Texas A&M Celebrates Senior Day as Aggies Host LSU in Season Finale

Friday, November 23

College Station

12 p.m.

Texas A&M

LSU

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Photo by: Sam Craft/Texas A&M Athletics

Nov 22, 2018 | Volleyball

COMPLETE MATCH NOTES (PDF)

By: Texas A&M Media Relations

Texas A&M Aggies (16-13, 9-8 SEC) vs. LSU T (12-16, 7-10 SEC)
Friday, November 23, 12 p.m.
Reed Arena
College Station, Texas

Stream: SEC Network +
Twitter Updates: @AggieVolleyball

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Texas A&M (16-13, 9-8 SEC) closes out its 2018 campaign and celebrates Senior Day on Friday as the Aggies play host to LSU (12-16, 7-10 SEC) at Reed Arena. First serve is at noon, and team captain and lone Aggie senior Amy Houser will be honored at the conclusion of the match, which will be streamed on SEC Network +.

The Aggies, who defeated the Tigers, 3-2, when the teams met on September 30 in Baton Rouge, have won their last three matches, including back-to-back road victories. Most recently, A&M swept Alabama, 25-23, 27-25, 25-18, on Wednesday in Tuscaloosa, avenging a 3-2 loss to the Crimson Tide at Reed Arena earlier this season.

The Aggies, who were picked to finish eighth in the SEC according to a preseason poll of the league's head coaches, enter the final match in sixth place in the standings, only one game behind fifth-place South Carolina, which closes out its regular season at No. 13 Florida.

LSU is coming off a 3-2 (25-19, 25-20, 23-25, 21-25, 15-11) loss against 24th-ranked Missouri on Wednesday in Baton Rouge. The Tigers, who have four seniors, are in seventh place in the SEC standings, two games behind A&M.

Several Texas A&M season records will fall or are on the verge of being broken in the final match:

Junior outside hitter Hollann Hans needs only one ace to tie and two to break the all-time program record of 59 aces in a season. The record, held by Chris Zogata, has stood since 1983 and is the program's longest standing all-time season record.
Hans is guaranteed to break the all-time record of 0.46 aces per set in a season (held by A.D. Achilefu since 2001), even if she does not record an ace in five sets played.
Hans also will break the A&M SEC season records for aces per set, which she set last year with a 0.38 average, as well as points per set, currently held by Jazzmin Babers, who averaged 4.20 points per set in the 2015 SEC season. Hans will break both records even if she does not serve an ace or score a point in five sets played.
Senior libero Amy Houser needs only seven digs to tie and eight to break the 25-point rally scoring era record for digs in a season, currently held by Tori Mellinger, who had 467 digs in the 2010 season. Houser's 460 digs this season currently ranks seventh in the program's all-time season records.

PROMOTIONS:

FREE Friday: Bring your 11/24 football game ticket to receive FREE admission.
Bring Your "A" Game: Show your report card with an "A" (or equivalent mark) to receive FREE ADMISSION. Only available as a walk-up sale on the day of the event. No advance purchases.
Tripleheader (VB, WBB, MBB): Fans are encouraged to stay for all three events with their purchased ticket, which serves as a GA ticket to the non-purchased games.
Tripleheader Giveaway: Texas A&M wrapping paper to be given out at the main entrance 12th Man marketing table in Reed Arena all day long.
Concessions Special: Half-off Aggie nachos

TEXAS A&M-LSU SERIES HISTORY

Texas A&M leads the all-time series, 28-16 (8-7 in College Station, 10-4 in Baton Rouge and 10-5 at neutral sites).
A&M is 6-3 against the Tigers in SEC matches only, but the teams are 2-2 in SEC matches played in College Station.
The teams last met on Sept. 30, 2018, when Texas A&M rallied back from a 2-1 deficit and improved to 3-0 in Southeastern Conference play for the first time since joining the league with a 24-26, 25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 15-13 victory over LSU at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.
Aggie sophomore setter Camille Conner led the charge as she posted a triple-double for the first time this season and the second time in her career with 46 assists along with 13 kills and 18 digs. She directed a balanced offense that resulted in four players recording double-figure kills.
Junior outside hitter Hollann Hans led the Aggies and tied for match-high honors in kills with 21. She also had a then career-high 18 digs.
Sophomore middle blocker Makena Patterson pitched in a career-high 15 kills while hitting .414 and finished with a personal high 15.5 points. In addition, sophomore opposite hitter Samantha Sanders tied her then-season high with 11 kills.
Defensively, A&M senior libero Amy Houser tallied the first double-double of her career with a personal-best 11 assists and a match-high 24 digs.
Taylor Bannister led LSU with 21 kills and led all players with 24 points.
As a team, A&M led LSU in kills (68-65), attacks (209-192), and assists (62-58). LSU led in hitting efficiency (.234 to .201), digs (97-90) and blocks (10-4).

