lonestar-web
Popular Searches
CelebrationCelebration
Volleyball

Texas A&M Returns to Reed to Host Auburn

Texas A&M Aggies (10-7, 3-2 SEC) vs. Auburn Tigers (8-8, 1-5 SEC)

Complete match notes (pdf) Opens in a new window
Texas A&M Aggies (10-7, 3-2 SEC) vs. Auburn Tigers (8-8, 1-5 SEC)
Friday, October 12, 6 p.m.
Reed Arena
College Station, Texas
 
Stream: SEC Network+
Twitter Updates: @AggieVolleyball
 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — After playing its last three matches on the road, Texas A&M (10-7-, 3-2 SEC) returns to Reed Arena on Friday to play host to the Auburn Tigers (8-8, 1-5 SEC). First serve is at 6 p.m., and the match will be streamed on SEC Network+.
 
Both teams are looking to get back into the win column after losing their last two matches. The Aggies began their three-match road swing with a 3-2 victory at LSU before losing a hard-fought 3-2 decision at No. 11 Florida last Friday and then suffering a 3-1 setback at South Carolina on Sunday.
 
Auburn dropped two home matches, falling to Georgia, 3-2, on Oct. 3 and losing to Alabama, 3-0, on Sunday at Auburn Arena.
 
PROMOTIONS
  • Student Giveaway: Adidas grey performance T's for the first 50 Texas A&M students (North Entrance)
  • Camper Reunion Night: Free admission for volleyball campers in advance and on game day. Additional tickets are $3 each.
  • Soccer Double Header: Purchase a ticket for the Oct. 12 soccer match and bring it to the volleyball match to receive free admission.
  • Bring Your "A" Game: Free admission for any kid who presents a report card with an A. Only available as a walk up sale on the day of the event. No advance purchases.
  • Concessions Special: Half-off popcorn (all sizes).
  • Post-Match Autographs: Fans will be invited to the court to receive post-match autographs from the team.
 
TEXAS A&M-AUBURN SERIES HISTORY
  • Texas A&M has won the last six meetings against Auburn and leads the all-time series, 10-1.
  • A&M holds an 8-1 record against the Tigers in SEC matches only.
  • A&M is 5-0 against Auburn in matches played in College Station.
  • Auburn's only victory in the all-time series was Oct. 20, 2013, when the veteran Tiger squad defeated a youth-laden Texas A&M squad, 3-1 (25-23, 22-25, 25-19, 25-17) at Auburn Arena.
  • In the most recent meeting, then-Aggie freshman opposite hitter Samantha Sanders had a career-high and match-high 13 kills while hitting .312, and senior outside hitter Kiara McGee pitched in 12 kills, including a crucial five kills down the final stretch in the third set, to lead the Aggies to a come-from-behind 16-25, 25-22, 27-25, 25-19 victory over Auburn on Oct. 15, 2017 Reed Arena. Hollann Hans added 10 kills and tied her then-career high with 14 digs to record her first double-double of the season.
  • Courtney Crable led the Tigers with 13 kills, and Anna Stevenson added 12 kills in the loss.
  • A&M outhit Auburn, .245 to .200, and led in blocks, 10-3. Auburn led with eight aces but also committed 13 service errors.
  • The next meeting in the series is slated for Oct. 31 at Auburn.
 
TEXAS A&M IN THE SEC
  • Texas A&M is picked to finish 8th in the SEC in 2018, according to a preseason poll of the league's head coaches.
  • A&M went 7-11 in conference matches last season to finish in ninth place in the SEC.
  • All three of A&M's SEC wins this season have been against teams that were predicted to finish above the Aggies, according to the preseason poll. A&M won 3-2 against both Georgia and LSU, who each tied for fourth in the preseason poll, and swept Arkansas, who was picked to finish seventh.
  • Texas A&M junior outside hitter Hollann Hans was named to the nine-member 2018 Preseason All-SEC Team, as voted on by the league's head coaches.
  • A&M's best season in the SEC was 2015, when the Aggies, despite dropping their conference season opener to Arkansas, went 16-2 to capture the SEC title, A&M's first conference championship in program history.
  • In their inaugural SEC season opener, the Aggies defeated Ole Miss on Sept. 14, 2012, at Reed Arena, marking Texas A&M's first SEC victory in any sport. The Aggies went on to finish 16-4, winning the SEC Western Division and placing second overall.
  • Texas A&M is 80-35 all-time in SEC matches only.
  • The Aggies are 42-16 all-time in SEC home matches and 38-19 in SEC away matches.
 
