competition.
Nettles was A&M's libero in every set in 2015 and was the only player to appear in all 109 sets. She averaged 3.86 digs per set, ranking ninth in the SEC, and led or tied for the team high in digs in all but three matches. She ended the season having tallied double-figure digs in a career-high 16 consecutive matches, including a personal-best and team season-high 30 digs in the SEC-clinching victory at Missouri. Nettles finished the season with 444 total digs, ranking seventh in the A&M all-time season records.
McGee became a necessary mainstay and key ingredient in the lineup after Lowak, who was in her third year as a starter, went down with a near season-ending knee injury in the 10th match of the season. McGee took advantage of her opportunity, continuing to progress and quickly developing into a go-to player at the outside hitter position. She appeared in 30 of 31 matches and went on to earn AVCA All-South Region honorable mention after posting double-figure kills in 15 matches and taking team-high honors in kills in nine matches. McGee finished the season ranked second among A&M starters with 2.96 kills and 3.26 points per set for the full season.
As voted by the players and coaches, Lowak was presented the prestigious inspirational award for her positive attitude and unwavering passion and support for her teammates. Despite suffering what could have been a season-ending injury early in the season, the senior leader continued to motivate the team, including McGee who replaced her in the lineup, not only with her encouragement and enthusiasm from the sidelines but with her unrelenting determination to work her way back onto the court. Lowak returned to the court in the Aggies' NCAA first-round victory and immediately made her presence known by putting down two kills to help A&M close out the first set.
Lowak, a three-time member of the SEC Community Service Team, and Labhart were presented the Aggie Excellence award for their overall selfless service and leadership, as well as their dedication to athletics and academics. It was the second consecutive year for Lowak to receive the award, which Corbelli created last year. In addition to their devotion to the volleyball team, the honor students serve as exemplary ambassadors for Texas A&M and are active in numerous volunteer and charitable activities, including the humanitarian endeavors of their sororities, with Lowak serving as the philanthropy chair for Pi Beta Phi and Labhart serving as the marketing chair for Chi Omega.
In addition to the individual team awards, nine student-athletes were recognized for their academic prowess: Victoria Arenas, Emily Hardesty, Amy Houser, and Kaysie Shebeneck, as well as Aiple, Babers, Labhart, Lowak and Sullivan.
The banquet concluded with the showing of the season highlight film, produced by Beth Shecterle and Adison Haager of 12th Man Productions, along with closing remarks by Director of Volleyball Operations Kimberly Williams, who coordinated the banquet.
The following is the complete list of the 2015 Texas A&M volleyball team awards:
MVP: Stephanie Aiple
Co-Best Offensive Players: Jazzmin Babers and Shelby Sullivan
Best Defensive Player: Amy Nettles
Most Improved Player: Kiara McGee
Most Inspirational Player: Angela Lowak
Aggie Excellence: Angela Lowak and Katelyn Labhart
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 by following @AggieVolleyball.
SEC Player of the Year Stephanie Aiple, a sophomore setter from Round Rock, Texas, was presented the team's MVP award after leading the Aggies to the 2015 SEC championship title, a 24-7 overall record and a No. 18 ranking in the final AVCA Top 25 Poll after advancing to the second round of the NCAA Championship.
Middle blockers Jazzmin Babers, a redshirt junior from Syracuse, N.Y., and senior co-captain Shelby Sullivan, from Richardson, Texas, shared the team's Best Offensive Player award, and sophomore libero Amy Nettles was presented the Best Defensive Player award for a second consecutive year.
In addition, sophomore Kiara McGee (San Antonio) was the recipient of the Most Improved Player award, and she presented senior co-captain Angela Lowak, an outside hitter from New Braunfels, Texas, with the Most Inspirational Player award.
Head coach Laurie Corbelli presented Lowak and junior defensive specialist Katelyn Labhart (Whitesboro, Texas) the Aggie Excellence award, which recognizes those who best represent A&M's core values of respect, integrity, leadership, excellence, loyalty and selfless service.
Aiple became the first A&M player to be named SEC Player of the Year and the second player in school history to ever earn conference player of the year honors. A league-leading six-time SEC Setter of the Week honoree and a two-time SEC Player of the Week selection, Aiple went on to earn AVCA Honorable Mention All-America distinction for the second consecutive year.