TEXAS A&M NOTES

With 16 wins on the season, A&M has six more wins than it totaled in the entire 2017 season and is guaranteed a winning record under first-year head coach Laura "Bird" Kuhn.
A&M has played 118 sets this season with one match remaining. The Aggies played 88 total sets in the entire 2017 season.
A&M will finish the season having played in at least 121 sets. The last time A&M played in more than 121 sets in a season was 2003, when the Aggies played 125 sets in 33 matches after reaching the NCAA regional semifinals.
Three of A&M's five matches against ranked opponents have been decided in five sets, including narrow 3-2 SEC losses against No. 11 Florida, No. 15 Kentucky and No. 24 Missouri.
Six of A&M's eight conference losses have been in five-set matches. The other two losses were in four sets.
A&M has played a program-record 11 five-set matches in 2018, breaking the previous record of nine five-set matches played in 1988, 2005, 2010 and 2014.
A&M has played a program-record nine SEC five-set matches, surpassing the previous record of six five-set matches played in both the 2012 and 2014 SEC seasons.
A&M is 3-8 in five-set matches, including 3-6 in SEC five-set matches only.
Six of A&M's nine matches in October were decided in five sets, including a streak of five consecutive five-set matches.
For the season, A&M is 3-8 in five set matches, 6-3 in four-set matches and 7-2 in three-set matches.
In SEC matches only, A&M has played more five-set matches than three- and four-set matches combined.
In SEC matches only, the Aggies are 3-6 in five-set matches, 3-2 in four-set matches and 3-0 in three-set matches.
Texas A&M is 6-5 in home matches, including 4-4 in SEC home matches.
Texas A&M went 5-8 in true road matches, including 5-4 in SEC road matches.
A&M is outhitting its opponents, .230 to .206 in all matches and .228 to .226 in SEC matches only.
Despite a win at Mississippi State on Sunday in the Aggies' only match of the week, A&M dropped six spots to No. 94 in the most recent NCAA RPI (rating percentage index), released on Monday.

TEXAS A&M IN THE SEC

Texas A&M is in sixth place in the SEC standings with a 9-8 conference record.
A&M was picked to finish eighth in the SEC in 2018, according to a preseason poll of the league's head coaches.
A&M is one match behind fifth-place South Carolina, which closes out the season at No. 13 Florida.
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.
Six of A&M's nine SEC wins this season have been against teams that were predicted to finish above the Aggies, according to the preseason poll. A&M has two 3-2 victories against Georgia as well as a 3-2 win at LSU. Both of those teams tied for fourth in the preseason poll. The Aggies also have two wins against Auburn, which was picked to finish sixth, and a sweep against Arkansas, picked to finish seventh.
A&M went 7-11 in conference matches last season to finish in ninth place in the SEC.
With the win at Alabama on Wednesday, A&M improved to 9-8 in SEC matches with one match remaining. The victory gave the Aggies two more conference wins than they totaled last season.
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 86-41 (.677) all-time in SEC matches only.
The Aggies are 44-20 (.688) all-time in SEC home matches and 42-21 (.667) in SEC away matches.

AGGIE PLAYER NOTES

Hollann Hans needs two aces to give her an all-time school season record 60 aces, breaking the 35-year old record of 59 aces in a single season held by Chris Zogata since 1983.
Hans' 58 aces ranks second in the all-time school records and is the most in a season by an A&M player during the 25-point rally scoring era.
Hans had 19 kills at Alabama to give her a school-record 718 SEC career kills. Only a junior, Hans, who has played in 199 SEC sets, broke the previous record of 701 kills by Jazzmin Babers, who played in 266 SEC sets from 2013-16.
Hans entered the week ranked eighth in the nation with 0.52 aces per set, having tallied 58 aces in 112 sets played. Even if the last match goes five sets and she does not record another ace, Hans will finish the season with at least a 0.48 ace average to break the all-time school record of 0.46 aces per set in a season, held by A.D. Achilefu since 2001.
Hans has broken a combined 18 A&M career, season and match records this season and is on pace to break several more. (See Hans' individual player page for complete list of records broken and records approaching.)
Hans became the 19th player in program history to join the Aggies' 1,000-kills club on Nov. 4, posting 14 kills at Tennessee to give her 1,010 for her career.
Despite A&M playing a record-setting 11 five-set matches, Hans is ranked second in the SEC with 5.15 points per set.
Hans leads the SEC with 11 double-doubles in SEC matches only. She has three more double-doubles than the three people in the SEC, including Aggie setter Camille Conner, who are tied for second with eight double-doubles.
Hans is tied for first in the league with 15 double-doubles for the full season.
Hans has posted double-figure kills in each of the last 16 matches and in 26 of 29 matches played.
She has reached the 20-kill milestone a team-high 14 times.
Hans recorded the first 20-20 of her career with match highs of 22 kills and 21 digs against Tennessee on Oct. 19.
Her 32 kills and 34 points at No. 11 Florida (10/5) are school records in the 25-point scoring era and broke the previous record which she held with 28 kills and 32.5 points against Penn State in 2017.
Hans also set a school record with eight aces against Georgia on Sept. 23, breaking the previous A&M all-time record of six, reached 12 times, most recently accomplished in 2013.
Her eight aces against Georgia are the most by an SEC player in all matches this season, and her 32 kills against Florida ties for first in conference matches only.
Hans has served at least one ace in 16 of the last 18 matches and in 23 of 28 matches played in 2018.
She has a school-record 42 aces in the SEC season, breaking the previous school record of 24 aces in an SEC season, which she set last year.
Hans, only a junior, already has a school-record 83 aces in her SEC career, shattering the previous record of 46 set by Shelby Sullivan (2012-15).
She is second on the team in digs per set (2.58 dps) for the full season and in SEC matches only (2.77 dps).
Hans proved she also can block as she recorded a career-high and match-high eight blocks at Missouri. Her career-high three block solos are the most in a match by an A&M player this season, and it ties the A&M record for most solo blocks in a five-set SEC match.

