Texas A&M Hosts League-Leader, Undefeated Missouri

Wednesday, October 26

College Station

8:00 PM

Texas A&M

Missouri

Buy Tickets

Oct 25, 2016 | Volleyball

Complete Match Notes (PDF)

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

Texas A&M (12-7, 6-2 SEC) vs. Missouri (18-3, 9-0 SEC)
Wednesday, October 26, 8 p.m.
Reed Arena, College Station, Texas

TV: ESPNU (Tiffany Greene, play-by-play; Maria Taylor, analyst)
Stats: 12thMan.com/live
Twitter Updates: @AggieVolleyball

Promotions: "Way Back Wednesday"

The first 100 fans receive a clear-bag fanny pack
Aggie photo booth on the concourse

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M aims to play the spoiler Wednesday at Reed Arena when the Aggies play host to the Missouri Tigers, who are riding a 13-match win streak and are atop the Southeastern Conference standings with a 9-0 mark in league play. First serve is at 8 p.m., and the match will be nationally televised on ESPNU with Tiffany Greene and Maria Taylor calling the action.

The Aggies improved to 12-7 overall and 6-2 in SEC play and also gave Laurie Corbelli her 600th career victory as a head coach, including her 500th victory at the helm of the Aggies by coming back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat Georgia, 3-2 (20-25, 25-17, 21-25, 26-24, 15-7), Friday at the Ramsey Center in Athens, Georgia.

Missouri (18-3, 9-0 SEC) became the only remaining undefeated team in SEC play and took over sole possession of first place in the conference standings after holding off previously undefeated and then-No. 21 Kentucky, 3-2 (25-21, 28-26, 16-25, 22-25, 15-12) on Sunday at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Missouri.

A&M-MISSOURI ALL-TIME SERIES

Texas A&M has won the last four meetings and owns a 29-13 lead against Missouri in the all-time series which began in 1981.
A&M is 17-3 against the Tigers in matches played in College Station.
A&M holds a 5-2 edge in match-ups as SEC foes.
The teams last met Nov. 25, 2015, with SEC championship implications on the line for both teams. Texas A&M, which entered the match riding a 12-match winning streak, needed to defeat Missouri to clinch its first-ever conference championship. The Tigers, who were entering the match 10-0 on their home court, the Hearnes Center, were in a must-win situation in order to stay in the hunt for at least a share of the championship title with one match remaining for each team. Missouri built a 2-1 lead in sets and had the momentum after going on a 3-0 run to take a 22-18 lead in the fourth set. Jazzmin Babers ended the Tigers' rally with a kill, and the Aggies went on to reel off seven unanswered points to close out the frame and force a fifth set. The Aggies took a 4-2 lead in the fifth set after a 3-0 run and never looked back. Kiara McGee later had two kills during another 3-0 surge that put the Aggies up, 10-6. Missouri cut the lead to 11-9 with a kill and a solo block before McGee ended the rally with a kill, and Emily Hardesty followed with a kill to the baseline to put A&M up, 13-10. Kira Larson countered with one of her team-high 17 kills to put the Tigers within 13-10, but Babers answered with her match-high 21st kill to put A&M at match point. The match ended on the next play as Julia Towler's attack was unable to clear the net, closing out a 19-25, 25-20, 25-27, 25-22, 15-10 victory for the Aggies.
The victory also completed a season series sweep for Texas A&M, which had defeated the Tigers, 3-0, in College Station on Nov. 4, 2015. All three sets were determined by the minimum two points (27-25, 25-23, 25-23).
Missouri's most recent victory against Texas A&M was a 25-17, 29-27, 25-20 win at Reed in 2013, the year the Tigers won the SEC with a perfect 18-0 record and finished 35-1 overall.
A&M has won seven of the last eight meetings.
In the 16 years as members of the Big 12 Conference, A&M led the conference series, 21-11, although Missouri closed out Big 12 play with three consecutive wins against the Aggies.
A&M's records/last 10 results vs. Missouri:

Overall: 29-13   H: 17-3   A: 10-9   N: 2-1   SEC: 5-2
Nov. 13, 2010        A          L          17-25, 23-25, 14-25
Sept. 24, 2011       A          L          25-23, 23-25, 24-26, 23-25
Nov. 12, 2011        H          W         25-17, 25-22, 25-20
Sept. 28, 2012       A          W         25-20, 23-25, 25-23, 25-17
Nov. 16, 2012        H          W         25-20, 18-25, 25-15, 25-15
Oct. 27, 2013        H          L          17-25, 27-29, 20-25
Nov. 2, 2014          A          W         17-25, 25-13, 25-13, 25-16
Nov. 23, 2014        H          W         25-15, 25-17, 25-12
Nov. 4, 2015          H          W         27-25, 25-23, 25-23
Nov. 25, 2015        A          W         19-25, 25-20, 25-27, 25-22, 15-10

