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No. 19 Texas A&M Hosts Auburn in SEC Home Opener

No. 19 Texas A&M (6-6, 0-1 SEC) vs. Auburn (7-7, 1-0 SEC)

Complete Match Notes (PDF) Opens in a new window
No. 19 Texas A&M (6-6, 0-1 SEC) vs. Auburn (7-7, 1-0 SEC)
Sunday, Sept. 25, 2 p.m.
Reed Arena, College Station, Texas
 
TV: ESPNU (Paul Sunderland, play-by-play; Nell Fortner, commentary)
Stats: 12thMan.com/live
Twitter Updates: @AggieVolleyball
Tickets: http://www.12thmanfoundation.com/ticket-center/volleyball.aspx
 
Promotions:
  • Buy 1 adult ticket, get up to 4 kids in FREE (offer valid at the door);
  • Post-match autograph session;
  • Pre-match Jungle Zone, exclusive for Junior Aggie Club members in the volleyball practice gym featuring Jungle Bounce house, balloon animals, crafts + more;
  • FREE pre-match kids court in the volleyball practice gym open to all kids featuring Aggie Bounce House, hula hoops, and more;
  • Fish Camp members wear your Fish Camp shirt and stop at the marketing kiosk for a chance to win a trip for two on a rock climbing excursion courtesy of the Texas A&M Rec Center;
  • Every Sunday is Bingo Day at Aggie Volleyball. Pick up a volleyball bingo card at the marketing kiosk on the concourse for chances to win Aggie gear & more.
 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- No. 19 Texas A&M returns to Reed Arena on Sunday to play host to Auburn in the Aggies' Southeastern Conference home opener. The match begins at 2 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNU with Paul Sunderland and Nell Fortner calling the action.
 
Texas A&M (6-6, 0-1 SEC), the defending SEC champion, will be looking to end a three-match losing skid after opening conference play with a 3-2 (25-19, 26-24, 22-25, 16-25, 15-13) loss at Alabama on Friday. It marked the Aggies' first loss to an unranked opponent this season, and it snapped the school-record 14-match conference win streak the Aggies rode to complete their 2015 championship run.
 
Auburn (7-7, 1-0 SEC) also went five sets in its conference opener but came out on the winning end as the Tigers held off LSU, 25-22, 25-22, 23-25, 23-25, 15-9, Friday at Auburn Arena.
 
TEXAS A&M IN THE SEC
  • Texas A&M is picked to win the SEC in 2016 according to the SEC Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Aggies received seven of the 13 first-place votes and 137 total points to finish atop the preseason poll.
  • Last year, Texas A&M dropped its SEC opener for the first time, falling to Arkansas, 3-1, at Reed Arena. The Aggies went on to go 16-2 in SEC matches to capture the first conference championship in program history.
  • Texas A&M, which was playing its first SEC season opener on the road and dropped to 3-2 in SEC openers with the loss at Alabama, is in its fifth year as a member of the SEC and is 55-20 overall in SEC matches only.
  • The Aggies, who went 8-1 in SEC away matches and 8-1 in SEC home matches in 2015, are 27-11 all-time in SEC away matches and 28-9 in SEC home matches.
  • Junior setter Stephanie Aiple, who last year became the Aggies' first player to be named SEC Player of the Year, and senior redshirt middle blocker Jazzmin Babers, an AVCA second-team All-American in 2015, both were named to the Preseason All-SEC Team.
 
