Texas A&M Begins Second Half of SEC Play Sunday at South Carolina

Sunday, October 30

Columbia, S.C.

3:00 PM

Texas A&M

South Carolina

Oct 28, 2016 | Volleyball

Complete Match Notes (PDF)

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

Texas A&M (13-7, 7-2 SEC) vs. South Carolina (14-6, 2-6 SEC entering match vs. LSU)
Sunday, October 30, 3 p.m. (4 p.m. ET)
Carolina Volleyball Center

TV: SEC Network (Sam Gore and Holly McPeak)
Stats: 12thMan.com/live
Twitter Updates: @AggieVolleyball

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – After handing Missouri its first Southeastern Conference loss on Wednesday to cap the first half of league play, Texas A&M begins the second half of the conference slate at South Carolina on Sunday. First serve is at 3 p.m. (4 p.m. ET) at the Carolina Volleyball Center in Columbia. The match will be televised on the SEC Network with Sam Gore and Holly McPeak calling the action.

Texas A&M (13-7, 7-2 SEC) enters the match against the Gamecocks having won seven of its last eight matches, including a 3-0 (25-6, 25-15, 25-18) victory against South Carolina just over two weeks ago in College Station. The Aggies also enter the match coming off their biggest win of the season thus far, staying in the hunt for the conference title by knocking off Missouri, 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-23) at Reed Arena on Wednesday. The Tigers had entered the match atop the SEC standings with a 9-0 mark in league play and riding a 13-match win streak.

South Carolina is 14-6 overall, including 2-6 in SEC matches entering a Friday night home match against LSU. Most recently, the Gamecocks suffered a 3-0 (25-11, 25-20, 31-29) loss to then-No. 21 Kentucky on Oct. 21 in Lexington.

TEXAS A&M-SOUTH CAROLINA ALL-TIME SERIES

Texas A&M has won the last four meetings against South Carolina and leads the all-time series, 8-1, including 6-1 in SEC matches only.
A&M is 4-1 in matches played in Columbia.
The last two meetings in Columbia have gone five sets with A&M overcoming a 2-1 deficit in each of the matches to get the victory.
South Carolina's only win in the series was Oct. 6, 2013, as the Gamecocks upset A&M, 25-23, 25-20, 20-25, 25-23, in Columbia.
Texas A&M and South Carolina will have played only three matches each since the teams last met on Oct. 14 at Reed Arena in College Station.
The Aggies led the most recent meeting from start to finish, defeating the Gamecocks, 25-6, 25-15, 25-18, to improve to 4-0 against South Carolina in College Station, with all four victories occurring in three-set sweeps.
A&M hit .652 while holding South Carolina to a .000 hitting efficiency in the opening set. The Gamecocks' six points in the first set tied the A&M record for fewest points allowed in a non-fifth set, first accomplished in a 25-22, 25-6, 25-18 sweep against South Carolina in the final match of the 2013 regular season and tied earlier this season in a 3-1 victory at LSU.
The Gamecocks' 39 total points, 27 kills and 27 assists in the match are the fewest by an A&M opponent this season, and their one ace ties for the season low by an Aggie opponent.
Outside hitters Kiara McGee and Hollann Hans tied for match-high honors in kills with 11 apiece while hitting .348 and .333, respectively. Setter Stephanie Aiple had 30 assists as A&M hit a season-high .404 while holding the Gamecocks to a .088 hitting efficiency. Junior defensive specialist Gabby Litwin had a season-high 10 digs, tying libero Amy Nettles for match-high honors, and sophomore defensive specialist Amy Houser led all players and tied her career high with two aces. Middle blockers Jazzmin Babers and Kaitlyn Blake tied for match-high honors with three blocks.
Dessaa Legros led the Gamecocks with seven kills while hitting .353
A&M's all-time records/results vs. South Carolina:

