Texas A&M Concludes Regular Season at Auburn

Saturday, November 26

Auburn, Ala.

12:30 PM

Texas A&M

Auburn

Nov 25, 2016 | Volleyball

Complete Match Notes (PDF)

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

Texas A&M (20-8, 14-3 SEC) vs. Auburn (15-15, 9-8 SEC)
Saturday, Nov. 26, 12:30 p.m.
Auburn Arena, Auburn, Alabama

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

COLLEGE STATION, Texas –Texas A&M concludes the regular season Saturday as the Aggies take on Auburn at Auburn Arena. First serve is at 12:30 p.m., and the match will be streamed on SEC Network + via the WatchESPN app. Senior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers enters the match needing only three blocks to tie and four blocks to break the Texas A&M all-time career record of 552 total blocks.

Texas A&M (20-8, 14-3 SEC) wrapped up its home slate and celebrated Senior Night on Wednesday with a 25-17, 25-27, 25-18, 25-22 victory over LSU at Reed Arena. It was the sixth consecutive home win for the Aggies, who set a school SEC record with 103 digs against the Tigers. Texas A&M has now won 14 of its last 16 matches overall and is in fourth place in the SEC standings.

Auburn (15-15, 9-8 SEC), which will recognize its four seniors, Breanna Barksdale, Stephanie Campbell, Emily Klitzke and Leticia Silvia before the match against the Aggies, is coming off a hard-fought 25-21, 22-25, 25-19, 25-14 loss at No. 9 Florida on Wednesday. The Tigers enter the final match in sole possession of fifth place in the SEC standings, one game ahead of Alabama.

An A&M win over Auburn would guarantee the Aggies at least a tie for third place in the final SEC standings with Kentucky. The Aggies are still mathematically in contention for a four-way tie with Florida, Missouri and Kentucky for the SEC championship, but they must defeat Auburn and hope Florida loses at Arkansas and Missouri loses its final home match of the regular season to Tennessee, which upset Kentucky on Wednesday.

A&M-AUBURN ALL-TIME SERIES

Texas A&M leads the all-time series, 8-1, including 6-1 in SEC matches only.
A&M has won the last four meetings, all in three-set sweeps.
Auburn's only victory in the all-time series was Oct. 20, 2013, when A&M's current seniors were freshmen. The veteran Tiger squad defeated Texas A&M, 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-19, 25-17) at Auburn Arena.
In the most recent meeting, Texas A&M improved to 4-0 all-time against the Tigers in matches played in College Station and opened its 2016 SEC home slate with a 26-24, 25-18, 25-19 victory on Sept. 25 at Reed Arena.
A&M opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor led all players with 14 kills while hitting .391, and freshman outside hitter Hollann Hans pitched in 10 kills. Outside hitter Kiara McGee and middle blocker Jazzmin Babers added eight kills apiece, and setter Stephanie Aiple kept the Tigers guessing as she contributed seven kills—one shy of her career-high—and also dished out 34 assists while directing the A&M offense to a 50-36 lead in total kills and a .270 to .123 advantage in hitting efficiency.
Defensively, A&M libero Amy Nettles took match-high honors in digs with 16, and defensive specialist Victoria Arenas added 14 to help the Aggies to a 56-38 lead in team digs. Middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake had a team-high four blocks.
Gwyn Jones led Auburn with 10 kills while hitting .526, and Brenna McIlroy had a team-high 13 digs.
A&M all-time records/results vs. Auburn:

Overall: 8-1 Home: 4-0 Away: 2-1 Neutral: 2-0   SEC: 6-1
Sept. 1, 1996         N          W         16-14, 15-10, 16-14
Sept. 8, 2007         N          W         30-17, 30-22, 30-15
Sept. 16, 2012       H          W         25-22, 25-16, 25-27, 25-18
Nov. 9, 2012          A          W         25-21, 26-24, 22-25, 25-23
Oct. 20, 2013        A          L          23-25, 25-22, 19-25, 17-25
Nov. 17, 2013        H          W         25-19, 28-26, 25-17
Sept. 28, 2014       H          W         25-11, 25-19, 25-15
Sept. 30, 2015       A          W         25-14, 25-17, 25-21
Sept. 25, 2016       H          W         26-24, 25-18, 25-19

BUILDING BLOCK RECORDS

Senior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers has 549 total blocks in her four-year career and needs only three blocks to tie and four blocks to break the A&M all-time career record of 552 total blocks held by Cindy Lothspeich (1994-97). Babers had four blocks against LSU to climb past Amber Woolsey (1996-99) for second place.

