Volleyball Begins Final Week at Mississippi State

Wednesday, November 22

Starkville, Miss.

3 p.m.

Texas A&M

Mississippi State

Nov 21, 2017 | Volleyball

Watch Live Complete Match Notes (PDF)

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

COLLEGE STATION, Texas—Texas A&M (8-15, 5-11 SEC) will be on the road for its final two matches of the season. First stop is Starkville, Mississippi, where the Aggies will take on the Mississippi State Bulldogs (9-22, 0-16 SEC) on Wednesday at the Newell-Grissom Building. The match time has been pushed up to a 3 p.m. start, and the contest will be broadcast on SEC Network +, available via the WatchESPN app.

The Aggies concluded the home portion of the season schedule and celebrated Senior Day on Sunday with a 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-18) sweep over South Carolina at Reed Arena. The victory ended A&M's five-match losing streak.

Mississippi State suffered its 16th consecutive loss and remained winless in SEC matches after falling to Auburn, 25-13, 25-21, 25-14, on Sunday at Auburn Arena.

Texas A&M moved into a tie for ninth place in the SEC standings, while Mississippi State is 13th.

Texas A&M Aggies (8-15, 5-11 SEC) vs. Mississippi State Bulldogs (9-22, 0-16 SEC)
Wednesday, Nov. 22, 3 p.m.
Starkville, Mississippi

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

TEXAS A&M-MISSISSIPPI STATE ALL-TIME SERIES

A&M leads the all-time series against Mississippi State, 8-0, and has not dropped a single set in the entire series.
The Aggies are 3-0 against the Bulldogs in Starkville and 5-0 in matches played at Reed Arena.
All eight meetings have been as SEC foes, as the teams never met until A&M joined the league in 2012.
Mississippi State and Georgia are the only two teams that have never defeated Texas A&M in an SEC match.
A&M's most recent meeting against the Bulldogs was Oct. 8 in College Station, where the Aggies' Kiara McGee had 11 kills while hitting .435 and freshman middle blocker Morgan Davis made her first career start and had a match-high and career-high seven blocks to lead A&M to a 25-20, 25-15, 25-13 victory at Reed Arena.
A&M hit .304 while holding MSU to an opponent season-low .011. Setter Camille Conner, who directed the A&M offense while dishing out 29 assists, also had a career-high in blocks with six—including two solo blocks—as A&M had a then-three-set season high for blocks and outblocked the Bulldogs, 10-4.
Junior middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake hit .800 with eight kills in 10 attempts without an error, tying for fourth in the A&M match records for hitting percentage when making 10-14 attempts. Jelena Vujcin led the Bulldogs with 14 kills.
A&M all-time records/results vs. Mississippi State:
Overall: 8-0 H: 5-0 A: 3-0 N: 0-0 SEC: 8-0

Oct. 7,    2012             H             W            25-8, 25-14, 25-10
Oct. 11, 2013             H             W            25-19, 25-21, 25-16
Nov. 8,    2013             A             W            25-17, 25-21, 25-15
Nov. 26, 2014             A             W            25-14, 25-18, 25-10
Oct. 18, 2015             H             W            25-19, 25-18, 25-15
Nov. 15, 2015             A             W            25-21, 25-19, 25-21
Nov. 11, 2016             H             W            27-25, 29-27, 25-20
Oct. 8,    2017             H             W            25-20, 25-15, 25-13

TEXAS A&M TEAM NOTES

Texas A&M is 8-15 overall and No. 59 in the NCAA volleyball RPI.
The Aggies are tied with South Carolina for ninth place in the SEC standings. They are one game behind Alabama, who the Aggies play in their season finale.
The Aggies are 6-8 in home matches and 1-7 in away matches. In SEC matches only, A&M is 4-5 at home and 1-6 in away matches.
A&M is 5-9 in 3-set matches, 2-4 in 4-set matches and 1-2 in 5-set matches.
In SEC matches only, A&M is 3-6 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 remains 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 nine matches, including a season-high 16.5 blocks at Arkansas on Nov. 5.
A&M is averaging 2.85 blocks per set over the last nine matches, up from 1.94 blocks per set over the first 14 matches of the season.
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 27th in the nation for home attendance with an average of 1,558.

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 last 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 current No. 6 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 1,428 career digs. She needs 43 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 361 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 955.
Nettles is eighth in the league with 4.09 digs per set in conference matches only. She is chasing the A&M record for digs per set in an SEC season of 4.10, set by Megan Pendergast in 2012, the Aggies' first year in the league.
Nettles, who has posted double-figure digs in 19 of 23 matches, leads the Aggies and is eighth in the SEC with 3.89 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 fourth 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 each of the last four matches and in 17 of 23 matches overall. She 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 3.38 kills per set for the full season. She also leads the team and ranks seventh in the league with 4.04 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 seven 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 six matches.
McGee, who has recorded double-doubles in two of the last three matches, leads A&M and ranks fifth in the SEC with 3.46 kills per set in conference matches only. She also leads the team and is seventh in the SEC with 3.82 points 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 and the only freshman in the league 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 81 sets this season. Conner and Nettles have been in the starting seven—including the libero—every match, and the only match Hans did not start was on the Aggies' Senior Day against South Carolina.
Senior opposite hitter Ashlie Reasor made only her fourth start of the season on Senior Day. She played all six rotations and responded with a team-high and personal season-high 12 digs.
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.
Conner and at least one other freshman have been in the starting lineup in 18 of 23 matches, including eight matches in which three freshmen were in the starting lineup. Against Ole Miss on Nov. 12, 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 517-252 in her A&M career and 617-358 in the 32nd year of her head coaching career.
Her 617 career victories ranks 18th on the NCAA Division I active head coaches list for most career wins.
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.

MISSISSIPPI STATE QUICK HITS

Mississippi State is 9-22, including 0-16 in SEC matches after falling at Auburn, 3-0, on Sunday.
Sara Maddox led the Bulldogs with eight kills, while Jelena Vujcin led the team with 8.5 points.
Libero Payton Harris, from Houston (Cy-Fair HS), had a team-high nine digs as she continues to add to her school record of 1,834 career digs.
Vujcin leads the Bulldogs and is sixth in the SEC with 3.47 kills per set for the full season. She is averaging 4.04 points per set in all matches, ranking eighth in the conference.
The Bulldogs will be playing in their final home match and will celebrate Senior Day when they play host to the Aggies. Harris and Vujcin are the team's two seniors.
Coach David McFatrich is 40-55 in his third season as head coach of the Bulldogs. He is 136-91 in the seventh year of his head coaching career.
Mississippi State closes out the season at South Carolina on Friday.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

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.
A&M seniors Gabby Litwin, Kiara McGee, Amy Nettles and Ashlie Reasor will be concluding their collegiate volleyball careers.

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.