Volleyball Hosts South Carolina on Senior Day

Sunday, November 19

College Station

11 a.m.

Texas A&M

South Carolina

Nov 18, 2017 | Volleyball

Match Notes Watch Live Tickets

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

COLLEGE STATION, Texas—Texas A&M (7-15, 4-11 SEC) celebrates Senior Day on Sunday as the Aggies close out the home portion of the regular season against South Carolina (12-15, 5-10 SEC) at Reed Arena. First serve of the Southeastern Conference contest has been changed to 11 a.m., and the match will be broadcast on SEC Network +, available via the WatchESPN app.

A&M's seniors Gabby Litwin, Kiara McGee, Amy Nettles and Ashlie Reasor, as well as Stephanie Aiple, will be honored immediately following the match.

Texas A&M Aggies (7-15, 4-11 SEC) vs. South Carolina Gamecocks (12-15, 5-10 SEC)
Sunday, Nov. 19, 11 a.m.
Reed Arena, College Station, Texas

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

Promotions:

Daddy-Daughter Day
Take a Kid to the Game: Up to four kids get in free with the purchase of one full-price adult ticket (Available in person on game day only. Not available in advance).
Kids Court Sunday: Open 10-11 a.m. in the volleyball practice gym (ground floor) with free youth entertainment including a bounce house, face painting, balloon animals and more.
Giveaway: Black A&M Tumblers for the first 200 A&M students in attendance (North Entrance)

The Aggies are coming off a 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-20) loss to league-leader and No. 3-ranked Florida on Wednesday. South Carolina closed out its home slate on Friday, dropping its first set against Alabama but rallying to defeat the Crimson Tide, 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-23, 26-24) to snap a three-match losing skid.

With the win, South Carolina moved into a tie with Alabama for ninth place in the SEC. A&M has lost its last five matches and is in 12th place.

TEXAS A&M-SOUTH CAROLINA ALL-TIME SERIES

Texas A&M has won the last five meetings against South Carolina and leads the all-time series, 9-1, including 7-1 in SEC matches only.
A&M is 4-0 and has not dropped a set against the Gamecocks in matches played in College Station.
South Carolina's only win in the series was Oct. 6, 2013, as the Gamecocks upset A&M, 25-23, 25-20, 20-25, 25-23, in Columbia.
Texas A&M swept the home-and-home series against the Gamecocks last year, winning both matches in three sets each.
In the most recent meeting, Texas A&M began the second half of its SEC schedule with a 25-20, 25-18, 25-19 victory over South Carolina on Oct. 30, 2016, at the Carolina Volleyball Center. Senior middle blocker Jazzmin Babers tied for match-high honors with 12 kills while hitting .524 as the Aggies outhit the Gamecocks, .317 to .167. Kiara McGee pitched in 11 kills while hitting at a .320 clip, and Hollann Hans also reached double-figure kills with 10. Kaitlyn Blake led the Aggies with four blocks, and senior defensive specialist Victoria Arenas took match-high honors in digs with 16. Texas A&M led the Gamecocks in kills (48-24), assists (45-33), aces (5-4) and digs (50-34). South Carolina led in blocks, 9-7.
A&M's all-time records/results vs. South Carolina:

H: 4-0    A: 5-1    N: 0-0    SEC: 7-1
Oct. 10, 1993       A          W         15-7, 15-8, 15-7
Dec. 3,   1995       H          W         15-6, 17-15, 15-12
Oct. 5,   2012       H          W         25-12, 25-16, 25-16
Oct. 28, 2012       A          W         25-19, 25-16, 25-23
Oct. 6,   2013       A          L          23-25, 20-25, 25-20, 23-25
Nov. 27, 2013       H          W         25-22, 25-6, 25-18
Oct. 19, 2014       A          W         25-21, 23-25, 19-25, 25-12, 15-13
Oct. 11, 2015       A          W         27-29, 25-23, 22-25, 25-21, 15-4
Oct. 14, 2016       H          W         25-6, 25-15, 25-18
Oct. 30, 2016       A          W         25-20, 25-18, 25-19

