VolleyballNovember 12, 2016

Texas A&M Closes Out Homestand Against Georgia

Texas A&M (17-7, 11-2 SEC) vs. Georgia (13-13, 1-12 SEC)

Texas A&M (17-7, 11-2 SEC) vs. Georgia (13-13, 1-12 SEC)
Sunday, Nov. 13, 1 p.m.
Reed Arena, College Station, Texas

Live stream: SEC Network + (WatchESPN)
Stats: 12thMan.com/live
Twitter Updates: @AggieVolleyball

Promotions:

Aggies CAN food drive: Donate four canned food items and get in free
Take a Kid to the Match: Get up to four kids in free with the purchase of one regular-priced adult ticket;
Bingo Sunday: pick up a bingo card at the 12th Man kiosk at the main entrance for chances to win Aggie gear.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Texas A&M closes out its four-match homestand Sunday as the Aggies play host to the Georgia Bulldogs. First serve is at 1 p.m. at Reed Arena, and the match will be streamed on SEC Network + (Watch ESPN) with Casey Richardson and Chelsea Reber calling the action.

Texas A&M, 17-7 overall and 11-2 in SEC matches, is riding a season-high six-match win streak and has won 11 of its last 12 matches. The Aggies are in fourth place in the SEC standings with five matches remaining, including only one more home match after Sunday.

Most recently, sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake led the Aggies to a 27-25, 29-27, 25-20 victory over Mississippi State on Friday at Reed with 13 kills and a career-high .632 hitting percentage (min. 10 kills), the highest hitting percentage by an A&M player this season. It was A&M's seventh sweep in seven all-time meetings against MSU.

Georgia is 13-13 overall and 1-12 in SEC matches and has lost its last eight matches, including a narrow 3-2 loss to A&M on Oct. 21 in Athens, as well as a 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-10) loss at LSU on Friday.

TEXAS A&M-GEORGIA ALL-TIME SERIES

A&M leads Georgia, 13-3, in the all-time series and has won the last eight meetings, including all six meetings as SEC foes.
A&M leads the series, 5-1, in matches played in College Station, 5-1 in matches played in Athens, and 3-1 in matches played at neutral sites.
Although A&M owns a lopsided lead in the SEC series, four of the six conference meetings have been decided in five sets, including most recently A&M's 20-25, 25-17, 21-25, 26-24, 15-7 victory in Athens on Oct. 21 to mark Laurie Corbelli's 500th victory as head coach of the Aggies and the 600th victory of her 24-year head coaching career.
In the most recent meeting, Texas A&M hit .392, an all-time school record for hitting percentage in a five-set match. Kaitlyn Blake tied for match-high honors with a career-best 16 kills while also hitting a then personal-best .538. Jazzmin Babers had 14 kills while hitting at a .500 clip, and Kiara McGee added 12 kills. Ashlie Reasor and Hollann Hans also had double-figure kills with 10 apiece, marking the first time this season A&M had five players record double-digit kills in a single match.
Setter Stephanie Aiple directed the balanced attack, distributing 46 assists, and Amy Nettles led all players with 20 digs, while Victoria Arenas added 13. Babers and Blake had four blocks apiece as A&M outblocked the Bulldogs, 9-4.
Maddie Lobenstein had 16 kills to lead a group of four Georgia players who posted double-figure kills.
Georgia's most recent victory over the Aggies was in 1994, when the 19th-ranked Bulldogs defeated A&M, 3-1 (15-11, 7-15, 15-7, 15-6) at G. Rollie White Coliseum in College Station, Texas.
A&M's all-time results vs. Georgia:

Overall: 13-3 H: 5-1 A: 5-1 N: 3-1 SEC: 6-0
Nov. 13, 1982      N       W      15-12, 15-5, 15-10
Sept. 10, 1984      H       W      15-3, 3-15, 15-8, 16-14
Oct. 31, 1985       A       W      9-15, 15-4, 15-7, 15-11
Sept. 27, 1986      N       W      15-6, 15-13, 12-15, 15-11
Dec. 4-6, 1986     N       L       15-5, 4-15, 10-15, 6-15
Sept. 4, 1992        N       W      2-15, 14-16, 15-12, 15-9, 15-11
Oct. 8, 1993         A       L       6-15, 5-15, 12-15
Oct. 28, 1994       H       L       11-15, 15-7, 7-15, 6-15
Aug. 31, 1997      A       W      15-9, 15-7, 15-6
Sept. 17, 1999      H       W      15-11, 15-5, 15-12
Nov. 11, 2012      A       W      15-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-18, 15-10
Sept. 29, 2013      H       W      25-20, 25-17, 25-12
Nov. 24, 2013      A       W      25-22, 21-25, 25-19, 20-25, 15-9
Oct. 24, 2014       H       W      22-25, 25-21, 29-27, 22-25, 15-8
Nov. 8, 2015        H       W      25-11, 25-11, 25-19
Oct. 21, 2016       A       W      20-25, 25-17, 21-25, 26-24, 15-7

BABERS SHATTERS BLOCK ASSISTS RECORD

Senior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers had seven block assists—and nine total blocks—in the Aggies' sweep against Tennessee on Sunday to give her 458 for her career, shattering the previous record of 456 block assists held by Cindy Lothspeich (1994-97).
Babers also had two solo blocks against the Volunteers to move her into a tie for 10th in the school career records with 62.
Babers, who averages 1.07 blocks per set for the full season and 1.29 blocks per set in SEC matches only, is third in the A&M career records for total blocks with 526, and former All-American Amber Woolsey is second with 547. Lothspeich holds the record with 552.
Babers averages 1.25 blocks per set over her four-year career.

HANS IS SEC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK

Texas A&M outside hitter Hollann Hans was named the SEC Freshman Player of the Week for volleyball on Monday following back-to-back notable performances in the Aggies' victories over Alabama and Tennessee last week. It marks the first time the Corpus Christi native has received the award.
Hans took team-high honors in points in both matches, and she also took or tied for team-high honors in kills in each match. For the week, the rookie averaged a team-high 4.50 points, 3.57 kills and 0.57 aces per set.
Hans recorded both career and team highs with 16 kills and 18 points in the 3-1 victory against Alabama on Thursday, Nov. 3 at Reed Arena. She also added 10 digs against the Crimson Tide to record her third double-double of the season.
In the sweep against Tennessee last Sunday, Hans led the Aggies with 13.5 points and tied for team-high honors in kills with nine while hitting .333. She also had a match-high in service aces, recording three consecutive aces to begin the second set, helping Texas A&M jump out to a 7-0 lead against the Volunteers.

VOTE FOR BABERS

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 seniorclassaward.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.

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 1,087 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. Aiple now has 3,185 career assists and needs only 18 more assists to give her 3,203, moving her into a tie with Kristen Schevikhoven (2007-09) for sixth.

TEXAS A&M QUICK HITS

Texas A&M's six-match winning streak is its longest win streak of the season. Their previous longest winning streak of the season was five from Sept. 25 through Oct. 14.
A&M has won 11 of its last 12 matches.
The Aggies are 6-2 at Reed Arena after winning their last four home matches. The two losses were against now-No. 3 Wisconsin and No. 6 Florida.
A&M has only one home match remaining after the conclusion of the current four-match home stand. The final home match is Wednesday, Nov. 23 against LSU.
The Aggies are in fourth place in the SEC standings, only 1 ½ games behind league-leader Florida (13-1), one game behind Missouri (12-1) and a half game behind Kentucky (12-2).
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. 24 Kentucky on Nov. 20 in Lexington.
Texas A&M entered the weekend ranked 20th in the nation in kills per set (14.25) and 22nd in hitting percentage (.265).
A&M is second in the SEC with 13.26 assists and 14.35 kills per set for the full season.
In SEC matches only, A&M is second in hitting percentage (.279) and kills (14.79) per set.
A&M is 14-2 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 six spots to No. 23 in the NCAA RPI released on Monday.
The Aggies received votes in this week's AVCA Top 25 Poll and are listed 30th.
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.

