Texas A&M Battles No. 9 Florida; Corbelli Goes for Career Victory No. 600/500

Sunday, October 16

College Station

4:00 PM

Texas A&M

Florida

Buy Tickets

Oct 15, 2016 | Volleyball

Complete Match Notes (PDF)

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

Texas A&M (11-6, 5-1 SEC) vs. No. 9 Florida (15-2, 5-1 SEC)
Sunday, October 16, 4 p.m.
Reed Arena, College Station, Texas

TV: SEC Network (Paul Sunderland and Missy Whittemore)
Stats: 12thMan.com/live
Twitter Updates: @AggieVolleyball

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Texas A&M aims to build on its season-high five-match win streak and also give head coach Laurie Corbelli the 600th win of her head coaching career as well as her 500th victory at Texas A&M as the Aggies play host to No. 9 Florida, Sunday at Reed Arena. First serve of the highly anticipated showdown is at 4 p.m., and the match will be televised on SEC Network with Paul Sunderland and Missy Whittemore calling the action.

Texas A&M and Florida are both 5-1 in Southeastern Conference matches and tied for third in the league standings behind Kentucky (7-0) and Missouri (6-0). The Aggies won their fifth consecutive match and improved to 11-6 overall after cruising to a 25-6, 25-15, 25-18 victory against South Carolina, Friday at Reed Arena. Meanwhile, Florida won its third consecutive match and improved to 15-2 overall with a 25-15, 25-20, 25-11 victory at LSU on Friday.

Texas A&M and Florida most recently met last year in College Station in the Aggies' regular season home finale. Texas A&M posted an epic come-from-behind victory against the Gators, overcoming an 0-2 set deficit to win the match 3-2 (20-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-22, 15-11) on Senior Day. It was Florida's first-ever loss in the all-time series against the Aggies, who went on to win their first conference championship.

DIG PINK PROMOTIONS

In conjunction with October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the contest is the Aggies' annual "Dig Pink" match. Several special promotions are slated:
Fans wearing pink to the match can purchase tickets at the entrance for only $3;
The first 300 fans will be given a free Dig Pink shirt.
Anyone wearing pink will receive a free pink lemonade;
Up to four kids are admitted free with the purchase of one regular-priced adult ticket;
"Kids' Court" will be open at the volleyball practice gym prior to first serve. Activities include arts and crafts, games, volleyball and more.

CORBELLI NEARING 600/500 WINS

Texas A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli, the reigning SEC and AVCA South Region coach of the year, is quickly closing in on the 600th victory in her head coaching career and the 500th win in her A&M coaching career, needing just one more victory to reach each of the milestones.
Corbelli, the winningest coach in Texas A&M history, is 499-234 in her 24th season as head coach of the Aggies and 599-340 in the 31st year of her head coaching career.
Corbelli was 100-106 in her head coaching career when she was hired at Texas A&M in 1993 by then Texas A&M Athletics Director John David Crow. Prior to A&M, she had spent four seasons at the University of San Francisco (1986-89) and three seasons at Santa Clara (1990-92).
Corbelli's first career victory was Sept. 6, 1986, as the USF Lady Dons defeated Weber State, 3-1.
Her first win as head coach of the Aggies was a sweep against Cal State Fullerton on Sept. 3, 1993, at the Dan Gamel Invitational in Fresno, Calif.
Other career milestone victories for Corbelli:

#100         SCU d. Pepperdine   3-1          Nov. 21, 1992
#200         A&M d. Cal              3-0          Sept. 19, 1997
#300         A&M d. Texas          3-1          Oct. 6, 2001
#400         A&M d. Loyola         3-0          Sept. 8, 2006
#500         A&M d. Texas State 3-0          Aug. 24, 2012

TEXAS A&M IN THE SEC

Texas A&M has won 10 consecutive SEC home matches since dropping its 2015 SEC home opener against Arkansas.
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 this year opened SEC play on the road for the first time and fell to Alabama, 3-2, is in its fifth season as a member of the SEC.
The Aggies are 60-20 in SEC matches since joining the league in 2012.
Texas A&M is 2-0 in SEC home matches this season, having swept both Auburn (26-24, 25-18, 25-19) on Sept. 25 and South Carolina (25-6, 25-15, 25-18) on Friday, Oct. 14.
The Aggies, who went 8-1 in SEC home matches and 8-1 in SEC away matches in 2015, are 30-9 all-time in SEC home matches and 30-11 all-time in SEC away 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 2016 Preseason All-SEC Team.
Sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake is the reigning SEC Player of the Week and SEC Offensive Player of the Week after leading Texas A&M with a .463 hitting percentage, 3.29 kills, 1.43 blocks, 0.29 aces and 4.43 points per set in wins at both Arkansas and Ole Miss last week.