TEXAS A&M QUICK HITS

Texas A&M, which has played 15 of its 19 matches away from home, is 2-2 in home matches, with wins being sweeps against both Auburn and South Carolina and both losses coming against ranked opponents—No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 9 Florida.
The loss to conference-foe Florida in the Aggies' most recent home match ended A&M's all-time school-record of 10 consecutive home conference wins, a streak that began Oct. 4, 2015.
The Aggies have won six of their last seven matches overall and are in fourth place in the SEC standings.
Texas A&M is coming off a match in which the Aggies set an all-time school record for hitting percentage in a five-set match, hitting .392 to overcome a 2-1 set deficit and defeat Georgia, 3-2, in Athens. It also was A&M's first five-set victory of the season, having entered the match 0-3 when going five sets.
The victory against the Bulldogs also marked the 600th victory of Laurie Corbelli's head coaching career, including her 500th victory in her 24th season at the helm of the Aggies.
In addition to playing its first 10 matches of the season 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. 2 Texas, No. 3 Minnesota and No. 4 Wisconsin. The other two preconference losses were against now-No. 11 Florida State and No. 19 Ohio State, who both escaped with 3-2 victories against the Aggies.
A&M is 18th in the nation in hitting percentage (.272), 20th in kills per set (14.22), 26th in blocks per set (2.64) and 39th in assists per set (13.09).
Texas A&M is 11-2 when leading in blocks and 0-5 when trailing in blocks.
The Aggies are 10-2 when winning the first set and improved to 2-5 when dropping the opening set after coming from behind to defeat Georgia.
In SEC matches only, A&M is second in the league in hitting percentage (.302) and opponent hitting percentage (.161), as well as second in assists (13.71) and kills (14.74) per set.
After going 7-0 in five-set matches last year, the Aggies are 1-3 in five setters this season.
Despite going 1-0 last week, A&M fell two spots to 39 in the NCAA RPI released on Monday.

SCOUTING MISSOURI

Missouri is 18-3 overall and atop the SEC with a 9-0 record after knocking off previously undefeated and 21st-ranked Kentucky, 3-2 (25-21, 28-26, 16-25, 22-25, 15-12), Sunday at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo.
It was the 13th consecutive victory for the Tigers, who are receiving votes and are listed 26th in the AVCA coaches poll.
Missouri is No. 16 in this week's NCAA RPI.
The Tigers are 7-1 in away matches this season with the only true road loss being a 3-0 setback at No. 10 BYU on Sept. 10. Since the loss to the Cougars, Missouri has won 13 consecutive matches.
Missouri is 5-0 at neutral sites and 6-2 in home matches.
Sophomore middle blocker Alyssa Munlyn is the reigning SEC Player of the Week and SEC Defensive Player of the Week after averaging 2.12 blocks per set in the Tigers' wins against LSU and Kentucky last week. She had 11 kills while hitting .421 and also had a match-high eight blocks in the win against the Wildcats.
Munlyn is eighth in the nation and second in the SEC with a .431 hitting efficiency, and she leads the conference with a .509 hitting percentage in SEC matches only.
In the match against the Wildcats, Missouri was playing without outside hitter Melanie Crow, who leads the team with 3.74 kills and 4.54 points per set. She also leads the team as well as the SEC with 0.50 aces per set for the full season.
Missouri is second in the SEC with 2.94 blocks and 1.35 aces per set in conference matches only.
For the full season, the Tigers are fourth in the league and 21st in the nation with a .270 hitting percentage, and they are third in conference and 25th in the nation with 2.65 blocks per set.
Wayne Kreklow is 249-125 in his 12th season as head coach of the Tigers.

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 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 61-21 in SEC matches since joining the league in 2012.
The Aggies, who went 8-1 in SEC home matches and 8-1 in SEC away matches in 2015, are 30-10 all-time in SEC home matches and 31-11 all-time in SEC away matches.
Texas A&M, 2-1 in SEC home matches, has won four consecutive SEC road matches and is 4-1 overall in conference away matches. The Aggies opened SEC play with a 3-2 setback at Alabama but defeated LSU, Arkansas and Ole Miss during a three-match road swing earlier this month.
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.