H: 4-0    A: 4-1    N: 0-0    SEC: 6-1
Oct. 10, 1993            A             W            15-7, 15-8, 15-7
Dec. 3, 1995              H             W            15-6, 17-15, 15-12
Oct. 5, 2012               H             W            25-12, 25-16, 25-16
Oct. 28, 2012            A             W            25-19, 25-16, 25-23
Oct. 6, 2013               A             L              23-25, 20-25, 25-20, 23-25
Nov. 27, 2013           H             W            25-22, 25-6, 25-18
Oct. 19, 2014            A             W            25-21, 23-25, 19-25, 25-12, 15-13
Oct. 11, 2015            A             W            27-29, 25-23, 22-25, 25-21, 15-4
Oct. 14, 2016            H             W            25-6, 25-15, 25-18

TEXAS A&M QUICK HITS

Texas A&M has played 15 of its 20 matches away from home and is 7-2 in true away contests and 3-3 at neutral sites.
The Aggies have won four consecutive away matches and are 4-1 overall in SEC road matches with the only loss being a 3-2 setback at Alabama in the SEC season opener.
Texas A&M has won two consecutive matches and seven of its last eight matches overall.
The Aggies enter the weekend in fourth place in the SEC standings behind Missouri, Kentucky and Florida, who all enter the weekend with only one conference loss.
Texas A&M plays the three league leaders only one time each this season. The Aggies fell to then-No. 9 Florida, 3-1, on Oct. 16 in College Station and defeated Missouri, 3-1, on Oct. 26. Texas A&M faces No. 22 Kentucky on Nov. 20 in Lexington.
Texas A&M's most recent road trip was Oct. 21 to Georgia, where the Aggies set an all-time school record for hitting percentage in a five-set match. A&M hit .392 to overcome a 2-1 set deficit and defeat the Bulldogs, 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 and husband John Corbelli's 500th victory in their 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 enters the weekend 13th in the nation in kills per set (14.29) and 19th in hitting percentage (.269).
Texas A&M is 12-2 when leading in blocks and 0-5 when trailing in blocks.
The Aggies have lost the first set in each of the last three matches. During the stretch, A&M suffered a 3-1 loss to No. 9 Florida after dropping the first set but managed to come back to defeat both Georgia and Missouri.
A&M is 10-2 when winning the first set and improved to 3-5 when dropping the opening set after coming from behind to defeat the Bulldogs and Tigers.
In SEC matches only, A&M is second in the league in hitting percentage (.291) and assists (13.83) and kills (14.83) per set.
After going 7-0 in five-set matches last year, the Aggies are 1-3 in five setters this season.
A&M is 39th in the NCAA RPI released on Monday.
At No. 16, Missouri is the highest ranked team in the RPI that A&M has defeated this season.

SCOUTING SOUTH CAROLINA

South Carolina is 14-6 overall and 2-6 in SEC entering a home match against LSU on Friday.
Most recently, the Gamecocks fell to No. 21 Kentucky, 3-0 (25-11, 25-20, 31-29), on Oct. 21 in Lexington.
Entering the LSU match, South Carolina has lost five of its last six matches. The one victory was at LSU, 3-1, on Oct. 16.
Against Kentucky, freshman right side/outside hitter Mikayla Shields led the Gamecocks with 12 kills while hitting at a .393 clip.
Shield leads South Carolina with 2.62 kills per set in SEC matches only.
Freshman right side/outside hitter Alicia Starr leads the team and is 11th in the SEC with a .337 hitting efficiency in conference matches.
South Carolina is picked to finish 11th in the SEC according to a preseason vote of the league's coaches.
The Gamecocks return four starters plus the libero from last year's team that went 13-18 overall and tied for 10th in the SEC with a 6-12 conference ledger.
South Carolina won all 12 of its pre-conference matches before suffering its first loss in its SEC opener, a 3-0 defeat at Missouri.
Scott Swanson (Arizona State, 1995) enters the LSU contest 138-148 in the 11th season of his head coaching career and 88-87 in the sixth season at the helm of the Gamecocks.