TEXAS A&M TEAM NOTES

Texas A&M is 7-15 overall and No. 58 in the NCAA volleyball RPI.
The Aggies are in 12th place in the SEC with a 4-11 conference record. They are a half game behind 11th-place Tennessee.
The Aggies are 5-8 in home matches and 1-7 in away matches. In SEC matches only, A&M is 3-5 at home and 1-6 in away matches.
A&M is 4-9 in 3-set matches, 2-4 in 4-set matches and 1-2 in 5-set matches.
In SEC matches only, A&M is 2-6 in 3-set matches, 1-4 in 4-set matches and 1-1 in 5-set matches.
A&M set a school SEC record with 13 aces at Arkansas on Nov. 5. It is the most aces by an SEC team in a conference match this season.
A&M has produced six of its highest block performances of the season over the last eight matches, including a season-high 16.5 blocks at Arkansas on Nov. 5.
A&M is averaging 2.90 blocks per set over the last eight matches.
The Aggies are sixth in the SEC with 2.44 blocks per set in conference matches only and seventh in the league with 2.31 blocks per set for the full season.
Texas A&M ranks 25th in the nation for home attendance with an average of 1,590.

NO. 1 STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

Texas A&M has the toughest schedule in the nation according to the NCAA. The Aggies also have the No. 1-ranked strength of schedule in the nation according to Volleytalk.net's RPI Futures list.
The match against Florida on Wednesday marked A&M's eighth match against a Top-8 team this season.
Four of A&M's opponents—Texas, Stanford, Florida and Penn State—have spent at least one week ranked No. 1 in the AVCA Top 25 Poll in 2017. All four teams currently make up the top four ranked teams in the nation, including current No. 1 Penn State, who the Aggies fell to in five sets on Sept. 2.
Texas A&M's 2017 schedule includes two matches each against last year's top three SEC teams, co-champions Florida and Missouri, as well as two against Kentucky, which tied A&M for third place. Other home-and-home series will be played against Arkansas, Ole Miss and Mississippi State. Single-match opponents are LSU, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Auburn and Alabama.

TEXAS A&M PLAYER NOTES

Senior libero Amy Nettles ranks fourth in the A&M records with 1,417 career digs. She needs 54 digs to move into a tie for third place with Stacy Sykora, who had 1,471 career digs from 1995-98.
Nettles has appeared in a school-record 358 consecutive sets. The streak began when the then-freshman came off the bench for the final three sets against Arkansas on Oct. 15, 2014. The now-senior co-captain has obliterated the previous record of 284 consecutive sets played, held by fellow San Antonian Suzy Wente since 1994.
Nettles holds the A&M record for career digs in SEC matches only with 944.
Nettles is eighth in the league with 4.11 digs per set in conference matches only. The A&M record for digs per set in an SEC season is 4.10, set by Megan Pendergast in 2012, the Aggies' first year in the league.
Nettles, who has posted double-figure digs in 18 of 22 matches, leads the Aggies and is eighth in the SEC with 3.90 digs per set for the full season.
Nettles had a career-high 34 digs in the win against Tennessee on Oct. 27. It ties for sixth in the A&M all-time single-match records and is one shy of the school record for most digs in an SEC match held by Heather Reynolds, who had 35 digs in a 3-2 win at Georgia on Nov. 24, 2013.
Sophomore outside hitter Hollann Hans is third in the SEC with 0.37 aces per set in conference matches only. She ranks fifth in the SEC with 0.41 aces per set for the full season.
Hans has served at least one ace in 16 of 22 matches and has posted two or more aces nine times, including two four-ace performances.
Hans, who was named SEC Player of the Week for the first time in her career on Oct. 2, leads the Aggies and is eighth in the SEC with 3.40 kills per set for the full season. She also leads the team and ranks eighth in the league with 4.05 points per set in all matches.
Hans, who has led or tied for the team lead in points in a team-high 13 matches and in kills in 10 matches, had career highs of 32.5 points and 28 kills while hitting .328 against No. 5 Penn State. Her 32.5 points against Penn State ties for fourth in A&M single match records, and her 28 kills against the Nittany Lions are the most by an A&M player since Kelsey Black had 28 against Oklahoma on Oct. 6, 2010.
Senior outside hitter Kiara McGee has recorded double-figure kills in each of the last six matches, including a personal season-high 20 kills—one shy of her career high—at Arkansas on Nov. 5. She has taken team-high honors in both kills and points in each of the last five matches.
McGee leads A&M and ranks seventh in the SEC with 3.37 kills per set in conference matches only.
Freshman lefty Camille Conner, one of the top 14 setters in the nation according to FloVolleyball, was named the SEC Co-Setter of Week for the first time in her career on Oct. 2 after directing the Aggie offense to a season-high .379 hitting percentage at Georgia.
Conner, the MVP of the season-opening Texas A&M Invitational, is one of only two players in the SEC that has recorded a triple-double this season, having tallied 43 assists, 12 digs and 12 kills while hitting .321 in the five-set loss to No. 5 Penn State. She is the first A&M player to record a triple-double since former lefty setter Allie Sawatzky achieved the feat with 31 assists, 10 kills and 11 digs at Ole Miss on Nov. 10, 2013.
Conner tied her career high with 46 assists at Arkansas and also pitched in 13 digs to record her team-leading fifth double-double of the season.
Conner, Nettles and Hans are the only three players who have appeared in all 78 sets this season. They also are the only three who have been in the starting lineup, including the libero, in every match.
Senior Gabby Litwin posted two aces in each of the first two sets at Arkansas on Nov. 5 and finished with a career-high four aces. It remains the most aces by an SEC player in a five-set conference match this season.
Litwin had a match-high and a personal season-high 14 digs against No. 3 Florida. Litwin is second on the team with 2.08 digs per set in SEC matches only.
Conner and at least one other freshman have been in the starting lineup in 18 of 22 matches, including eight matches in which three freshmen were in the starting lineup. Against Ole Miss last Sunday, freshman Morgan Davis, typically a middle blocker, made the fifth start of her career but her first start on the right side.
Nettles, McGee, Ashlie Reasor and Amy Houser all received their Aggie Rings on Friday, Nov. 17. The Aggie Ring is the most visible symbol of the Aggie Network that connects Aggies around the world. Dating back over a hundred years, it is a tradition that is deep in symbolism. Every symbol represents values every Aggie should hold: Excellence, Integrity, Leadership, Loyalty, Respect and Selfless Service.

