No. 14 Texas A&M Competes in Puerto Rico Clásico

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
(all times are Central)

Thursday, Sept. 1
4:30 p.m.    Alabama vs. Virginia Tech
7 p.m.         #16 Florida State vs. #14 Texas A&M

Friday, Sept. 2
2 p.m.         Temple vs. Virginia Tech
4:30 p.m.    #16 Florida State vs. Alabama
7 p.m.         #6 Minnesota vs. #14 Texas A&M

Saturday, Sept. 3
2 p.m.          Temple vs. Alabama
4:30 p.m.    #14 Texas A&M vs. Virginia Tech
7 p.m.         #16 Florida State vs. #6 Minnesota

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Fourteenth-ranked and defending Southeastern Conference champion Texas A&M (2-1) returns to the road this weekend as the Aggies compete in the Puerto Rico Clásico, Thursday-Saturday at the Ruben Rodriquez Coliseum in San Juan, P.R. Texas A&M faces consecutive ranked opponents, taking on No. 16 Florida State (1-0), Thursday at 7 p.m. (CT) and meeting sixth-ranked and defending Big Ten Conference champion Minnesota (1-1), Friday at 7 p.m. (CT). The Aggies close out the tournament against Virginia Tech (3-0) on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. (CT).

FOLLOW THE ACTION

• FloVolleyball.tv will provide a live video stream of all matches to its subscribers at http://bit.ly/2a3seXi
• Updates and other information can be found by following @AggieVolleyball on Twitter

TEXAS A&M NOTES

• Texas A&M is 2-1 after defeating Nevada, 3-0, in the season opener, falling in a 3-2 nail-biter to then-No. 15 Ohio State and defeating North Texas, 3-1, at the North Texas Challenge last weekend in Denton, Texas. Aggie junior setter Stephanie Aiple and sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Blakewere both named to the all-tournament team.
• Texas A&M returns 14 letterwinners–including five starters plus the libero–from last year’s team that went 24-7 overall, 16-2 in the SEC, and was 18th in the final AVCA poll after advancing to the second round of the NCAA Championship. The Aggies also welcomed eight freshmen as well as a redshirt freshman, making their 23-member squad the largest since Laurie Corbelli was hired as the Aggies’ head coach in 1993.
• Starters returning include 2015 SEC Player of the Year Stephanie Aiple (Jr., 6-1, S), AVCA second-team All-American Jazzmin Babers (RS-Sr., 6-2, MB) and AVCA All-South Region Honorable Mention selection Kiara McGee (Jr., 5-11, OH), as well as Emily Hardesty (Sr., 6-3, OH) and Ashlie Reasor (Jr., 6-1, OPP). The Aggies also return junior libero Amy Nettles, who received the team’s best defensive player award and was the only Aggie to see action in all 115 sets last year.
• Babers, Hardesty, defensive specialists Katelyn Labhart and Victoria Arenas, and setter Kaysie Shebeneck make up the
  Aggies’ five-member senior class.
• Others returning are middle blocker/opposite Kaitlyn Blake, defensive specialists Amy Houser andGabby Litwin, outside hitters Margaret Connett and Paige Panter, and middle blocker/outside hitter Montse Castro who redshirted as a freshman last year.
• Two members of the freshman class, 6-1 middle blocker Hollann Hans and 6-0 outside hitterAmanda Heller, graduated early from high school and began training with the Aggies in January. Outside hitters Maddie Douglas (6-0), Bay Guentert (5-10) and Kiana Peroff (6-2), along with middle blocker Ellianna Shadricks (6-1) and setters Lexi Lopez (5-11) and Haley Slocum (5-8) round out the freshman class.
• Laurie Corbelli, the reigning SEC and AVCA South Region coach of the year, is 490-289 entering her 24th season as head coach of the Aggies and 590-335 in the 31st year of her head coaching career. She along with her husband Aggie Associate Head Coach John Corbelli have led the Aggies to 19 NCAA appearances. Their son, Russell Corbelli is serving as the volunteer assistant coach this season.
• Trevor Johnson is in his first season as assistant coach at Texas A&M, having spent the past season as an assistant at Baylor.
• Texas A&M plays its first 10 matches away from home. Of those 10 matches, four are against top-20 opponents, including at longtime rival and former Southwest Conference and Big 12 Conference-foe Texas, the 2015 NCAA runner-up and currently ranked No. 3. Other ranked opponents during the 10-match stretch are No. 6 Minnesota, No. 15 Ohio State (L, 3-2) and No. 16 Florida State. The Aggies also will take on Arizona, which is currently receiving votes.
• Texas A&M makes its home debut in its final preconference match of the season, playing host to No. 2 Wisconsin on Sept. 16 at Reed Arena.

