No. 16 Texas A&M Hosts No. 6 Wisconsin in Home Opener

No. 16 Texas A&M (6-4) vs. No. 6 Wisconsin (6-1)
Friday, Sept. 16, 4 p.m.
Reed Arena, College Station, Texas
SEC Network +

Stats: 12thMan.com/live
Updates: follow @AggieVolleyball on Twitter

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- After playing their first 10 matches of the season on the road, the 16th-ranked Texas A&M Aggies make their home season debut Friday against the No. 6 Wisconsin Badgers (6-1). First serve is slated for 4 p.m. at Reed Arena. It is the final match of the nonconference season for the Aggies as they begin defense of their SEC championship title next week at Alabama.

Promotions: It will be Faculty/Staff Appreciation Day against the Badgers, and all Texas A&M Faculty/Staff can purchase discounted tickets starting at only $3. Purchase tickets at 12thManFoundation.com and use the promo code Thankyou.

New Policy: Fans are reminded that the clear bag policy is in effect at all Texas A&M Athletics home events. Be ready, be clear, be fast on match day by reviewing the 12-1-1 Gig 'Em Rule. Visit www.12thman.com/beclear for all information regarding the clear bag policy.

Video: A digital video stream will be available on mobile devices, tablets, PCs and connect-TVs for SEC Network subscribers whose cable/satellite packages allow access to SEC Network+ through the WatchESPN app and SECSports.com. Casey Richardson and Chelsea Reber will be calling the action.

TEXAS A&M QUICK HITS

The Aggies have won 26 consecutive home season openers and are 23-0 in home openers since head coach Laurie Corbelli was hired in 1993.
A&M has not lost its first home match of the season since 1989 -- before any of the current players were born -- when the Aggies of the then-Southwest Conference fell to future Southeastern Conference foe LSU, 3-1, under previous A&M head coach Al Givens.
The Aggies went 13-2 in home matches last season.
In last year's first home match, Texas A&M hit .470—then the sixth highest hitting percentage in a match and currently eighth highest in program history—while holding Wichita State to a .092 hitting efficiency in a 25-12, 25-16, 25-12 sweep against the Shockers at Reed Arena on Sept. 5.
Texas A&M is 244-74 at home with Corbelli at the helm, including 66-30 at Reed Arena, where the Aggies moved to in 2009 from the since-razed G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The match against Wisconsin marks the first time the Aggies have played a ranked opponent in their home opener since Corbelli made her Texas A&M coaching debut on Sept. 17, 1993, and directed the unranked Aggies to a 3-1 (15-13, 15-13, 14-16, 15-11) upset over 21st-ranked Florida State at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
Including A&M's Friday contest against No. 6 Wisconsin, the Aggies will have faced five ranked opponents and one team receiving votes (Arizona) during their 11-match preconference schedule. Three teams—Texas, Minnesota and Wisconsin—are ranked in the top six.
Texas A&M is aiming for its first ranked win of the season, having fallen to both No. 2 Texas and No. 6 Minnesota, 3-0, and suffering 3-2 setbacks to both No. 15 Ohio State and No. 16 Florida State.

ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY
Sept. 16, 2010: Despite losing four starters from the 2009 Sweet 16 team, the youth-laden and unranked Aggies swept No. 8 Texas in the 2010 Big 12 Conference season opener at Reed Arena, 25-22, 25-28, 25-23. Kelsey Black and Lindsey Miller combined for 22 kills in the first State Farm Lone Star Showdown of the season and the Aggies' first sweep over the rival Longhorns since 2003.

RECENT RESULTS

Texas A&M saw its four-match win streak come to an end as the 16^th-ranked Aggies fell to No. 2 Texas, 25-21, 25-18, 25-21, Wednesday night at Gregory Gym in Austin. It was the first regular-season match-up between the former longtime conference rivals since Texas A&M left the Big 12 Conference to join the Southeastern Conference in 2012.
Freshman outside hitter Hollann Hans led the Aggies with 10 kills and a personal-best 14 digs to record the first double-double of her young career.
The Aggies were held to a .179 hitting efficiency and were outblocked, 8-4.
Texas hit .305 for the match, a season high by an A&M opponent, to win its 20^th consecutive home match and improve to 8-1 on the season. Prieto Cerame led the Longhorns with 16 kills.