AGGIE PLAYER NOTES
  • Junior outside hitter Hollann Hans was named the SEC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season on Monday after averaging 6.50 points, 5.78 kills, 0.56 aces and 2.11 digs per set during the Aggies' matches at No. 11 Florida and at South Carolina last weekend.
  • Hans leads the SEC and is 14th in the nation with 5.14 points per set.
  • She is second in the league and 14th in the nation with 0.51 aces per set for the full season.
  • She is fourth in the league and 19th in the country with 4.41 kills per set in all matches.
  • In SEC matches only, Hans leads the conference in both points (5.39) and aces (0.73) per set and is third in kills (4.45) per set.
  • Hans' 34 points and 32 kills at Florida smashed the previous Texas A&M records for most kills and most points in a match in the 25-point scoring era. She had set the previous record with 28 kills and 32.5 points against Penn State in 2017.
  • The 34 points ranks fourth in the A&M all-time single-match records, and the 32 kills ranks eighth in the all-time records.
  • Her 32 kills and 34 points are the most by an SEC player in a conference match this season.
  • Hans served a school-record eight aces in A&M's 3-2 win over Georgia on Sept. 23, breaking the previous A&M all-time record of six, reached 12 times, most recently on August 30, 2013, by Allie Sawatzky against South Dakota State.
  • Hans' eight aces against Georgia are the most by an SEC player in a match this season and ties for second in the nation for most aces in a five-set match this season.
  • Hans has posted double-figure kills in 14 of 16 matches played, including eight matches in which she has recorded 20 or more kills.
  • Hans, only a junior, now has a school-record 57 aces in her SEC career, smashing the previous record of 46 set by Shelby Sullivan (2012-15).
 
  • Sophomore setter Camille Conner, and freshman middle blocker London Austin-Roark are the only two A&M players who have started every match this season.
  • Team captain Amy Houser, the only senior on the team, has started every match as the designated libero and has played the position in all but one set.
  • Conner is the only player who has appeared in all 66 sets.
  • Conner is the only player in the SEC to record a triple-double this season.
  • Conner had 46 assists and career highs of 13 kills and 18 digs, as well as a personal-best .385 hitting efficiency when posting 10 or more kills, in the Aggies' 3-2 win at LSU on Sept. 30. It was Conner's second triple-double of her career, as she was one of only two players in the SEC to accomplish the feat in 2017, having tallied 12 kills, 12 digs and 43 assists against No. 5 Penn State (Sept. 2, 2017).
  • Conner came within one dig of posting a triple-double in the 3-2 victory against Georgia on Sept. 23.
  • Conner was named SEC Co-Setter of the Week (Sept. 24) following the first week of conference play after averaging 10.25 assists per set and averaging 2.12 kills and 2.94 points per set while hitting .433, in A&M's wins over Arkansas and Georgia.
  • Conner is third in the SEC with 10.21 assists per set for the full season and also third in the league with 9.95 assists per set in SEC play only.
  • Conner and Hans are tied for the team lead with seven double-doubles.
 
  • Amy Houser is No. 3 in the SEC with 4.59 digs per set in SEC matches only.
  • Houser is fifth in the league with 4.15 digs per set for the full season.
  • Houser recorded the first double-double of her career in the 3-2 win at LSU (Sept. 30), posting a career-high 11 assists and tying her career best with a match-high 24 digs.
  • She has reached double-figure digs in nine consecutive matches and 14 matches overall.
  • Houser has tallied 20 or more digs in a team-leading six matches.
  • Houser was named both SEC Player of the Week and SEC Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 24 after averaging a league-tying high 5.25 digs per set in A&M's wins over Arkansas and Georgia during  the first week of SEC play. It was the first time in her career she had won either honor.
  • Houser had a match-high 19 digs in the three-set victory over Arkansas, tying a school record for most digs by an A&M player in a three-set SEC match.
  • Houser has a team-high 362 service receptions. She also has a team-best .972 service reception percentage among players who have at least 15 reception attempts.
  • Freshman defensive specialist Allison Fields, who played libero in the final set in the sweep against Nicholls, has started 15 of 17 matches and has posted double-figure digs seven times, including a career-high 20 digs against Missouri State.
  • Freshman middle blocker London Austin-Roark, who has started all 17 matches, had a career-high nine blocks against Georgia, the most blocks by an A&M player this season.
  • Austin-Roark leads A&M with 0.90 blocks per set in conference matches only.
  • After having appeared in only one match over the first nine matches of the season, sophomore opposite hitter Samantha Sanders has come on strong and appeared in each of the last eight matches.
  • Sanders posted double-figure kills in the second consecutive match and the third time this season and tied her season high with 11 kills at LSU on Oct. 30.
  • Freshmen defensive specialist Taylor Voss has seen significant playing time as of late, having seen action in 14 matches and 47 sets, typically as a server for a middle blocker. She tied her career high with two aces at No. 11 Florida.
  • Freshmen middle blockers London Austin-Roark and Mallory Talbert and freshman lefty setter Kaitlyn Rogers all graduated high school early and participated in A&M spring drills and also went on the team's foreign training tour to Europe in May.
 