#      Name                         Years              Total Blks
1.     Cindy Lothspeich      1994-97           552
2.     Jazzmin Babers        2013-Present   549
3.     Amber Woolsey       1996-99           547

Babers, who sports a 1.26 blocks per set average for her career, broke the A&M all-time career record for block assists against Tennessee on Nov. 6 and now has 482, shattering the previous school record of 456 block assists held by Lothspeich.
Babers is 10th in the career records with 67 block solos.
Sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake is quickly moving up in the Texas A&M season block assists records. She had two block assists against LSU to give her 136 for the year, moving her into fourth place in the single-season records. She passed Babers, who tallied 135 block assists last season. Blake needs 19 block assists to break the record of 154 set by Amber Woolsey in 1999.

#          Name                          Year     Blk Assists
      1.         Amber Woolsey          1999    154
        2.         Melissa Munsch          2004    147
        3.         Amber Woolsey          1998    145
        4.         Kaitlyn Blake               2016    136
        5.         Jazzmin Babers           2015    135
        6.         Cindy Lothspeich         1997    134
        7.         Amber Woolsey          1997    131
        8.         Jazzmin Babers           2013    128
        9.         Cindy Lothspeich         1996    127

Texas A&M leads the SEC and is ranked 14th in the nation with 2.80 blocks per set for the full season. The Aggies are second in the league with 2.86 blocks per set in conference matches only, putting the Aggies on pace to break the school SEC season record of 2.65 blocks per set posted last year.

TEXAS A&M QUICK HITS

With the win against LSU, A&M improved to 20-8 overall. It marks the third consecutive year and the 17th time in 24 years under head coach Laurie Corbelli that A&M has reached the 20-win milestone.
Texas A&M won its final six home matches to finish with an 8-2 home record. Both losses were against Top 10 opponents: then-No. 6 and current No. 3-ranked Wisconsin, and No. 9 Florida.
The Aggies are 9-3 in away matches, including 6-2 in away SEC matches.
A&M dropped one spot to No. 24 in the NCAA RPI released on Monday.
The Aggies received votes in this week's AVCA Top 25 Poll and are tied with Iowa State for 29th.
Texas A&M has won 14 of its last 16 matches.
A&M's 103 digs against LSU set a school record for digs in all SEC matches, including three-, four- and five-set matches. It broke the Reed Arena record for digs in a four-set match, is the most digs by an SEC team in a four-set match this season and ties for 14th in the nation for most digs in a four-set match.
Texas A&M leads the SEC and is 10th in the nation with 14.44 kills per set for the full season. The Aggies also lead the SEC and are 12th in the nation with 2.80 blocks per set, and they are 23rd in the country in assists per set (13.36) and 31st with a .260 hitting percentage.
In SEC matches only, A&M leads the league with 15.95 digs per set and ranks second in opponent hitting percentage (.173) and kills (14.83) and blocks (2.86) per set.
Texas A&M has led its opponent in hitting percentage in 23 of 28 matches. The Aggies are 20-3 when leading in hitting percentage and 0-5 when trailing in hitting percentage.
A&M is 17-2 when winning the first set and 3-6 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.
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. 16 Florida State and No. 26 Ohio State, who both escaped with 3-2 victories against the Aggies during the first two weeks of the season.

AUBURN QUICK HITS

Auburn is 15-15 overall and in fifth place in the SEC standings with a 9-8 record.
The Tigers are 12-4 in home matches, including 6-2 in home SEC matches.
Auburn leads the SEC with 1.39 aces per set for the full season and is second in the league with 1.29 aces per set in conference matches only.
Junior libero Jesse Earl and junior setter Alexa Filley were both named to the All-SEC team, and middle blocker Gwen Jones was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team.
Earl leads the SEC and is 35th in the nation with 5.01 digs per set.
Filley, who averages 9.92 assists per set, leads the SEC and is ninth in the nation with three triple doubles. She is second in the conference with 18 double-doubles for the full season and 10 double-doubles in SEC matches only.
Most recently, the Tigers fell at No. 9 Florida, 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-19, 25-14), Wednesday in Gainesville. Senior middle blocker Breanna Barksdale led all players with 11 blocks and 20.5 points and tied for match-high honors with 13 kills while hitting .370 and recorded the first double-double of her career. Junior middle blocker Macy Reece added 10 kills while hitting .300.
Florida outhit the Tigers, .226 to .163, and led in aces (6-1) and digs (54-49). Auburn led in kills (51-48) and assists (48-44), and the teams tied with 12 total blocks apiece.
Rick Nold (Louisville, 1998) is 93-88 in his sixth season as head coach at Auburn and 265-186 in the 16th season of his head coaching career.