A&M SERIES HISTORY VS. WISCONSIN

Wisconsin leads the all-time series, 3-2.
The Aggies are 1-0 against the Badgers in College Station.
Both of Texas A&M's victories have been three-set matches, while two of Wisconsin's wins were in five sets.
In the most recent meeting, the 24th-ranked Aggies defeated unranked Wisconsin, 30-22, 30-24, 30-18 at G. Rollie White Coliseum in an NCAA second round match on Dec. 6, 2003.
Friday's match will be the fourth time in the six-match series history that both teams have been ranked going into the match.
The last time the two teams met when both teams were ranked was Sept. 7, 2002. No. 16 Wisconsin defeated No. 17 Texas A&M, 30-23, 25-30, 30-25, 30-28, at the Wisconsin InnTowner Invitational at the Wisconsin Field House in Madison, Wis.
The first meeting of the all-time series was Sept. 5, 1992, at the Asics Tiger Classic in Baton Rouge, La., where the Badgers held on to defeat A&M 14-16, 15-13, 8-15, 15-10, 15-7. It is the only meeting in which neither team was ranked.
In the second meeting, the teams had another five-game thriller at the 1996 InnTowner Invitational as the 17th-ranked Badgers overcame a two-game deficit to defeat No. 20 Texas A&M, 12-15, 11-15, 15-11, 15-8, 16-14, to capture the tournament title. The Aggies' loss overshadowed junior outside hitter Kristie Smedsrud's then-school record-setting performance of 35 kills, a record that stood for nine years.
Texas A&M defeated Wisconsin for the first time on Dec. 7, 2001, in the NCAA regional semifinals at Stanford. The 15th-ranked Aggies pulled off the biggest upset of the NCAA tournament by downing the sixth-ranked Badgers, 30-28, 30-24, 30-23, to advance to the Elite Eight for the second time in school history.

SCOUTING WISCONSIN

Wisconsin is 6-1 after defeating Louisville, 3-0 (25-19, 26-24, 25-20), Sat., Sept. 10, at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at Carmichael Arena in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The Badgers won the first five matches of the season before falling to host and 11th-ranked North Carolina, 3-2 (25-23, 25-27, 23-25, 25-20, 15-11), in their opening match at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Wisconsin opened the season with a 3-1 (25-16, 25-16, 24-26, 25-23) win at No. 6 Hawaii on Aug. 26 and enters the match against the Aggies 2-1 against ranked opponents. Wisconsin's other ranked win was a 3-0 sweep against No. 18 San Diego in the Badgers' home opener on Sept. 2.
Wisconsin is fifth in the country with 3.29 blocks per set. The Badgers are eighth in the nation with a .123 opponent hitting percentage, and they rank 16th with 17.29 digs per set.
Individually, 6-2 sophomore middle blocker Tionna Williams is sixth in the country with 1.70 blocks per set, and three-time All-American senior setter Lauren Carlini is ninth in the nation with 11.63 assists per set.
The Badgers return all six starters plus the libero from last year's team that went 26-7, advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 before falling to Florida, 3-2, and was No. 10 in the final AVCA Top 25.
Kelly Sheffield is 91-21 in his fourth season as head coach of the Badgers and 364-133 in the 16th year of his head coaching career.

ALL IN THE (COACHING) FAMILY

Laurie Corbelli, the reigning SEC and AVCA South Region coach of the year, is 494-232 in her 24th season as head coach of the Aggies and 594-338 in the 31st year of her head coaching career. She along with her husband, Aggie Associate Head Coach John Corbelli, have led the Aggies to 19 NCAA appearances.
Their son, Russell Corbelli (Texas A&M '16), is serving as the volunteer assistant coach this season while also pursuing his real estate license.