AGGIE PLAYER NOTABLES

Junior setter Stephanie Aiple had 46 assists in the victory against Georgia, giving her 2,990 career assists and moving her into eighth place in the A&M all-time career records. She surpassed Chris Zogata, who had 2,962 from 1983-86. Aiple needs 109 more assists to jump Kari Kelley (2002-05) for seventh place.
In the win against Georgia, Aiple directed the Aggie offense to a .392 hitting efficiency, the highest hitting performance in a five-set match in school history. Five players had double-figure kills as A&M also posted the highest hitting percentage in a five-set match by an SEC team this season.
Aiple is fifth in the SEC and 39th in the nation with 10.69 assists per set.
Aiple, the reigning SEC Player of the Year, is tied for fifth in the SEC with 10.68 assists per set in conference matches only.
Redshirt senior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers, who averages 1.23 blocks per set over her career, needs only 18 more blocks assists to become Texas A&M's all-time career leader in blocks assists.
Babers currently ranks third in the career records with 439 block assists and needs 13 more to pass former All-American Amber Woolsey, who had 451 from 1996-99. Cindy Lothspeich is the current record holder with 456 from 1994-97.
Babers also is third in the A&M career record books with 498 total blocks and needs 51 more total blocks to surpass Woolsey and 55 more to break the school record of 552 held by Lothspeich.
Babers had 10 kills against Arkansas on Oct. 5, giving her 1,003 for her career. Babers, who now has 1,042 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 is fifth in career points with 1,322.5 (since rally scoring began in 2001).
Babers has started every match of her career (111).
Babers leads the Aggies and is fourth in the SEC with a .374 hitting percentage for the full season. She is sixth in the league with a .400 hitting efficiency in SEC matches only.
Sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake, who has led or tied for the team lead in blocks in 17 of 19 matches, leads the SEC and is eighth in the nation with 1.52 blocks per set.
Blake is fourth in the SEC with a 1.29 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 has twice been named SEC Player of the Week this season. She has earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors once and also is a one-time SEC Offensive Player of the Week this season.
In the most recent outing, Blake led the Aggies with a career-high 16 kills while also hitting a personal-best .538 in the five-set victory over Georgia.
Junior outside hitter Kiara McGee leads the Aggies with 3.16 kills and 3.41 points per set for the full season while hitting .248.
In SEC matches only, McGee leads A&M with 3.23 kills and 3.42 points per set and is third among starters with a .292 hitting efficiency.
McGee has led or tied for the team lead in kills in a team-high 10 matches.
McGee is tied with freshman outside hitter Hollann Hans for the team lead with 11 double-figure kill performances.
Hans leads A&M with two double-doubles for the full season, having posted back-to-back double-double performances (kills and digs) against then-No. 2 Texas and No. 6 Wisconsin.
Hans is second on the team with 2.84 kills per set and third with 3.25 points per set for the full season. The rookie also is second on the team with 3.04 kills and 3.41 points per set in conference matches only.
Junior libero Amy Nettles, who has received the team's best defensive player award each of the last two seasons, has 957 career digs and needs only 43 more to become the 21st 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 14 matches this season.
Nettles leads A&M and is sixth in the SEC with 3.94 digs per set in conference matches only.
For the full season, Nettles leads A&M and is eighth in the league with 3.48 digs per set.
Nettles has posted double-figure digs in a team-leading 13 matches this season, including in each of the last five matches.
Nettles has record 20 or more digs in each of the last two matches and three times overall this season.
Nettles has appeared in a team-leading 241 consecutive sets, a streak which began Oct. 15, 2014, of her freshman campaign.
Nettles, Babers, Blake and McGee have played in all 69 sets this season.
Sophomore defensive specialist Amy Houser has had two aces in each of the last three matches and leads A&M with 0.26 aces per set in SEC matches only.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

The Aggies close out the month with a re-match against South Carolina on Sunday, Oct. 30 in Columbia. First serve is at 3 p.m. (CT) at the Carolina Volleyball Center, and the match will be televised on the SEC Network. A&M swept the Gamecocks, 25-6, 25-15, 25-18, when the teams met just over two weeks ago at Reed Arena.
Following the match at South Carolina, the Aggies begin a season-high four-match homestand, starting with a Nov. 3 rematch against Alabama, which defeated A&M in the Aggies' SEC opener.

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.