No. 16 Texas A&M Competes in Borderland Invitational

Friday, September 9

Las Cruces, N.M.

11:00 AM

Texas A&M

Arizona

Match Preview Volleyball New Mexico State Tourney

Sep 08, 2016 | Volleyball

Complete Match Notes (PDF)

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
(all times are Central)

Friday, Sept. 9, Pan American Center, Las Cruces, N.M.
11 a.m.       #16 Texas A&M vs. Arizona
8 p.m.         #16 Texas A&M at New Mexico State

Saturday, Sept. 10, Memorial Gym, El Paso, Texas
1 p.m.         #16 Texas A&M at UTEP

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- Sixteen-ranked and defending Southeastern Conference champion Texas A&M (3-3) returns to the road this weekend as the Aggies compete Friday and Saturday in the Borderland Invitational, co-hosted by New Mexico State and UTEP. The Aggies open the tournament against Arizona (3-3) on Friday at 11 a.m. (CT) at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, N.M. Texas A&M also will take on the Aggies from New Mexico State later that day in Las Cruces, with first serve slated for 8 p.m. (CT). Texas A&M concludes the road trip at UTEP on Saturday. Match time against the Miners is 1 p.m. (CT) at Memorial Gym in El Paso, Texas.

FOLLOW THE ACTION:
Video:

Texas A&M vs. New Mexico State: WAC Digital Network: http://wacsports.com/watch/?Live=14
Texas A&M vs. UTEP: http://www.utepathletics.com/collegesportslive/?media=534574

Live Stats:

Texas A&M vs. Arizona: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=137308
Texas A&M vs. New Mexico State: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=137310
Texas A&M vs. UTEP: http://www.utepathletics.com/gametracker/launch/gt_wvolley.html?event=1496632&school=utep&sport=wvolley&camefrom=&startschool=&
Updates and other information can be found by following @AggieVolleyball on Twitter

TEXAS A&M NOTES:

Texas A&M is 3-3 after falling to No. 16 Florida State, 3-2, and No. 6 Minnesota, 3-0, and defeating Virginia Tech, 3-0, last week at the Puerto Rico Clásico in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake collected all-tournament honors for the second consecutive week.
Most recently, the Aggies closed out the Puerto Rico Clásico by defeating Virginia Tech, 3-0 (28-26, 25-23, 25-15), on Saturday, Sept. 3, as senior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers led all players with 14 kills while hitting .407. Freshman outside hitter Hollann Hans, who drew her first career start and was celebrating her 19th birthday, posted a career-high 12 kills, and junior outside hitter Kiara McGee also added 12 kill. Blake had eight kills without an error in 12 attempts for a .667 hitting efficiency, and she led all players with four blocks. Junior setter Stephanie Aiple dished out 41 assists as A&M outhit Tech, .322 to .179, and senior defensive specialist Victoria Arenas had a team-high 11 digs.
Laurie Corbelli, the reigning SEC and AVCA South Region coach of the year, is 491-231 in her 24th season as head coach of the Aggies and 591-337 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 is serving as the volunteer assistant coach this season.
Trevor Johnson is in his first season as assistant coach at Texas A&M, having spent the past season as an assistant at Baylor.

CHALLENGING PRE-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

The first 10 of Texas A&M's 11 non-conference matches are away from home.
Of the 11 non-conference opponents, five are currently ranked in the AVCA top 15, including three that are in the top five: No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 3 Texas and No. 5 Minnesota.
The Aggies lost five-set matches to current No. 12 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, an NCAA Final Four team in 2015.
Arizona, Texas A&M's next opponent, is receiving votes and is listed 37th.
On Monday, Texas A&M hosted an exhibition match against Shandong, a team from China that has yet to drop a set during its U.S. tour.
Texas A&M makes its home debut in its final preconference match of the season, playing host to No. 2 Wisconsin on Friday, Sept. 16 at 4 p.m. Reed Arena.

TEXAS A&M IN THE RANKINGS

Texas A&M slipped two spots to No. 16 in this week's AVCA Top 25 Poll.
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.
Texas A&M dropped three spots to No. 24 in the PrepVolleyball.com Top 25 Composite Poll and fell 11 spots to No. 21 in the PVB Top 50.
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

Sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake, an all-tournament selection at both the North Texas Challenge and the Puerto Rico Clásico, leads the SEC and is 12th in the nation with a .456 hitting efficiency. The Allen, Texas, product, who 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, also leads the SEC and is 12th in the nation with 36 total blocks, and she is first in the SEC and 15th in the nation with 1.57 blocks per set.
Junior setter Stephanie Aiple is third in the SEC and 21st in the nation with 11.22 assists per set. She also is third in the conference and 30th in the country with 258 total assists
As a team, A&M leads the SEC and is 18th in the country with 14.48 kills per set. The Aggies are third in the SEC and 48th in the nation in both assists per set (13.00) and blocks per set (2.61).

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 399 and needs only 10 more to tie Lindsey Miller (2009-12) for third place.
Babers is seventh in total blocks with 453, only nine blocks behind Miller.
Babers ranks sixth in career total points (1,188.5) since rally scoring begin in 2001, and she currently ranks second in career hitting percentage (.370).
Junior setter Stephanie Aiple has moved into 10th in career assists with 2,521. She needs only 59 more assists to move into ninth place, surpassing Lexy Beers, who had 2,579 assists from 2001-03.

AGGIE PLAYER NOTABLES

Babers needs 67 kills to become the 17th player in program history 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 (98).
Babers and junior outside hitter Kiara McGee both have posted double-figure kills in five of six matches, with Babers reaching double digits in each of the last four matches.
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.
Senior Emily Hardesty is the most experienced outside hitter of 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.
Junior libero Amy Nettles, who has received the team's best defensive player award each of the last two seasons, has 784 career digs and needs only 246 more to become the 21^st player in Texas A&M history to join the 1,000 Digs Club.
Freshman outside hitter Hollann Hans drew 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. In the exhibition match against Shandong from China, Hans had four aces in the second set alone.

