Preview: Texas A&M Aims to Extend Winning Streak as Aggies Host Tennessee

Texas A&M (15-7, 9-2 SEC) vs. Tennessee (15-9, 5-6 SEC)
Sunday, November 6, 1:30 p.m.
Reed Arena
 
Video: SEC Network + (WatchESPN)
Stats: 12thMan.com/live
Twitter Updates: @AggieVolleyball
 
Promotions: "Superhero Day"

• It will be Superhero Day at Reed, and fans are encouraged to come dressed as their favorite superhero for chances to win Aggie Superman shirts and gear.
• Fans also will have chances to win Aggie gear and more by playing volleyball bingo. Bingo cards will be available at the marketing kiosk on the concourse. 
• Every Sunday is "Funday" at Reed Arena. Up to four kids are admitted free with the purchase of one regular-priced adult ticket for that day's match.
• All kids are invited to attend the prematch Superhero Zone in the volleyball practice gym. Activities include a Spiderman Velcro wall, a Flash bungee run, a superhero bounce house and superhero arts and crafts.

 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas –Texas A&M aims to record its fifth consecutive victory as well as its ninth win in the last 10 matches when the Aggies play host to Tennessee on Sunday at Reed Arena. First serve is at 1:30 p.m., and the match will be streamed on SEC Network + (WatchESPN) with Casey Richardson and Chelsea Reber calling the action.
 
Texas A&M (15-7, 9-2 SEC) remains in the hunt for its second consecutive SEC championship after defeating Alabama, 3-1 (25-20, 18-25, 27-25, 25-16) on Thursday at Reed Arena. The victory avenged a conference season-opening loss at Alabama on Sept. 23, and it kept the Aggies within 1 ½ games of Florida, Missouri and Kentucky, who all sit atop the standings with 11-1 records in league play.
 
Tennessee (15-9, 5-6 SEC), which has lost the last five meetings against the Aggies, had its two-match win streak snapped and suffered only its second home loss of the season with a 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-17, 25-20) setback to Missouri on Friday at Thompson-Boling Arena.
 
A&M-TENNESSEE ALL-TIME SERIES

• Although Texas A&M has won the last five matches, the Aggies hold only a narrow 7-6 lead in the all-time series against the Volunteers.
• A&M leads, 5-1, in SEC matches only and has swept Tennessee in each of the last four meetings.
• A&M is 3-2 against the Volunteers in College Station, including 2-1 in SEC matches.
• Tennessee's most recent victory against the Aggies was Oct. 19, 2012, at Reed Arena in the teams' first meeting as SEC foes.
• In the most recent meeting (Nov. 1, 2015),  four Texas A&M players recorded double-digit kills as the Aggies posted a 25-14, 25-23, 25-18 victory against Tennessee at Thompson-Boling Arena. A&M's Jazzmin Babers had a team-high 11 kills against the Volunteers to tie for match-high honors. Kiara McGee pitched in 10 kills, as did Shelby Sullivan and Emily Hardesty, who were both errorless in a combined 51 swings. Stephanie Aiple orchestrated the balanced attack with 38 assists, and A&M outhit the Volunteers .296 to .147.
• Defensively, A&M's Victoria Arenas had 13 digs to tie libero teammate Amy Nettles for match-high honors. Gabby Litwin added eight digs, and Sullivan completed her stellar all-around game with a match-high five blocks.
• A&M's records/results vs. Tennessee:

Overall:  7-6    H:  3-2    A:  4-3    N:  0-1    SEC:  5-1
Nov. 12-13, 1982      A        L         8-15, 15-12, 16-14, 6-15, 8-15
Oct. 7, 1983             H        L         1-15, 13-15, 7-15
Oct. 14, 1983           N        L         12-15, 10-15, 14-16
Nov. 2, 1985             A        W       15-6, 15-6, 15-5
Oct. 31, 1987           A        L         14-16, 13-15, 9-15
Oct. 29, 1994           H        W       15-0, 15-4, 15-10
Dec. 4, 2004             A        L         21-30, 30-24, 23-30, 30-32
Oct. 19, 2012           H        L         21-25, 19-25, 21-25
Nov. 21, 2012           A        W       15-25, 25-22, 25-20, 27-29, 15-9
Nov. 15, 2013           H        W       25-17, 25-14, 25-10
Oct. 23, 2014           A        W       25-14, 25-21, 25-15
Nov. 16, 2014           H        W       25-21, 25-14, 25-23
Nov. 1, 2016             A        W       25-14, 25-23, 25-18
 