AGGIE PLAYER NOTABLES

Senior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers has started every match of her career (120).
Babers leads the Aggies and is sixth in the SEC with a .371 hitting percentage in conference matches only.
Babers also leads A&M, is fifth in the SEC and 43rd in the nation with a .365 hitting percentage for the full season.
In the match at Arkansas on Oct. 5, Babers surpassed 1,000 career kills, becoming the 17th A&M player to reach four-digit kills. She now has 1,123 kills, ranking 13th in the A&M career records.
Junior setter Stephanie Aiple is fourth in the SEC and 38th in the nation with 10.84 assists per set for the full season and fifth in the SEC with 10.92 assists per set in conference matches only.
Aiple commands an A&M offense that leads the SEC and ranks 10th in the nation with 14.44 kills per set.
Aiple has the Aggies ranked first in the SEC with 13.83 assists per set in conference matches only.
In the win at Georgia on Oct. 21, 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 A&M career records with 3,336 assists.
Aiple leads Texas A&M with four double-doubles.
Sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake leads the SEC and is seventh in the nation with 1.50 blocks per set for the full season. She also leads the league and is 18th in the country with 152 total blocks.
Blake has 136 block assists this season, ranking fourth in the A&M all-time single-season records. She needs only 10 block assists to take over sole possession of third place, 12 block assists to take over second place and only 19 block assists to break the all-time record of 154 set by Amber Woolsey in 1999.
Blake has led or tied for the team lead in blocks in 22 of 28 matches.
Blake hit a career-high .632 (13-1-19) in the win against Mississippi State on Nov. 11. It is the highest hitting percentage by an A&M player this season and the third highest by an SEC player in a conference match this season.
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.
Freshman outside hitter Hollann Hans leads A&M and is 10th in the SEC with 3.27 kills per set in conference matches.
Hans leads A&M and is 11th in the SEC with 3.81 points per set in SEC matches.
Hans also leads A&M, is tops among conference freshmen and ranks sixth overall in the SEC with 0.28 aces per set in conference matches only.
She also leads A&M and SEC freshmen and is ninth overall in the league with 0.28 aces per set for the full season.
Hans has led or tied for the team lead in points in a team-high eight matches.
Hans also has led or tied for the team lead in kills in 12 matches, tying for most on the team.
Hans leads A&M with 18 double-figure kill performances overall.
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 was named the SEC Freshman Player of the Week on Nov. 7 following back-to-back notable performances in the Aggies' victories over Alabama and Tennessee. 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.
Junior outside hitter Kiara McGee leads the Aggies with 3.16 kills per set for the full season and is second on the team with 3.19 kills per set in SEC matches only.
McGee is second on the team with 3.44 points per set for the full season and 3.47 points per set in conference matches only.
McGee has led or tied for the team lead in kills in 12 matches, tying for the team high, and she is second on the team with 17 double-figure kill performances.
Junior libero Amy Nettles has led or tied for the team lead in digs in a team-high 21 of 28 matches this season.
Nettles leads A&M and is sixth in the SEC with 3.98 digs per set in conference matches only. She is seventh in the league with 3.65 digs per set for the full season.
Nettles has posted double-figure digs in a team-leading 20 matches this season, including five matches in which she has recorded 20 or more digs.
Nettles has appeared in a team-leading 273 consecutive sets, a streak which began Oct. 15, 2014, of her freshman campaign.
Nettles posted her 1,000th career dig in the win against Alabama on Nov. 3, with the milestone dig falling in for a kill. She is the 21st player in A&M history to record 1,000 or more digs, and she currently has 1,086 digs in her career.
Nettles, Babers and Blake and have played in all 101 sets this season.

ALL IN THE (COACHING) FAMILY

Head coach Laurie Corbelli along with her husband, Aggie Associate Head Coach John Corbelli, have led the Aggies to 19 NCAA appearances and a 508-236 record in their 24th season at A&M. The Corbellis posted their 500th victory at Texas A&M in the win at Georgia on Oct. 21, and it also marked the 600th win of Laurie Corbelli's head coaching career.
Their son, Russell Corbelli, who graduated from Texas A&M in May, is serving as the volunteer assistant coach this season and recently earned his real estate license.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
The Aggies are expecting to receive a sixth consecutive and 24th overall berth into the NCAA Championship. The 64-team field will be announced Sunday, Nov. 27, at 8 p.m. on ESPNU.

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