Texas A&M Concludes Road Swing at South Carolina

Sunday, October 7

Columbia, S.C.

12:30 p.m.

Texas A&M

South Carolina

Oct 06, 2018 | Volleyball

Complete match notes (pdf)

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

Texas A&M Aggies (10-6, 3-1 SEC) vs. South Carolina Gamecocks (13-2, 4-1 SEC)
Sunday, October 7, 12:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. ET)
Carolina Volleyball Center
Columbia, South Carolina

Stream: SEC Network+
Twitter Updates: @AggieVolleyball

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M (10-6, 3-1 SEC) concludes its three-match road swing on Sunday at South Carolina. First serve against the Gamecocks (13-2, 4-1 SEC) is at 12:30 p.m. (1:30 p.m. ET) at the Carolina Volleyball Center in Columbia, S.C., and the match will be streamed on SEC Network+.

Both teams are coming off their first Southeastern Conference loss of the season. The Aggies, who opened SEC play 3-0 for the first time as a member of the league, pushed No. 11 Florida to five sets before falling, 3-2 (25-18, 25-22, 12-25, 22-25, 15-13) on Friday at the Exactech Arena in Gainesville. Led by junior outside hitter Hollann Hans' career-high and A&M SEC record-setting 32 kills, the Aggies came up just short of pulling off their first-ever victory in Gainesville as well as their first ranked win of the season.

South Carolina, which went 9-0 in September for the first time since 1983 and is No. 18 in the first NCAA RPI ratings of the season released on Monday, had its nine-match winning streak snapped after falling at Missouri, 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 30-28), on Friday.

TEXAS A&M-SOUTH CAROLINA SERIES HISTORY

Texas A&M has won the last six meetings against South Carolina and leads the all-time series, 10-1, including 8-1 in SEC matches only.
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.
A&M is 5-1 in matches played in Columbia and 5-0 in matches played in College Station.
A&M has won each of the last three meetings in three-set sweeps and has won 14 consecutive sets against the Gamecocks.
The last time A&M traveled to South Carolina was 2016, when the Aggies defeated the Gamecocks, 3-0 (25-20, 25-18, 25-19). The prior two meetings played in Columbia had been decided in five sets.
The teams met only once last year, with the Aggies celebrating Senior Day by defeating the Gamecocks, 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-18) on Nov. 19, 2017, at Reed Arena.
Texas A&M senior Kiara McGee led the charge for the Aggies and finished with match highs of 17 points and 15 kills while hitting .433. Mikayla Robinson had eight kills to lead the Gamecocks.
South Carolina would score the opening point in every set, but A&M, with all four seniors in the starting lineup for the first time in 2017, wasted little time taking over the lead and pulling away as they outhit the Gamecocks, .312 to .085, and led in kills, 42-29.
The teams will meet again this season of Friday, Nov. 9, at Reed Arena in College Station.

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 80-34 all-time in SEC matches only.
The Aggies are 42-16 all-time in SEC home matches and 38-18 in SEC away matches.

AGGIE PLAYER NOTES

Junior outside hitter Hollann Hans leads the SEC with 5.08 points per set and is second in the league with 0.49 aces per set for the full season.
She is fourth in the league with 4.41 kills per set in all matches.
In SEC matches only, Hans is second in the conference in kills (4.33), aces (0.72) and points (5.22) per set.
Hans' 34 points and 32 kills at Florida are both A&M SEC records. 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 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 leads A&M and ranks second in the SEC with 0.49 aces per set for the full season.
Hans leads A&M with seven double-doubles, including six double-doubles over the last eight matches.
Hans has posted double-figure kills in 13 of 15 matches played, including seven matches in which she has recorded 20 or more kills.
Hans, only a junior, now has a school-record 54 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 62 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 last Sunday. 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 10.19 assists per set for the full season and also third in the league with 9.83 assists per set in SEC play only.
Conner ranks sixth in the league with a .356 hitting efficiency while averaging 1.94 kills per set in SEC matches only.

Amy Houser is No. 2 in the SEC with 4.89 digs per set in SEC matches only.
Houser is fifth in the league with 4.21 digs per set for the full season.
Houser recorded the first double-double of her career in the 3-2 win at LSU last Sunday, posting a career-high 11 assists and tying her career best with a match-high 24 digs.
Houser had a match-high 22 digs at Florida and has now tallied 20 or more digs in six of the last eight matches, including each of the last three.
She has reached double-figure digs in eight consecutive matches and 13 matches overall.
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 337 service receptions. She also has a team-best .970 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 14 of 16 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 16 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 0.94 blocks per set in conference matches only.
Sophomore middle blocker Makena Patterson had a career-high 15 kills while hitting .414 in the victory over LSU last Sunday. It was the fourth time over the last six matches that she set or tied a career high in kills.
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 seven 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 last Sunday.
Freshmen defensive specialist Taylor Voss has seen significant playing time as of late, having seen action in 13 matches and 43 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

The Florida match marked A&M's 16th match of the season and the start of the second half of the Aggies' 30-match regular-season schedule.
A&M's 3-2 win at LSU last Sunday is the Aggies' only true away victory of the season. With the loss at No. 11 Florida on Friday, A&M is now 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 third in the league in assists (12.69) and aces (1.66) per set in all matches.
In SEC matches only, A&M is third in assists (12.78), aces (2.00) and digs (16.11) per set.
A&M is outhitting its opponents, .225 to .183 in all matches. In SEC matches only, A&M is outhitting its opponents, .207 to .203.
For the season, A&M is 5-2 in three-set matches, 3-1 in four-set matches and 2-3 in five set matches.
A&M enters the South Carolina match having played three consecutive five-set matches.
With a 10-6 record, A&M has already equaled its total number of wins in 2017.
A&M is 78th in the first NCAA RPI (rating percentage index), released on Monday.

SOUTH CAROLINA QUICK HITS

South Carolina is No. 18 in the first RPI rankings of the season, released by the NCAA on Monday. The Gamecocks ended the 2017 season ranked 156th in the RPI standings.
South Carolina also received 11 votes in the most recent AVCA Top-25 poll and is listed 28th. South Carolina was last ranked in the coaches Top-25 poll in 2002.
Senior libero Aubrey Ezell entered the weekend leading the SEC and ranked second in the nation with 0.88 aces per set. She also entered the weekend as the NCAA active career leader with 181 career aces.
The Gamecocks had their nine-match winning streak snapped and suffered their first SEC loss of the season after falling at Missouri, 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 30-28) on Friday.
Prior to the loss to the Tigers, South Carolina's only loss of the season was at Rice on August 31.
Brittany McLean led the Gamecocks with eight kills against Missouri, which outhit the Gamecocks, .402 to .208 and outblocked South Carolina, 8-1.
The Gamecocks are outhitting their opponents, .246 to .183, for the full season.
South Carolina leads the SEC with 1.89 aces per set for the full season.
Mikayla Robinson leads the team and is 10th in the SEC with a .309 hitting percentage for the full season. She is hitting .344 and ranked ninth in the league in SEC matches only.
South Carolina is 8-1 in 3-set matches, 3-1 in 4-set matches and 2-0 in 5-set matches.
Tom Mendoza became the 13th head coach in Gamecock volleyball's 46-year history on Jan. 3, 2018. Mendoza spent 2016 and 2017 as head coach at High Point University, where he led the Panthers to back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Texas A&M returns home for a single match against Auburn on Friday, Oct. 12 at Reed Arena. First serve is at 6 p.m., and the match will be streamed on SEC Network+.
The Aggies then face a rematch against Georgia on Oct. 14 in Athens before beginning a three-match homestand.

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