Texas A&M, Georgia Clash in SEC Match-up

Sunday, October 14

Athens, Ga.

1 p.m.

Texas A&M

Georgia

Photo by: Russell James/Texas A&M Athletics

Oct 13, 2018 | Volleyball

Complete match notes (pdf)

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

Texas A&M Aggies (11-7, 4-2 SEC) vs. Georgia Bulldogs (12-6, 3-4 SEC)
Sunday, October 14, 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET)
Stegeman Coliseum
Athens, Georgia

Stream: SEC Network+
Twitter Updates: @AggieVolleyball

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M (11-7, 4-2 SEC) faces a rematch against the Georgia Bulldogs (12-6, 3-4 SEC) on Sunday, when the two teams clash in Athens, Georgia. First serve is at 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET) at Stegeman Coliseum, and the match will be streamed on SEC Network+.

The Aggies, who have never lost an SEC match against Georgia and held off the Bulldogs, 3-2, when the teams met in College Station earlier this season, are coming off a 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-21) sweep against Auburn on Friday at Reed Arena.

Georgia, 4-1 in home matches, is looking to get back into the win column after dropping its last two matches, including a 3-1 setback at LSU on Wednesday in the Bulldogs' most recent outing.

TEXAS A&M-GEORGIA SERIES HISTORY

A&M leads Georgia, 16-3, in the all-time series which began in 1982.
The Aggies have won the last 11 meetings and are 9-0 against the Bulldogs in SEC matches only.
The teams most recently met on Sept. 23 at Reed Arena in College Station, where Aggie junior outside hitter Hollann Hans set a school record with eight service aces and added a match-high 20 kills to lead Texas A&M to a 3-2 (25-20, 25-21, 21-25, 23-25, 15-9) victory over the Bulldogs, who were receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25. Hans also posted a career-high 15 digs. Senior libero Amy Houser led A&M in digs with 23, one shy of her career high. Sophomore setter Camille Conner came within a dig of posting a triple-double as she finished with 11 kills, 48 assists and nine digs. Sophomore opposite hitter Samantha Sanders also registered double figures in kills with 10. Freshman middle blocker London Austin-Roark had nine kills and led all players with a career-high nine blocks, the most blocks by an A&M player since 2016.
Although A&M owns a lopsided lead in the SEC series, five of the nine conference meetings have been decided in five sets, including the most recent meeting on Sept. 23.
A&M is 6-1 against the Bulldogs in matches played in Athens, including 4-0 in SEC contests.
Three of the four SEC match-ups played in Athens—all contested at the Ramsey Center—were decided in five sets.
Last year's contest at the Ramsey Center (Sept. 29, 2017) marked the first time an A&M-Georgia SEC match played in Athens did not go five sets, as A&M swept the match, 25-22, 25-14, 25-18. Texas A&M hit what would remain a season-high .379, getting solid production from the outside hitters with Kiara McGee taking match-high honors with 13 kills while hitting .333. Hollann Hans pitched in 12 kills while hitting at a .435 clip.
Then-freshman setter Camille Conner directed the offense and finished with 35 assists.
Georgia's most recent victory over the Aggies was in 1994, when the 19th-ranked Bulldogs defeated A&M, 3-1 (15-11, 7-15, 15-7, 15-6) in a non-conference match at G. Rollie White Coliseum in College Station, Texas.

TEXAS A&M IN THE SEC

Texas A&M is in sixth place in the SEC standings with a 4-2 record. The Aggies are only a half game behind South Carolina, Missouri and Tennessee, who are all tied for third place with 5-2 records.
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 four 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 the Aggies swept both Auburn and Arkansas, who were picked to finish sixth and seventh, respectively.
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 81-35 all-time in SEC matches only.
The Aggies are 43-16 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 with 5.20 points per set.
She is second in the league with 0.50 aces per set for the full season.
She is third in the league with 4.48 kills per set in all matches.
Hans entered the weekend ranked 13th in the nation in points per set, 14th for aces per set, and 18th for kills per set.
In SEC matches only, Hans leads the conference in both points (5.50) and aces (0.68) per set and is second in kills (4.56) 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 15 of 17 matches played, including eight matches in which she has recorded 20 or more kills.
Hans, only a junior, now has a school-record 58 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 69 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 10.26 assists per set for the full season and also third in the league with 10.12 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 4.60 digs per set in SEC matches only.
Houser is fifth in the league with 4.18 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 10 consecutive matches and 15 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 376 service receptions. She also has a team-best .971 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 16 of 18 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 18 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 0.91 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 nine 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 15 matches and 50 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 avoided its first three-match losing skid of the season by defeating Auburn on Friday.
With an 11-7 record, A&M has already surpassed its total number of wins in 2017.
Texas A&M is 5-1 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 is 1-6 in true away matches heading into the Georgia match.
The Aggies are second in the league in aces (1.59) and assists (12.71) per set in all matches.
In SEC matches only, A&M is third in aces (1.72) and fourth in assists (12.80) and kills (13.80) per set.
A&M is outhitting its opponents, .230 to .187 in all matches and .225 to .211 in SEC matches only.
For the season, A&M is 6-2 in three-set matches, 3-2 in four-set matches and 2-3 in five set matches.
Five of A&M's last 10 matches have been decided in five sets.
A&M is 79th in the NCAA RPI (rating percentage index), released on Monday.

GEORGIA QUICK HITS

Georgia is 12-6, including 3-4 in SEC matches only, after dropping a 3-1 decision at LSU on Wednesday.
Three Bulldogs posted double-figure kills as Majesti Bass had a team-high 16 kills and T'ara Ceasar and Rachel Ritchie added 15 kills apiece, but Georgia was outhit, 2.50 to .128
The Bulldogs are 4-1 in home matches and 4-4 in away matches.
They are 6-0 in 3-set matches, 3-1 in 4-set matches and 3-5 in 5-set matches.
Georgia, which went 10-8 in SEC matches to finish in fifth place last season, was picked to finish tied for fourth with LSU in this year's preseason poll of the league's head coaches.
Georgia leads the SEC with 12.85 assists for the full season. The Bulldogs are third in the league in both aces (1.58) and digs (14.82) per set and are fifth with 13.55 kills per set.
Junior setter Meghan Donovan leads the SEC and entered the weekend ranked 15th in the nation with 11.32 assists per set for the full season.
Sophomore outside hitter T'ara Ceasar, a member of the 2018 Preseason All-SEC Team, leads the Bulldogs and is fifth in the conference with 4.22 kills and 4.71 points per set for the full season.
Georgia is outhitting its opponents, .227 to .198 for the full season but is being outhit, .224 to .193 in SEC matches only.
Tom Black is 34-18 in his second year as head coach of the Bulldogs.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

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 Arena.
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#/
The Aggies also will play host to No. 16 Kentucky on Sunday, Oct. 21 before closing out their homestand against Alabama on Friday, Oct. 26.

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.