A&M-AUBURN ALL-TIME SERIES
  • Texas A&M leads the all-time series, 7-1, including 5-1 in SEC matches only, as well as 3-0 all-time against the Tigers in matches played in College Station.
  • A&M has won the last three meetings, all in three-set sweeps.
  • The teams met once last year, Sept. 30, 2015, at Auburn, where Texas A&M won 25-14, 25-17, 25-21.
  • In the most recent meeting Texas A&M setter Stephanie Aiple returned to the starting lineup for the first time since suffering a toe injury  two weeks prior and directed the Aggie offense to a .481 [43-5-79] hitting efficiency to break the school record for hitting percentage in a three-set SEC match and rank fifth all-time. Middle blocker Jazzmin Babers began the match 11-for-11 in attack attempts and finished with 14 kills in 17 attempts for a .765 hitting efficiency. She also added eight blocks as A&M outblocked the Tigers, 10-2.
  • Auburn's only victory in the all-time series against the Aggies was Oct. 20, 2013. The veteran Tiger squad defeated Texas A&M, 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-19, 25-17) at Auburn Arena.
  • A&M all-time records/results vs. Auburn:
Home:  3-0    Away:  2-1    Neutral:  2-0    SEC:  5-1
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
Sept. 30, 2015  A       W             25-14, 25-17, 25-21
 
TEXAS A&M RECENT RESULTS
  • Texas A&M's comeback fell short as the Aggies opened SEC play with a 25-19, 26-24, 22-25, 16-25, 15-13 loss to Alabama, Friday at Foster Auditorium in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
  • Alabama improved to 12-3 overall as it picked up its eighth consecutive victory overall, as well as its third straight against the Aggies in matches played in Tuscaloosa.
  • Despite a slow start, Texas A&M led Alabama in hitting percentage (266 to .235), blocks (13-8) and points (87-82). But in the end, the Aggies were unable to overcome the 0-2 set deficit and a 29-kill performance by Crimson Tide All-American Krystal Rivers.
  • Junior outside hitter Kiara McGee led the Aggies with 17 kills while hitting a career-high .485 (minimum 10 kills). Junior opposite Ashlie Reasor pitched in 15 kills while hitting at a .375 clip, and freshman outside hitter Hollann Hans finished with 12 kills in two sets played, while setter Stephanie Aiple dished out a season-high 52 assists. Sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake led all players with nine blocks, and senior middle Jazzmin Babers had four blocks to move her into third place in the A&M records with 412 career blocks assists.
  • Libero Amy Nettles led the Aggies with 17 digs, and defensive specialist Victoria Arenas also posted double-figure digs with 14.
 
TEXAS A&M NOTES
  • Texas A&M had a grueling preconference schedule, having faced five ranked opponents, more than any other team in the SEC.
  • All five of Texas A&M's preconference losses were against ranked opponents, including three losses against teams currently in the Top 5:  No. 2 Minnesota, No. 3 Wisconsin and No. 5 Texas. Texas was the NCAA runner-up last year and Minnesota was an NCAA semifinalist.
  • The other two preconference losses were against now-No. 15 Florida State and No. 17 Ohio State, who both escaped with 3-2 victories against the Aggies.
  • Texas A&M swept Pac-12 representative Arizona, 3-0, at the Borderland Invitational on Sept. 9 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The Wildcats were receiving votes at the time.
  • After going 7-0 in five-set matches last year, the Aggies are 0-3 in five setters this season.
  • Texas A&M returns 14 letterwinners–including five starters plus the libero–from last year's team that went 24-7 overall, won the SEC with a 16-2 record, and was 18th in the final AVCA poll after advancing to the second round of the NCAA Championship. The Aggies also welcomed eight freshmen as well as a redshirt freshman, making their 23-member squad the largest since Laurie Corbelli was hired as the Aggies' head coach in 1993.
  • Returning starters include 2015 SEC Player of the Year Stephanie Aiple (Jr., 6-1, S), AVCA second-team All-American Jazzmin Babers (RS-Sr., 6-2, MB) and AVCA All-South Region Honorable Mention selection Kiara McGee (Jr., 5-11, OH), as well as Emily Hardesty (Sr., 6-3, OH) and Ashlie Reasor (Jr., 6-1, OPP). The Aggies also return junior libero Amy Nettles, who received the team's best defensive player award and was the only Aggie to see action in all 115 sets last year.
 