A&M SERIES HISTORY VS. ARIZONA

Texas A&M has won the last two meetings against Arizona to take a 5-3 lead in the all-time series.
The teams have not met since Dec., 4, 2009, when A&M upset the 19th-ranked Wildcats, 18-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-23, in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Baton Rouge, La. The Aggies went on to also upset host and 18th-ranked LSU in the second round, marking the last time Texas A&M advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16.
The 2009 match is the only time the Aggies have faced the Wildcats with head coach Laurie Corbelli at the helm.
A&M holds a 3-2 edge in the series when the match is played at a neutral site.
Arizona's most recent win against the Aggies was a 15-9, 15-3, 15-7 victory on Nov. 25, 1988, at the UTA Invitational in Arlington, Texas.

A&M SERIES HISTORY VS. NMSU

Texas A&M has won the last two matches against New Mexico State to take a 3-2 lead in the all-time series.
This will mark the first time the two teams have faced in Las Cruces, N.M.
The most recent meeting was Sept. 6, 2015, when Texas A&M held off NMSU, 3-2 (27-25, 25-21, 27-29, 16-25, 15-9) at the Texas A&M Invitational at Reed Arena. Tournament MVP Jazzmin Babers and all-tournament selection Kiara McGee both posted then-career highs with 20 kills apiece in the match that determined the tournament champion. NMSU had four players record double-digit kills, including Tatyana Battle who had a team high 18 kills.
NMSU's most recent victory over the A&M Aggies was a three-set sweep on Sept. 26, 1987, at G. Rollie White Coliseum in College Station.

A&M SERIES HISTORY VS. UTEP

Texas A&M is 2-0 all-time against UTEP.
The teams met in back-to-back years in 1991 and 1992, with A&M winning the most recent one, 3-1 (15-6, 11-15, 15-6, 15-6) at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
This will be the first time the two teams have met in El Paso.

SCOUTING ARIZONA

Arizona is 3-3 after going 3-0 to win its own Wildcat Classic last weekend.
The Wildcats, who are receiving votes in the AVCA poll, didn't drop a single set in the home-opening tournament, sweeping Alabama State, SMU and Pepperdine to capture the tournament title.
Sophomore outside hitter Kendra Dahlke, who leads Arizona with 3.81 kills per set for the full season, was named the Wildcat Classic MVP after averaging 4.78 kills per set while hitting .314.
Senior setter Penina Snuka and senior libero Laura Larson joined Dahlke on the all-tournament team. Snuka is averaging 9.52 assists per set on the season, and Larson is averaging 4.19 digs per set in all matches.
Arizona opened the season at the Wahine Invitational in Honolulu and fell to Kansas State, 3-1, and No. 4 Wisconsin, 3-0. The Wildcats then won the first two sets against No. 6 Hawaii, but the Wahine came back to win the next three sets to get the victory.
As a team, Arizona is outhitting its opponents, .227 to .150, and also leads in kills (12.67 to 10.71), assists (11.95 to 0.86), aces (1.29 to 0.86), digs (15.62 to 14.90) and blocks (2.29 to 2.19) per set.
David Rubio is 426-280 in his 25th season as head coach of the Wildcats.

SCOUTING NEW MEXICO STATE

The New Mexico State Aggies are 5-2 and riding a four-match win streak entering their home opener against Sacramento State on Friday at 1 p.m. (MT). Most recently, the Aggies defeated Austin Peay, 3-1, and swept Valparaiso, Troy and Southern to win the Trojan Invitational in Troy, Alabama.
Junior middle hitter Sasha-Lee Thomas, the Western Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year, leads the Aggies with 3.17 kills per set while hitting at a .300 clip.
Junior outside hitters Jordan Abalos (.244) and Kassandra Tohm (.374) are averaging 3.05 and 2.83 kills per set, respectively, and sophomore outside hitter Tatyana Battle (.216) also is averaging 2.83 kills per set
The Aggies have no seniors on the team.
NM State leads the WAC in kills (14.29) and aces per set (1.54), as well as opponent hitting percentage (.133). The Aggies are second in the league in hitting percentage (.261) and assists per set (12.88).
Abalos leads the WAC and is 36th in the nation with 0.55 aces per set.
Mike Price, in his 19th season as head coach of the Aggies, reached his 400th career victory against Valparaiso and is 402-179 entering the Borderland Invitational.

SCOUTING UTEP

UTEP is 2-5 after falling to Texas Tech, 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-23). The Miners were outhit, .256 to .100.
Four players are averaging more than two kills per set, but each of the four players is hitting below .200.
Setter Lindsey Larson is among six athletes in the nation to register a triple-double this season. The senior registered her first triple-double of her career as she led UTEP to a 3-1 victory over Bradley (9/3). She totaled 25 assists, 17 digs and 10 kills while adding four blocks and an ace.
Larson ranks first among C-USA leaders with six double-doubles on the young season. She has recorded a double-double in all six tournament matches.
Holly Watt (Texas '94) is 21-41 in her fourth season as head coach of the Miners.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Texas A&M has a murderous week ahead, taking on long-time arch rival and third -ranked Texas in Austin on Wednesday and then playing host to second-ranked Wisconsin in the Aggies' home opener on Friday in what will be the their final non-conference match of the regular season.
First serve against the Longhorns is at 7 p.m. at Gregory Gym, and the match will be televised on the Longhorn Network.
The match against the Badgers begins at 4 p.m. at Reed Arena and will be broadcast on SEC +, available on WatchESPN.com.

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.