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 62-21 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 31-10 all-time in SEC home matches and 31-11 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.

AGGIE PLAYER NOTABLES

Redshirt senior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers, who averages 1.23 blocks per set over her career, needs only 11 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 446 block assists and needs six more to pass former All-American and second-place 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 505 total blocks and needs 43 more total blocks to surpass Woolsey and 48 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 1,051 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.
Babers is fifth in career points with 1,335.5 (since rally scoring began in 2001).
Babers has started every match of her career (112).
Babers leads the Aggies and is ninth in the SEC with a .361 hitting percentage in conference matches only. She is second on the team and seventh in the nation with a .358 hitting efficiency for the full season.
Babers also is second on the team and seventh in the league with 1.17 blocks per set in SEC matches.
Junior setter Stephanie Aiple, who moved into eighth place in the A&M career records for assists in the Georgia match last week, needs only 58 more assists to move into seventh place, surpassing Kari Kelley, who had 3,098 from 2002-05.
Aiple has tallied 50 or more assists in a match five times this season, including in two of the last three matches.
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 33rd in the nation with 10.79 assists per set.
Aiple, the reigning SEC Player of the Year, also is fifth in the SEC with 10.89 assists per set in conference matches only.
Sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake, who has led or tied for the team lead in blocks in 17 of 20 matches, leads the SEC and is 11th in the nation with 1.48 blocks per set.
Blake is sixth in the SEC with a 1.23 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.
Against Georgia last week, Blake led the Aggies with a career-high 16 kills while also hitting a personal-best .538 in the five-set victory. It is the highest hitting percentage (minimum 10 kills) by an A&M player in an SEC match this season
Junior outside hitter Kiara McGee leads the Aggies with 3.21 kills and 3.45 points per set for the full season while hitting .240.
In SEC matches only, McGee leads A&M with 3.31 kills and 3.50 points per set.
McGee has led or tied for the team lead in kills in a team-high 11 matches.
McGee, who has posted double-figure kills in a team-leading five consecutive matches, is tied with freshman outside hitter Hollann Hans for the team lead with 12 double-figure kill performances overall.
Hans is tied with Aiple for the team lead 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 2.83 kills per set and third with 3.24 points per set for the full season. The rookie also is second on the team with 3.00 kills and 3.38 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 974 career digs and needs only 26 more to become the 21st player in Texas A&M history to join the 1,000-digs club.
Nettles, who celebrated her 21st birthday on Friday, has led or tied for the team lead in digs in a team-high 15 matches this season.
Nettles leads A&M and is tied for sixth in the SEC with 3.97 digs per set in conference matches only.
For the full season, Nettles leads A&M and is eighth in the league with 3.52 digs per set.
Nettles has posted double-figure digs in a team-leading 14 matches this season, including in each of the last six matches.
Nettles has record 20 or more digs in two of the last three matches and three times overall this season.
Nettles has appeared in a team-leading 245 consecutive sets, a streak which began Oct. 15, 2014, of her freshman campaign.
Nettles, Babers, Blake and McGee have played in all 73 sets this season.
Sophomore defensive specialist Amy Houser, who has played in every set in each of the last 10 matches, drew her first start of the season against Missouri.
Houser leads A&M with eight aces and 0.23 aces per set in SEC matches. For the full season, she leads the team with 0.17 aces per set and is tied for the team lead with 10 total aces overall.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

The Aggies, who have played only five home matches this season, begin a season-high four-match homestand on Thursday, Nov. 3 with a rematch against Alabama, which defeated A&M in the Aggies' SEC season opener. First serve is at 6 p.m. at Reed Arena, and the match will be televised on SEC Network.
Texas A&M continues the homestand against Tennessee (Nov. 6), Mississippi State (Nov. 11) and Georgia (Nov. 13).

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