BABERS NEARING ALL-TIME BLOCK ASSISTS RECORD

• Senior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers needs only five block assists to tie and six block assists to break the Texas A&M all-time career record of 456 block assists held by Cindy Lothspeich (1994-97).
• Babers, who averages 0.96 blocks per set for the full season and 1.12 blocks per set in SEC matches only, had two block assists in the win against Alabama to give her 451 for her career, moving her into a tie with Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame member and former Aggie All-American middle blocker Amber Woolsey (1996-99) for second place in the career records.
• Babers is third in the A&M career records for total blocks with 511, and Woolsey is second with 547. Lothspeich holds the record with 552.
• Babers, who averages 1.23 blocks per set over her four-year career, has 60 block solos in her career and needs two more to move into the top 10 in the A&M career records.

 
GRAND MILESTONES

• Junior libero Amy Nettles not only notched her 1,000th career dig with her team-leading 18th and final dig in the victory against Alabama on Thursday, but her milestone dig also fell in for a kill to give the Aggies a 20-12 lead in the fourth and final set. Nettles became the 21st player in Texas A&M history to reach the 1,000 dig milestone.
• In the match at Arkansas earlier this season, senior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers surpassed 1,000 career kills, becoming the 17th A&M player to reach four-digit kills. She now has 1,071 kills, ranking 13th in the A&M career records.
• Junior setter Stephanie Aiple had 50 assists in the victory over Missouri on Oct. 26, pushing the reigning SEC Player of the Year past the 3,000 career assists mark. Aiple had 45 assists against Alabama on Thursday to give her 3,119 for her career, surpassing Kari Kelley (2002-05) for seventh place in the A&M all-time career records for assists.

 
VOTE FOR BABERS

• Earlier this week it was announced that senior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers is one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award.
• Fans are encouraged to vote daily via computer through December 5 on the seniorclass.com website to help select the winner.
• An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.

 
TEXAS A&M QUICK HITS

• Texas A&M had played only five home matches this season heading into the current four-match homestand.
• The Aggies are 4-2 at Reed Arena, with the two losses coming against now-No. 3 Wisconsin and No. 6 Florida.
• Texas A&M has won four consecutive matches and nine of its last 10 matches overall.
• A&M will equal its longest winning streak of the season with a victory against Tennessee.
• The Aggies are in fourth place in the SEC standings, only 1 ½ games behind Missouri, Kentucky and Florida, who are all tied for first place with identical 11-1 records in SEC matches.
• Texas A&M plays the current 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. 18 Kentucky on Nov. 20 in Lexington.
• Texas A&M entered the weekend ranked eighth in the nation in kills per set (14.40) and 19th in hitting percentage (.269).
• A&M leads the SEC with 14.40 kills per set for the full season.
• In SEC matches only, A&M leads the league in assists (13.95) and kills (14.95) per set and is second in the conference with a .286 hitting efficiency and 15.69 digs per set.
• A&M is 12-2 when winning the first set and 3-5 when dropping the opening set.
• After going 7-0 in five-set matches last year, the Aggies are 1-3 in five setters this season.
• A&M jumped 10 spots to No. 29 in the NCAA RPI released on Monday. The jump follows A&M's victory over Missouri. The Tigers had a No. 16 RPI at the time of the match, marking the highest ranked team in the RPI that A&M has defeated this season.
• The Aggies received votes in this week's AVCA Top 25 Poll and are listed 33rd.
• 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 Minnesota, No. 3 Wisconsin and No. 5 Texas. The other two preconference losses were against now-No. 10 Florida State and No. 22 Ohio State, who both escaped with 3-2 victories against the Aggies.