AGGIE PLAYER NOTABLES
  • Sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake has led or tied for the team lead in blocks in all 12 matches. She had a match-high nine blocks, including a career high-tying two block solos at Alabama as the Aggies led the Crimson Tide, 13-8, in team blocks.
  • Blake tied a school record for block assists in a four-set match with 12 in a 3-1 victory at North Texas on Aug. 27, and she also tied the school record for total blocks in a four-set match with 13 against the Mean Green.
  • Blake was named both the SEC Player of the Week and the SEC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 12, after averaging an impressive 2.44 blocks per set while leading the Aggies to sweeps against Arizona, New Mexico State and UTEP at the Borderline Invitational. It was the first time in her career Blake has received either accolade.
  • Redshirt senior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers needs 25 kills to become the 17th player in program history to join the 1,000 Kills Club. The last player to join the club was middle blocker Lindsey Miller (2009-12), who finished with 1,025 in her four-year career.
  • Babers has started every match of her career (104).
  • Junior libero Amy Nettles, who has received the team's best defensive player award each of the last two seasons, has 852 career digs and needs only 148 more to become the 21st player in Texas A&M history to join the 1,000 Digs Club. As a sophomore, Nettles played in every set as the team's libero and finished with 444 digs, ranking seventh in the Texas A&M season record books. She has led the Aggies in digs in a team-best eight matches this season and is currently averaging 3.14 digs per set.
  • Junior outside hitter Kiara McGee has led or tied for team-high honors in kills in a team-leading six matches this season.
  • McKee, who had a team-high 17 kills while hitting a career-high .485 against Alabama, has posted double-figure kills in a team-high six matches, including a career-high 21 kills against No. 16 Florida State on Sept. 1, marking the most kills in a match by an A&M player this season.
  • Senior Emily Hardesty is the most experienced outside hitter on the team, having been a starter each of the last two seasons. In 2015, she was the only non-setter to play all six rotations. Hardesty was held out for four matches and played sparingly against Texas and Wisconsin after suffering a nagging injury against Minnesota. She played in the last three sets against Alabama.
  • Freshman outside hitter Hollann Hans has started the last seven matches in place of Hardesty and last week posted back-to-back double-doubles in kills and digs against No. 2 Texas and No. 6 Wisconsin, marking the first two double-doubles of her career.
  • Hans, who has started every match since drawing the first start of her young career in the Aggies' 3-0 victory over Virginia Tech at the Puerto Rico Clásico on Sept. 3—also her 19th birthday—led Texas A&M in both kills and points against both Texas and Wisconsin, recording 10 kills and 12 points against the Longhorns and career-highs of 13 kills and 14 points against Wisconsin;
  • Defensively, the Corpus Christi Calallen High School product took match-high honors with a career-high 14 digs against Texas, marking the first time she reached double-digit digs in her career, and she added 10 digs against Wisconsin.
  • Hans had her team-leading fourth consecutive double-digit kill performance with 12 in the first two sets against Alabama before being replaced by Hardesty.
  • Several players made their first appearance of the season against UTEP at the Borderline Invitational, including senior setter Kaysie Shebeneck, who played the entire second set. Freshman setter Lexi Lopez and freshman middle blocker Maddie Douglas made their Texas A&M career debuts, subbing in late in the third set. Lopez had an ace and an assist in the first two plays of her career, and Douglas had the match-ending kill.
 
ALL IN THE (COACHING) FAMILY
  • Laurie Corbelli, the reigning SEC and AVCA South Region coach of the year, is 494-234 in her 24th season as head coach of the Aggies and 594-340 in the 31st year of her head coaching career. She along with her husband, Aggie Associate Head Coach John Corbelli, have led the Aggies to 19 NCAA appearances.
  • Their son, Russell Corbelli (Texas A&M '16), is serving as the volunteer assistant coach this season while also pursuing his real estate license.
  • Not related to the Corbelli's but in his first year as a member of the Aggie family is assistant coach Trevor Johnson, who served as an assistant coach at Baylor last year.
 