25th SEASON FOR CORBELLI DUO

Texas A&M head coach Laurie Corbelli and her husband, associate head coach John Corbelli, are celebrating their 25th season at the helm of the Aggies. Laurie, the 2015 SEC and AVCA South Region coach of the year and the longest tenured head coach at Texas A&M, is 516-252 in her A&M career and 616-358 in the 32nd year of her head coaching career.
Under the Corbellis' direction, the Aggies have reached the 20-win milestone 17 times and have made 20 NCAA tournament appearances, making A&M one of only 14 teams to make at least 20 NCAA appearances since the couple was hired in 1993.
Laurie has served as head coach of the USA Volleyball Women's Junior National Team each of the last two summers. This past summer, she coached the team that included Kentucky's Gabby Curry and Leah Edmond and Florida's Paige Hammons and Rachael Kramer at the 2017 FIVB Volleyball Women's U20 World Championship in Boca del Rio and Cordoba, Mexico. South Carolina's Mikayla Shields was on the 16-member training squad but did not make the final 12-player roster.

SOUTH CAROLINA QUICK HITS

South Carolina snapped a three-match losing skid on Friday as the Gamecocks concluded their home slate with a come-from-behind 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-23, 26-24 victory against Alabama at the Carolina Volleyball Center in Columbia.
Sophomore Mikayla Shields led all players with 18 kills and 21.5 points while hitting .366. She leads the Gamecocks and ranks fifth in the SEC with 3.69 kills and 4.22 points per set for the full season, and she is fourth in the league with 3.62 kills per set in SEC matches only.
Sophomore middle blocker Claire Edwards tied for match-high honors with six blocks as the Gamecocks outblocked Alabama, 13-7.
Junior libero Aubrey Ezell, who hails from Granbury, Texas, leads the SEC with 46 aces. She is second in the conference with 0.44 aces per set for the full season.
Ezell is fourth in the SEC with 4.43 digs per set for the full season. She is fifth in the league with 4.43 digs per set in conference matches only.
Dottie Hampton is 3-9 since taking over interim head coaching duties on Oct. 4. She had served the previous four years as the Gamecocks' assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
South Carolina concludes its 2017 season with two road matches. The Gamecocks are at Ole Miss on Wednesday and finish at Mississippi State on Friday.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

A&M also closes out the season with a pair of road matches this week.
The Aggies take on Mississippi State in Starkville on Wednesday at the Newell-Grissom Building. The time of the match has been changed to 3 p.m. A&M swept the Bulldogs when the teams met in College Station on Oct. 8.
A&M concludes the season at Alabama on Saturday. The start time has been changed to 12 p.m. at Foster Auditorium in Tuscaloosa. The match marks the only meeting between the two teams this season.

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.