 
SCOUTING TENNESSEE

• Tennessee is 15-9 overall and in sixth place in the SEC standings with a 5-6 conference ledger.
• The Volunteers are 5-5 in away matches for the full season and 1-4 in away matches in SEC play only, with the one road victory being a 3-0 sweep Oct. 28 at Alabama, a team that defeated the Aggies, 3-2, in Tuscaloosa.
• Setter Sedona Hansen is the reigning SEC Freshman of the Week after averaging 12.50 assists per set in the Vols' two victories last week. Hansen is third in the league with 11.21 assists per set in conference matches.
• The Volunteers had recorded back-to-back three-set sweeps against both the Tide and Auburn last week, but they had their two-match win streak snapped with a 3-1 (25-18, 23-25, 25-17, 25-20) home loss to Missouri on Friday at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville.
• The Vols led Missouri in kills, 53-50, but Missouri outhit Tennessee, .287 to .193. The Tigers also tallied 11 blocks, while the Vols were unable to record a single block.
• Tessa Grubbs, a 6-3 freshman outside hitter, came off the bench and led the Vols with 12 kills, and sophomore middle hitter Erica Treiber added 10 in the loss to the Tigers.
• Grubbs leads the Vols and is seventh in the SEC with 3.59 kills and 4.05 points per set in conference matches only.
• Senior defensive specialist Bridgette Villano, who was leading the Vols with 3.21 digs per set in all matches, has been lost for the season after suffering a left knee injury two weeks ago.
• Tennessee is outhitting its opponents .267 to .190 for the full season and .244 to .223 in SEC matches only.
• Tennessee, which tied for eighth in the SEC standings last year, was picked to place ninth this year according to a preseason vote of the league's coaches.
• Rob Patrick (Miami (Ohio)) is 395-229 in his 20th season as head coach at Tennessee, where he has spent his entire head coaching career.

 
AGGIE PLAYER NOTABLES

• Senior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers has started every match of her career (114).
• Babers leads the Aggies and is seventh in the SEC with a .362 hitting percentage in conference matches only. She is second on the team and seventh in the SEC with a .367 hitting efficiency for the full season.
• Babers also is second on the team and eighth in the league with 1.12 blocks per set in SEC matches.
• Junior setter Stephanie Aiple has two double-doubles in the last three matches.
• Aiple, who is fourth in the SEC with 10.84 assists per set for the full season and 10.95 assists per set in conference matches only, has the A&M offense ranked first in the SEC in both team assists (13.95) and kills (14.95) per set.
• 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.
• Sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake, who has led or tied for the team lead in blocks in 19 of 22 matches, is 11th in the nation and second in the SEC with 1.48 blocks per set.
• Blake is fourth in the SEC with a 1.26 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.
• Junior outside hitter Kiara McGee leads the Aggies with 3.24 kills and 3.49 points per set for the full season while hitting .243.
• In SEC matches only, McGee leads A&M with 3.36 kills and 3.56 points per set while hitting .270.
• 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 seven consecutive matches, is tied with freshman outside hitter Hollann Hans for the team lead with 14 double-figure kill performances overall.
• Hans is tied with Aiple for the team lead with three double-doubles for the full season. Hans had two of her double-doubles (kills and digs) in back-to-back performances against then-No. 2 Texas and No. 6 Wisconsin.
• Hans, who had a career-high 16 kills in the win against Alabama, is second on the team with 2.92 kills per set and 3.35 points per set for the full season. The rookie also is second on the team with 3.13 kills and 3.54 points per set in conference matches only, ranking 15th in the league for points per set.
• Junior libero Amy Nettles, who has received the team's best defensive player award each of the last two seasons, has led or tied for the team lead in digs in a team-high 16 matches this season.
• Nettles leads A&M and is sixth in the SEC with 3.93 digs per set in conference matches only.
• For the full season, Nettles leads A&M and is eighth in the league with 3.54 digs per set.
• Nettles has posted double-figure digs in a team-leading 15 matches this season.
• Nettles has recorded 20 or more digs in two of the last five matches and three times overall this season.
• Nettles has appeared in a team-leading 252 consecutive sets, a streak which began Oct. 15, 2014, of her freshman campaign.
• Nettles, Babers, Blake and McGee have played in all 80 sets this season.
• Sophomore defensive specialist Amy Houser, who has played in every set in each of the last 12 matches, drew her first start of the season against Missouri.
• Houser, who had a career-high three aces in the 3-0 victory at South Carolina on Sunday, leads A&M with 11 aces and 0.26 aces per set in SEC matches. For the full season, she leads the team with 13 aces and a 0.20 average.

 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE

• Texas A&M concludes its four-match homestand next week with a pair of SEC matches. The Aggies play host to Mississippi State on Friday at 5 p.m. and then close out the homestand with a meeting against Georgia at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 13.
• A&M has only one home match remaining after next weekend's matches, as the Aggies host LSU on Wednesday, Nov. 23 (Thanksgiving Eve) at 6:30 p.m. It will be Senior Night, and A&M seniors Victoria Arenas, Jazzmin Babers, Emily Hardesty, Katelyn Labhart and Kaysie Shebeneck will be honored in a postmatch ceremony.

 
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.