CHALLENGING PRE-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

The first 10 of Texas A&M's 11 non-conference matches were away from home. It is the most matches played away from home to start a season since 1979 when the Aggies played their first 12 matches on the road.
Of the 11 non-conference opponents, five are currently ranked in the AVCA top 15, including three that are in the top six: No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Minnesota and No. 6 Wisconsin.
Two of A&M's losses have been against 2015 NCAA Final Four teams Texas, the NCAA runner up, and Minnesota, a semifinalist.
The Aggies lost five-set matches to current No. 19 Ohio State and No. 13 Florida State at the North Texas Challenge and the Puerto Rico Clásico, respectively. A&M also suffered a 3-0 setback in Puerto Rico to then-No. 6 Minnesota, and are coming off a 3-0 loss at No. 2 Texas.
Texas A&M defeated Arizona, which was receiving votes, 3-0, at the Borderland Invitational last weekend.
On Sept. 5, Texas A&M hosted an exhibition match at A&M Consolidated High School against Shandong, a team from China that entered the match having not dropped a set during its U.S. tour. Shandong won the match, 3-0.

TEXAS A&M IN THE RANKINGS

For the second consecutive week, Texas A&M is No. 16 in the AVCA Top 25 Poll released on Monday.
The Aggies' season-high No. 14 showing on Aug. 29 marks the program's highest ranking in the AVCA poll since a No. 13 showing on Sept. 5, 2005.
The Aggies' No. 16 AVCA preseason ranking matched their highest preseason ranking by the AVCA since they were No. 16 in 2005. Texas A&M was No. 13 in the AVCA's 1997 preseason poll, marking the highest preseason ranking in program history.

TEXAS A&M IN THE NATIONAL/SEC STATS

Kaitlyn Blake, an all-tournament selection at both the North Texas Challenge and the Puerto Rico Clásico, leads the SEC and is third in the nation with 61 total blocks and fourth with 1.74 blocks per set.
Blake 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 also tied the school record for total blocks in a four-set match with 13 against the Mean Green. Her 13 total blocks still ranks third in the country for most blocks in a four-set match.
Blake is second in the SEC and 29th in the country with a .395 hitting percentage.
Junior setter Stephanie Aiple is third in the SEC and 30th in the nation with 10.85 assists per set.
As a team, A&M leads the SEC and is 21st in the country with 2.80 blocks per set.
The Aggies are second in the SEC and 35th in the nation with 13.97 kills per set.
The Aggies are sixth in the SEC and ranked 45th nationally with a .254 hitting efficiency.

CLIMBING THE CAREER CHARTS

Senior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers is ranked in the top 10 in the Texas A&M all-time career records in block assists, total blocks and points, and she is on pace to finish in the top 10 for career hitting percentage and block solos.
Babers is fourth in block assists with 408 and needs only one more to tie Lindsey Miller (2009-12) for third place.
Against Texas, Babers took sole possession of sixth place in total blocks with 463. She needs seven more to tie Kim Mitchell (1990-93) for fifth place.
Babers ranks sixth in career total points (1,225) since rally scoring begin in 2001, and she currently ranks second in career hitting percentage (.371).
Junior setter Stephanie Aiple moved into the top 10 in career assists earlier this season and currently ranks ninth with 2,621. She needs 330 more assists to tie Chris Zogata (1983-86) for eighth place.