Aiple led A&M with seven double-doubles and recorded 50 or more assists in eight matches in 2015. She tallied a career-high 62 assists in the win against Missouri -- including 14 assists in the decisive 15-10 fifth-set victory -- to clinch the SEC championship. Aiple averaged 11.44 assists per set for the full season, ranking 15th in the nation and second in the SEC, as Texas A&M led the conference with 13.22 assists per set as a team. Aiple also orchestrated an Aggie offense that ranked second in the league with 14.09 kills per set and a .272 hitting efficiency, marking the team's second highest hitting percentage since 1985.
Babers was named AVCA Division I Second-Team All-America after hitting .412 to break the all-time Texas A&M season record of .400 set by former two-time AVCA All-American Sherri Brinkman in 1984 and tied by Babers last year. Babers, whose .412 hitting percentage ranked 15th in the nation, led the SEC with a .441 hitting percentage in league matches only.
Babers led A&M with 3.17 kills and 3.96 points per set for the full season, and she also led the Aggies and ranked third in the SEC and 25th in the country with 1.37 blocks per set. Babers, who has started every match (92) of her career, will enter her senior year ranked sixth in the A&M career records with 381 block assists and eighth in career blocks with 434.
Sullivan was named AVCA Honorable Mention All-America for the second consecutive year and All-SEC for a third consecutive year after hitting .377 for the full season. She completed her stellar career with a school-record .379 hitting percentage, smashing the longstanding career record of .342 held by Brinkman since 1985.
The team co-captain averaged 2.38 kills, 0.94 blocks and 3.09 points per set for the full season and hit .392 with 2.55 kills, 1.12 blocks and 3.42 points per set in SEC matches and collected both SEC defensive and offensive player of the week honors this season. Sullivan also was a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, recognizing notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom character and competition.
Nettles was A&M's libero in every set in 2015 and was the only player to appear in all 109 sets. She averaged 3.86 digs per set, ranking ninth in the SEC, and led or tied for the team high in digs in all but three matches. She ended the season having tallied double-figure digs in a career-high 16 consecutive matches, including a personal-best and team season-high 30 digs in the SEC-clinching victory at Missouri. Nettles finished the season with 444 total digs, ranking seventh in the A&M all-time season records.
McGee became a necessary mainstay and key ingredient in the lineup after Lowak, who was in her third year as a starter, went down with a near season-ending knee injury in the 10th match of the season. McGee took advantage of her opportunity, continuing to progress and quickly developing into a go-to player at the outside hitter position. She appeared in 30 of 31 matches and went on to earn AVCA All-South Region honorable mention after posting double-figure kills in 15 matches and taking team-high honors in kills in nine matches. McGee finished the season ranked second among A&M starters with 2.96 kills and 3.26 points per set for the full season.
As voted by the players and coaches, Lowak was presented the prestigious inspirational award for her positive attitude and unwavering passion and support for her teammates. Despite suffering what could have been a season-ending injury early in the season, the senior leader continued to motivate the team, including McGee who replaced her in the lineup, not only with her encouragement and enthusiasm from the sidelines but with her unrelenting determination to work her way back onto the court. Lowak returned to the court in the Aggies' NCAA first-round victory and immediately made her presence known by putting down two kills to help A&M close out the first set.
Lowak, a three-time member of the SEC Community Service Team, and Labhart were presented the Aggie Excellence award for their overall selfless service and leadership, as well as their dedication to athletics and academics. It was the second consecutive year for Lowak to receive the award, which Corbelli created last year. In addition to their devotion to the volleyball team, the honor students serve as exemplary ambassadors for Texas A&M and are active in numerous volunteer and charitable activities, including the humanitarian endeavors of their sororities, with Lowak serving as the philanthropy chair for Pi Beta Phi and Labhart serving as the marketing chair for Chi Omega.
In addition to the individual team awards, nine student-athletes were recognized for their academic prowess: Victoria Arenas, Emily Hardesty, Amy Houser, and Kaysie Shebeneck, as well as Aiple, Babers, Labhart, Lowak and Sullivan.
The banquet concluded with the showing of the season highlight film, produced by Beth Shecterle and Adison Haager of 12th Man Productions, along with closing remarks by Director of Volleyball Operations Kimberly Williams, who coordinated the banquet.
The following is the complete list of the 2015 Texas A&M volleyball team awards:
MVP: Stephanie Aiple
Co-Best Offensive Players: Jazzmin Babers and Shelby Sullivan
Best Defensive Player: Amy Nettles
Most Improved Player: Kiara McGee
Most Inspirational Player: Angela Lowak
Aggie Excellence: Angela Lowak and Katelyn Labhart
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 by following @AggieVolleyball.