TEXAS A&M NOTES
  • Texas A&M has dropped back-to-back matches for only the second time this season. The Aggies are looking to avoid their first three-match losing skid of the season.
  • With a 10-7 record, A&M has already equaled its total number of wins in 2017.
  • Texas A&M is 4-1 in home matches with the only loss coming against Missouri State on Sept. 7. The Aggies are 2-0 in SEC home matches.
  • A&M, which heads to Georgia on Sunday, is 1-5 in true away matches.
  • A&M is second in the SEC with 14.92 digs per set for the full season
  • The Aggies are second in the league in aces (1.64) and third in assists (12.67) per set in all matches.
  • In SEC matches only, A&M is third in aces (1.86) and fourth in assists (12.68) and kills (13.45) per set.
  • A&M is outhitting its opponents, .223 to .187 in all matches. In SEC matches only, A&M is being outhit, .214 to .203.
  • For the season, A&M is 5-2 in three-set matches, 3-2 in four-set matches and 2-3 in five set matches.
  • Five of A&M's last nine matches have been decided in five sets.
  • A&M is 79th in the NCAA RPI (rating percentage index), released on Monday.
 
AUBURN QUICK HITS
  • Auburn is 8-8 overall and tied for 11th place in the SEC standings with a 1-5 record.
  • Auburn, No. 65 in this week's NCAA RPI, is 4-2 in away matches, including 1-2 in SEC away matches.
  • Auburn has lost its last two matches, including most recently a 25-18, 25-20, 25-19 loss to Alabama on Oct. 7 at Auburn Arena.
  • The Tigers were outhit, .292 to .127, and outblocked, 11-6, by the Crimson Tide.
  • Senior outside hitter Brenna McIlroy had eight kills to lead the Tigers against Alabama.
  • McIlroy is 10th in the SEC with 3.78 points per set for the full season and ranks fifth with 0.36 aces per set.
  • Junior middle blocker Shaina White leads the Tigers and is ninth in the SEC with a .321 hitting efficiency for the full season.
  • Freshman setter Mica Allison has played in all 61 sets and is fourth in the conference with 10.00 assists per set for the full season as well as 9.84 assists per set in SEC matches only.
  • Allison runs a balanced attack that has four players averaging more than two kills per set apiece, including McIlroy, who averages a team-leading 3.20 kills per set.
  • The Tigers are outhitting their opponents, .228 to .223, for the full season but are being outhit, .236 to .219 in SEC matches only.
  • Auburn, which tied for seventh place in the SEC in 2017, was picked to finish sixth this year according to a preseason poll of the league's head coaches.
  • Rick Nold (Louisville, 1998) is 116-109 in his eighth season as head coach at Auburn and 287-207 in the 17th season of his head coaching career.
 
UPCOMING SCHEDULE
  • The Aggies return to the road and face a rematch against Georgia on Sunday, Oct. 14, at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Ga. First serve is at 1 p.m. (CT), and the match will be streamed on SEC Network+. Texas A&M defeated Georgia, 3-2, at Reed Arena in College Station on Sept. 23.
  • Following the match against the Bulldogs, Texas A&M begins a three-match homestand on Friday, Oct. 19 as the Aggies play host to Tennessee at 6:30 p.m. at Reed. The match is the Aggies' annual "Dig Pink" match.
  • Donations for the "Dig Pink" match are being accepted at https://giving.side-out.org/campaigns/14710#/
 
Go 12thman.com/sports/2017/8/20/promotions.aspx for complete list of promotions.
Visit 12thMan.com for more information on Texas A&M volleyball. Aggie fans also can keep up to date with the team on Facebook and on Twitter and Instagram by following @AggieVolleyball.