AGGIE PLAYER NOTABLES

Babers needs 36 kills to become the 17th player in program history to join the 1,000 Kills Club. The last player to join the club was middle blocker Lindsey Miller (2009-12), who finished with 1,025 in her four-year career.
Babers has started every match of her career (102).
Sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake tied the school record for total blocks in a four-set match with 13 in a 3-1 victory at North Texas on Aug. 27. The 13 blocks is the most by a player in the SEC this season.
Junior libero Amy Nettles, who has received the team's best defensive player award each of the last two seasons, has 828 career digs and needs only 172 more to become the 21^st player in Texas A&M history to join the 1,000 Digs Club. As a sophomore, Nettles played in every set as the team's libero and finished with 444 digs, ranking seventh in the Texas A&M season record books.
Senior Emily Hardesty is the most experienced outside hitter on the team, having been a starter each of the last two seasons. In 2015, she was the only non-setter to play all six rotations. Hardesty was held out for four matches and played sparingly against Texas after suffering a nagging injury against Minnesota.
Freshman outside hitter Hollann Hans has been starting in place of Hardesty, drawing the first start of her young career in the Aggies' 3-0 victory over Virginia Tech at the Puerto Rico Clásico on Sept. 3, which also was her 19th birthday. The Corpus Christi Calallen High School product had 12 kills in 32 attempts while hitting .250. She also added five digs and three block assists and finished with 13.5 points.
This past weekend at the Borderland Invitational, Hans led Texas A&M with 2.78 kills per set and was second on the team with 3.39 points per set as the Aggies tallied sweeps against Arizona, New Mexico State and UTEP. She had four aces against Arizona, the most aces by an A&M player this season, and she claimed match-high honors and tied her career high with 12 kills in the win at UTEP.
Several players made their first appearance of the season against UTEP, including senior setter Kaysie Shebeneck, who played the entire second set. Freshman setter Lexi Lopez and freshman middle blocker Maddie Douglas made their Texas A&M career debuts, subbing in late in the third set. Lopez had an ace and an assist in the first two plays of her career, and Douglas had the match-ending kill.

CHALLENGE REVIEW SYSTEM

The Challenge Review System (CRS) is in effect in all of Texas A&M's remaining matches.
Three challenges per team per match are allowed. Challenges are not tied to timeouts.
Only the team that lost the rally may challenge.
If the call is reversed as a result of that challenge, the team that lost the review would be able to challenge.
Each team is limited to one challenge per rally.
A coach must challenge before the referee's arm is extended for service beckon.
Coaches may challenge the following actions: net faults (players contacting the net/antenna); player touching the ball (including four hits/blocker/defensive players); ball called in or out (including pancakes and antenna); and service foot faults.
Possible referee decisions would include confirming the call, reversing the call, replaying the call based on video evidence, or determining that the video review was inconclusive (original call stands).
Texas A&M is 1-for-1 in all-time challenges after winning its challenge in the third set at Texas, the first match the Aggies played in which the CRS was in effect. The Aggies were called for a touch following an attack by Texas and the ball landed out of bounds. After review, it was confirmed that A&M's Stephanie Aiple did not touch the ball, and the Aggies were awarded a point to get within 17-14.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

The Aggies begin defense of their SEC title, Friday, Sept. 23 at Alabama. First serve is at 6 p.m. at Foster Auditorium in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Texas A&M opens home SEC play on Sunday, Sept. 25 against Auburn at 2 p.m. at Reed Arena.

DIG PINK

In conjunction with October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Texas A&M volleyball team has announced that it will hold its annual "Dig Pink" fund raiser match Sunday, Oct. 16 when the Aggies play host to the nationally ranked Florida Gators in a highly anticipated match-up at Reed Arena. First serve is set for 4 p.m., and all fans wearing pink to the match can purchase tickets at the entrance for only $3.
The Aggies are currently accepting donations for their "Dig Pink" initiative and encourage fans to visit their online fund raiser page, https://giving.side-out.org/campaigns/11634. All funds raised will be donated to The Side-Out Foundation and applied toward a clinical trial specifically for patients with Stage 4 breast cancer, the most advanced form of the disease and the least funded area of research.

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.

Schedule

Players Mentioned

Stephanie Aiple

Jazzmin Babers

Kaitlyn Blake

Maddie Douglas

Hollann Hans

Emily Hardesty

Lexi Lopez

Amy Nettles

Kaysie Shebeneck

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