A&M-FLORIDA ALL-TIME SERIES

Florida is 11-1 against the Aggies since the all-time series began in 1988.
Florida is 5-1 against A&M in SEC matches only, with all three meetings at Reed Arena being decided in five sets, and all three matches in Gainesville resulting in three-set sweeps for the host Gators.
Until A&M's thrilling comeback victory last year in College Station, Florida was the only team in the SEC that A&M had never defeated.
Florida is the only SEC team in which the Aggies have a losing record in the all-time series.
The Gators are 4-1 all-time in College Station, dating back to 1989.
A&M all-time records/results vs. Florida:

Overall: 1-11    H: 1-4   A: 0-6    N: 0-1    SEC: 1-5
Oct. 28, 1988      A          L          17-15, 9-15, 3-15, 6-15
Sept. 7, 1989       H          L          15-10, 13-15, 12-15, 8-15
Sept. 25, 1992      A          L          7-15, 8-15, 3-15
Sept. 19, 1993      H          L          6-15, 15-12, 7-15, 8-15
Dec. 7, 1995       A          L          4-15, 13-15, 4-15
Sept. 9, 2005        N          L          28-30, 30-19, 24-30, 26-30
Oct. 21, 2012         H          L          25-14, 27-25, 23-25, 23-25, 6-15
Oct. 4, 2013          A          L          9-25, 23-25, 17-25
Nov.   3, 2013        H          L          26-24, 23-25, 8-25, 26-24, 14-16
Oct. 12, 2014         A          L          12-25, 23-25, 17-25
Oct. 9, 2015          A          L          25-9, 25-23, 25-18
Nov. 22, 2015       H          W         20-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-22, 15-11

TEXAS A&M QUICK HITS

The Aggies are 2-1 in home matches, including 2-0 in home SEC matches. Texas A&M fell to now-No. 1 Wisconsin in the home season opener on Sept. 16 and swept both Auburn and South Carolina.
Texas A&M's current five-match win streak is the Aggies' longest winning streak of the season. Texas A&M had won four consecutive matches in early September.
During the current streak, A&M is outhitting its opponents, .326 to .099, and leads in kills (15.12 to 10.65), assists (14.06 to 9.88), digs (16.06 to 12.06) and blocks (2.76 to 1.68) per set.
The Aggies' match against Florida marks only the fourth time in 18 matches this season that Texas A&M is playing at home. It also marks the first time Texas A&M has had consecutive home matches this season, after having also played host to South Carolina Gamecocks on Friday.
In addition to playing its first 10 matches on the road, Texas A&M's grueling preconference schedule, included 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 losses to current No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 3 Minnesota and No. 4 Texas. The other two preconference losses were against now-No. 15 Florida State and No. 19 Ohio State, who both escaped with 3-2 victories against the Aggies.
Texas A&M leads the SEC with 14.15 kills per set for the full season
In SEC matches only, A&M leads the league with a .127 opponent hitting percentage and is second in hitting percentage (.312) and assists (13.68), kills (14.77) and digs (15.05) per set.
A&M moved up one spot to 36 in the NCAA RPI released on Monday.
Seven of A&M's 11 preconference opponents entered the week listed 75 or higher in this week's NCAA RPI, including No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 2 Texas and No. 4 Minnesota.
After going 7-0 in five-set matches last year, the Aggies are 0-3 in five setters this season.
Texas A&M returns 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. Laurie Corbelli, in her 24th season as head coach of the Aggies, also welcomed eight freshmen as well as a redshirt freshman.
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