TEXAS A&M IN THE NATIONAL/SEC STATS
  • Kaitlyn Blake, an all-tournament selection at both the North Texas Challenge and the Puerto Rico Clásico, leads the SEC with 1.72 blocks per set for the full season. She entered the weekend fifth in the nation with 1.71 blocks per set.
  • Blake's 13 total blocks in the win at North Texas on Aug. 27 ranks fourth in the country for most blocks in a four-set match, and it is the most by an SEC player in all matches this season.
  • As a team, A&M is second in the SEC with 2.70 blocks per set.
  • The Aggies are third in the SEC with 13.77 kills per set.
 
CLIMBING THE CAREER CHARTS
  • Senior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers is ranked in the top 10 in the Texas A&M all-time career records in block assists, total blocks and points, and she is on pace to finish in the top 10 for career hitting percentage and block solos.
  • Babers had four blocks assists against Alabama to give her 412 for her career, moving her into third place in the A&M record, surpassing Lindsey Miller (2009-12), who had 409 in her career. Babers needs 40 more block assists to take over second place in the career records.
  • Babers, who moved into sole possession of sixth place in career total blocks during the Texas match, has 468 and needs three more total blocks to surpass Kim Mitchell (1990-93) for sole possession of fifth place.
  • Babers ranks sixth in career total points (1,239) since rally scoring begin in 2001, and she currently ranks second in career hitting percentage (.368).
  • Junior setter Stephanie Aiple moved into the top 10 in career assists earlier this season and currently ranks ninth with 2,711. She needs 251 more assists to tie Chris Zogata (1983-86) for eighth place with 2,962.
 
SCOUTING AUBURN
  • Auburn evened its record at 7-7 after opening SEC play with a 3-2 (25-22, 25-22, 23-25, 23-25, 15-9) victory against LSU on Friday at Auburn Arena.
  • Sophomore outside hitter Brenna McIlroy led all players with a career-high 20 kills, and senior middle blocker Breanna Barksdale and freshman middle blocker Gwyn Jones added 13 and 11 kills, respectively to help lead Auburn to a 70-56 advantage in total team kills. 
  • Junior libero Jesse Earle, who leads the SEC with 5.31 digs per set, took match-high honors in total digs with 28, tying for the most digs in a match by an SEC player this season. Earl also had two aces against LSU and ranks seventh in the league with 0.38 aces per set for the full season.
  • McIlroy leads the Tigers and is ninth in the SEC with 3.78 points per set for the full season.
  • Auburn is 1-2 in away matches.
  • The Tigers are 1-1 against ranked opponents, having won, 3-2, at then-No. 21 Louisville on Sept. 3 and falling, 3-0, at then No. 23 Michigan on Sept. 16.
  • Auburn entered the weekend ranked first in the SEC and eighth in the nation with 38.14 attacks per set.
  • Rick Nold (Louisville, 1998) is 85-80 in his sixth season as head coach at Auburn and 257-178 in the 16th season of his head coaching career.
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
  • Texas A&M begins a three-match road swing, taking on LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Friday, Sept. 30. First serve is at 7 p.m. at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
  • The Aggies also will play at Arkansas on Wednesday, Oct. 5 and at Ole Miss on Sunday, Oct. 9 before returning home to play host to South Carolina on Friday, Oct. 14.
 
DIG PINK
  • In conjunction with October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Texas A&M volleyball team has announced that it will hold its annual "Dig Pink" fund raiser match Sunday, Oct. 16 when the Aggies play host to the nationally ranked Florida Gators in a highly anticipated match-up at Reed Arena. First serve is set for 4 p.m., and all fans wearing pink to the match can purchase tickets at the entrance for only $3.
  • The Aggies are currently accepting donations for their "Dig Pink" initiative and encourage fans to visit their online fund raiser page, https://giving.side-out.org/campaigns/11634. All funds raised will be donated to The Side-Out Foundation and applied toward a clinical trial specifically for patients with Stage 4 breast cancer, the most advanced form of the disease and the least funded area of research.
 
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.