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.
Conner has started every match and played in every set in her two-year career, and she is the only player who has appeared in all 118 sets in 2018.
Conner had 38 assists at Alabama to give her 1,213 for the season to break Allie Sawatzky's 2011 school record of 1,187 assists in a season in the 25-point rally scoring era.
Conner is the only player in the SEC to record a triple-double this season.
Conner had 46 assists and career highs of 18 digs and 13 kills while hitting .385 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 both a 3-1 win against Ole Miss on Nov. 11 and a 3-2 victory against Georgia on Sept. 23.
Conner had 10 kills without an error in 15 attempts against Ole Miss for a .667 hitting efficiency. It is the highest hitting percentage in a match (minimum 10 kills) by an A&M player this season.
Conner is third in the SEC with 10.28 assists per set for the full season and is fourth in the league with 10.24 assists per set in SEC play only.
Conner is second on the team and tied for second in the SEC with eight double-doubles in SEC matches only.
She is second on the team and tied for fifth in the SEC with 11 double-doubles in all matches.

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.
Houser needs only seven digs to tie and eight to break the A&M 25-point rally scoring era record for digs in a season, currently held by Tori Mellinger, who had 467 digs in the 2010 season.
Houser's 460 digs this season currently ranks seventh in the program's all-time season records.
Houser has reached double-figure digs in 21 consecutive matches and in 26 matches overall this season.
Houser has tallied 20 or more digs in a team-leading seven matches, including a career-high 26 digs against South Carolina on Nov. 9.
Houser is seventh in the league with 3.93 digs per set in SEC matches only as well as seventh in the SEC with 3.93 digs per set for the full season.
Houser's point-saving play at set point in the third set at Georgia on Oct. 14 was No. 5 on ESPN SportCenter's Top 10 plays of the day and was NCAA Volleyball's No. 2 play of the week.
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.
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.

Middle blocker London Austin-Roark, who has started all 29 matches, leads A&M with 0.89 blocks per set in conference matches only.
She also leads A&M with 0.81 blocks per set in all matches.
Austin-Roark led A&M with 11 kills in the 3-1 win at Mississippi State. It was the 10th time this season she has posted double-figure kills, including the fifth time in the last seven matches.
Austin-Roark had a career-high nine blocks against Georgia on Sept. 23. It still is the most blocks by an A&M player this season.
Sophomore middle blocker Makena Patterson leads A&M and is ranked eighth in the SEC with a .339 hitting percentage in conference matches only.
Patterson played the last two sets at Mississippi State and hit .556 with seven kills.
Freshman defensive specialist Allison Fields has appeared in all 29 matches and started 23. She has posted double-figure digs 11 times, including a career-high 20 digs against Missouri State.
Junior Sydnye Fields, a transfer from North Carolina, has played in each of the last eight matches with four starts at opposite hitter, the first starts of her A&M career.
Freshmen defensive specialist Taylor Voss has seen action in each of the last 26 matches and appeared in the starting lineup for the first time in her career in each of the last four matches.
Freshman middle blocker Mallory Talbert drew the starting nod in each of the last five matches. It marks her first starts in an SEC match.
Talbert reached double-figure kills for the first time in her career with 10 kills in the 3-1 victory against Ole Miss last Sunday.
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.

LSU QUICK HITS

LSU (12-16, 7-10 SEC) is coming off back-to-back five set matches in which the Tigers knocked off South Carolina on Sunday and fell to No. 24 Missouri on Wednesday.
The match against the Aggies will be the career finale for seniors Katie Kampen, Toni Rodriguez, Olivia Beyer and Lindsay Flory, who is the daughter of LSU head coach Fran Flory.
Sophomore 6-5 opposite hitter Taylor Bannister, who had a team-high 19 kills against Missouri, is sixth in the SEC with 4.13 kills per set for the full season. She also is sixth in the league with 3.85 kills per set in conference matches only.
The Tigers are 5-7 in away matches for the full season, including 3-5 in away SEC matches only.
LSU is 5-8 in 3-set matches, 3-3 in 4-set matches and 4-5 in 5-set matches.
Head coach Fran Flory (Texas '84) is completing her 21st season at the helm of the Tigers.

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.