Junior setter Stephanie Aiple is fifth in the SEC with 10.69 assists per set for the full season while directing the Aggie offense to a league-leading 14.15 kills per set.
Aiple has 2,894 career assists, ranking ninth in the A&M career records. She needs 69 more assists move into sole possession of eighth place, surpassing Chris Zogata, who had 2,962 from 1983-86.
Aiple, the reigning SEC Player of the Year, ranks sixth in the SEC with 10.68 assists per set in conference matches only.
During Texas A&M's five-match win streak, Aiple is averaging 10.75 assists per set while directing a balanced A&M offense that is hitting .326 with all five attackers averaging at least 2.1 kills per set. Aiple herself is averaging 1.35 kills and 1.85 points per set and is hitting .364 over the last five matches.
Redshirt senior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers had 10 kills against Arkansas on Oct. 5, giving her 1,003 for her career. Babers, who now has 1,020 career kills, became the 17th player in program history to join the 1,000-kills club and the first player to reach the milestone since 2012, when middle blocker Lindsey Miller finished her four-year career with 1,025.
Babers had three blocks against South Carolina to give her 490 total blocks for her career, moving her into a tie with former two-time All-American Sherri Brinkman (1983-85) for third place in the A&M career records for total blocks.
Babers also is third in the A&M career records for block assists with 431 and tied for fifth in career points with 1,296.5 (since rally scoring began in 2001).
Babers has started every match of her career (109).
Babers leads the Aggies and is fifth in the SEC with a .363 hitting percentage for the full season. She is eighth in the league with a .377 hitting efficiency in SEC matches only.
Sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake, who has led or tied for the team lead in blocks in 15 of 17 matches, entered the week ranked third in the nation with 1.61 blocks per set. She currently averages 1.58 blocks per set for the full season to lead the SEC.
Blake is second in the SEC with a 1.36 block average in conference matches only,
Blake, an all-tournament selection at both the North Texas Challenge and the Puerto Rico Clásico, 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's 13 blocks against North Texas ranks fourth in the nation for most blocks in a four-set match this season.
Blake was named both the SEC Player of the Week and the SEC Defensive Player of the Week for the first time 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 had received either accolade.
Junior outside hitter Kiara McGee leads the Aggies with 3.20 kills and 3.46 points per set while hitting .268 for the full season
In SEC matches only, McGee leads A&M and is seventh in the conference with a .377 hitting efficiency while also averaging a team-best 3.36 kills per set.
McGee has led or tied for the team lead in kills in a team-high nine matches.
McGee is tied with freshman Hollann Hans for the team lead with nine double-figure kill performances.
Hans leads A&M and is 15th in the SEC with 3.61 points per set in conference matches only. She is second on the team with 3.21 kills per set in SEC matches and 3.29 kills per set for the full season.
Hans also leads A&M with two double-doubles for the full season, having posted back-to-back double-double performances against then-No. 2 Texas and No. 6 Wisconsin.
Junior libero Amy Nettles, who has received the team's best defensive player award each of the last two seasons, has 916 career digs and needs only 84 more to become the 21^st player in Texas A&M history to join the 1,000-digs club.
Nettles has led or tied for the team lead in digs in a team-high 12 matches this season.
Nettles leads A&M and is eighth in the SEC with 3.68 digs per set in conference matches only.
For the full season, Nettles leads A&M and is ninth in the league with 3.32 digs per set.
Nettles has posted double-figure digs in a team-leading 11 matches this season, including each of the last three.
Nettles, Babers, Blake and McGee have played in all 60 sets this season.
Nettles, has appeared in 232 consecutive sets, a streak which began Oct. 15, 2014.

SCOUTING FLORIDA

Florida is 15-2 overall, 5-1 in SEC matches, and riding a three-match win streak after sweeping LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Friday.
Florida was picked to finish second in the SEC according to a preseason poll of the league's head coaches. The Gators received five first-place votes.
The Gators entered the week leading the nation with a .332 hitting efficiency.
Individually, setter Allie Monserez entered the week leading the nation with 12.30 assists per set, and 6-8 freshman middle blocker Rachael Kramer sported a nation-leading .538 hitting efficiency.
Florida enters the A&M match leading the SEC in hitting efficiency (.331), assists (13.33) and blocks (2.84) per set for the full season.
In conference matches only, the Gators lead the league with 2.90 blocks per set.
Florida's only conference loss was a 3-0 home loss to Kentucky, and the Gators' other loss was a 3-1 setback to then-No. 1 Nebraska in the season opener.
The only non-conference opponent both Florida and A&M have faced is Florida State. The Gators defeated the Seminoles 3-1 on Sept. 14 at Florida State, and Texas A&M fell to then-No. 16 FSU, 3-2, on Sept. 1 in Puerto Rico.
Mary Wise is 782-97 her 26th season as head coach at Florida and 863-160 in the 30th season of her head coaching career.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Texas A&M takes on Georgia (13-7, 1-6 SEC) on Friday, Oct. 21 at the Ramsey Center in Athens, Georgia. First serve is at 6 p.m. CT, and the match will be streamed on SEC Network +, available on WatchESPN and the ESPN app.
A&M is 5-0 against the Bulldogs since joining the SEC.

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.