GEORGIA QUICK HITS

Georgia is 13-13 overall and 1-12 in SEC matches after falling at LSU, 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-10) on Friday. It was the Bulldogs' eighth consecutive loss.
Junior outside hitter Maddie Lobenstein led the Bulldogs with 19 kills, and Amanda Dachs and Kendall Kazor added 16 and 11 kills, respectively. Sarah Lagler-Clark had seven blocks as the Bulldogs outblocked LSU, 13-8.
The Bulldogs are 2-8 in away matches, including 0-7 in away SEC matches.
Georgia leads the SEC with 1.48 aces per set for the full season and is third in the conference with 1.27 aces per set in SEC matches only.
Sophomore libero Cassidy Anderson averages a team-leading 0.40 aces per set, ranking fourth in the SEC full season stats. She also averages a team-best 3.72 digs per set for the full season, seventh best in the league.
Junior outside hitter Maddie Lobenstein leads the Bulldogs with 3.13 kills per set for the full season. She also is averaging a team-high 3.63 points per set, ranking 13th in the SEC.

AGGIE PLAYER NOTABLES

Senior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers has started every match of her career (116).
Babers leads the Aggies and is sixth in the SEC with a .358 hitting percentage in conference matches only. She is hitting .357 for the full season, ranking ninth in the conference.
Babers is second on the team and fifth in the league with 1.29 blocks per set in SEC matches.
Over the last two matches, Babers is averaging 2.50 blocks per set. She recorded nine blocks in the sweep against Tennessee, including seventh block assists to break the A&M career block assists record, and she had six blocks in the sweep against Mississippi State.
Junior setter Stephanie Aiple needs only 18 assists to give her 3,203 for her career, moving her into a tie for sixth place in the A&M all-time career assists records.
Aiple has tallied three double-doubles in the last five matches.
Aiple, who is fourth in the SEC with 10.85 assists per set for the full season as well as fourth with 10.96 assists per set in conference matches only, has the A&M offense ranked second in the SEC in both hitting percentage (.279) and kills (14.79) 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 24 matches, entered the weekend ninth in the nation with 1.51 blocks per set.
Blake currently leads the SEC with 1.49 blocks per set for the full season and is fourth with 1.31 blocks per set in conference matches only.
Blake has 116 block assists this season. She needs four more to tie for 10th place in the A&M all-time single-season records for block assists.
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 3.22 kills and 3.49 points per set for the full season while hitting .239.
In SEC matches only, McGee leads A&M with 3.31 kills while hitting .259, and she is second on the team with 3.56 points per set.
McGee has led or tied for the team lead in kills in a team-high 12 matches.
McGee is tied with freshman outside hitter Hollann Hans for the team lead with 14 double-figure kill performances overall.
Hans is the first Aggie to be named SEC Freshman of the Week since Stephanie Aiple received the honor on Nov. 24, 2014.
Hans has three doubles-doubles (kills and digs), including back-to-back double-double performances in three-set matches against then-No. 2 Texas and No. 6 Wisconsin.
Hans, who had a career-high 16 kills in the win against Alabama, leads A&M and is tied for 13th in the SEC with 3.62 points per set in SEC matches.
Hans also leads A&M with 17 total aces and a 0.24 ace average for the full season.
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 18 matches this season.
Nettles leads A&M and is seventh in the SEC with 3.83 digs per set in conference matches only.
For the full season, Nettles leads A&M and is eighth in the league with 3.51 digs per set.
Nettles has posted double-figure digs in a team-leading 16 matches this season.
Nettles has appeared in a team-leading 258 consecutive sets, a streak which began Oct. 15, 2014, of her freshman campaign.
Nettles, Babers, Blake and McGee have played in all 86 sets this season.
Sophomore defensive specialist Amy Houser, who has played in every set in each of the last 14 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 leads A&M with 12 aces and 0.25 aces per set in SEC matches. For the full season, she is second on the team with 14 aces and a 0.20 average.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Texas A&M returns to the road next week, taking on Tennessee on Wednesday in Knoxville. First serve is at 5 p.m. (CT) at Thompson-Boling Arena.
The Aggies also play at No. 24 Kentucky on Sunday, Nov. 20. The match begins at 12:30 (CT) at Memorial Coliseum.
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.

Vote daily for Jazzmin Babers for Senior CLASS Award at seniorclassaward.com