TEXAS A&M IN THE RANKINGS

• Texas A&M moved up two spots to No. 14 in this week’s AVCA Top 25 Poll. It is the Aggies’ highest ranking in the poll since a No. 13 showing on Sept. 5, 2005.
• Texas A&M is No. 10 in the PrepVolleyball.com Top 50 Rankings, up one spot from last week.
• The Aggies jumped three spots to No. 12 in the FloVolleyball NCAA Women’s Top 20.
• The Aggies’ No. 16 AVCA preseason ranking matched their highest preseason ranking by the AVCA since they were No. 16 in 2005. Texas A&M was No. 13 in the AVCA’s 1997 preseason poll, marking the highest preseason ranking in program history.

AGGIE PLAYER NOTABLES

• Sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake, an all-tournament selection at the North Texas Challenge, tied a school record for block assists in a four-set match with 12 in a 3-1 victory at North Texas on Aug. 27. She also tied the school record for total blocks in a four-set match with 13 against the Mean Green.
• Following last weekend’s matches, Blake led the nation with 24 total blocks, and she ranked sixth in the nation and first in the SEC with 2.0 blocks per set for the full season.
• Blake, who is second in the SEC with a .491 hitting efficiency, recorded the first double-double of her career with 12 kills and 13 blocks against North Texas
• Junior setter Stephanie Aiple was named to the all-tournament team at the North Texas Challenge after averaging 11.0 per set. Her 50 assists in a close five-set loss against No. 15 Ohio State gave her 2,346 assists for her career and moved her into 10th place in the Texas A&M career records. She enters the Puerto Rico Clásico with 2, 579 career assists and needs 185 assists to move into sole possession of ninth place in the career records.
• Junior outside hitter Kiara McGee has led Texas A&M in kills in every match this season. She has posted double-figure kills in all three matches and leads the Aggies with 3.92 kills and 4.46 points per set.
• AVCA second-team All-American Jazzmin Babers, a senior middle blocker who has started every match of her career (95) and is hitting .369 for her career, hit a school season-record .412 in 2015, besting the previous record of .400 set by former two-time AVCA All-American Sherri Brinkman in 1984 and tied by Babers in 2014.
• Babers ranks sixth in the Texas A&M career records with 390 block assists and needs only two more block assists to move into a tie for fifth Lindsey Miller (2009-12) and three more block assists to climb into a tied for fourth place with Kim Mitchell, who had 470 blocks assists from 1990-93.
• During the North Texas Challenge, Babers also moved into seventh in career total blocks with 444 and ninth in career records with 1,148 points.
• Senior Emily Hardesty is the most experienced outside hitter of the team, having been a starter each of the last two seasons. In 2015, she was the only non-setter to play all six rotations.
• Junior libero Amy Nettles, who has received the team’s best defensive player award each of the last two seasons, has 747 career digs and needs only 253 more to become the 21^st player in Texas A&M history to join the 1,000 Digs Club.

AGGIES PICKED TO WIN SEC

• Defending SEC champion Texas A&M is picked to retain its title this year, according to the 2016 SEC Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Aggies, who went 16-2 in the SEC last season to win the first conference championship in school history, received seven of the 13 first-place votes and 137 total points to finish atop the preseason poll.
• Florida is picked second after receiving five first-place votes and 131 points, followed by third-place Kentucky with 123 points. Missouri, which tied Kentucky for second place in the final 2015 SEC standings, is picked fourth, having received one first-place vote and 119 total points. Arkansas (93 points) and Alabama (90) are fifth and sixth, respectfully, followed by Auburn (84) and LSU (60). Tennessee is picked ninth with 53 points, and Mississippi State and South Carolina are tied for 10^thplace with 39 points each.  Ole Miss received 33 points and Georgia 13 points to round out the poll.
• Junior setter Stephanie Aiple, who last year became the Aggies’ first player to be named SEC Player of the Year, and senior redshirt middle blocker Jazzmin Babers both were named to the Preseason All-SEC Team.

2015 TEXAS A&M HIGHLIGHTS

• Texas A&M won the SEC Championship, marking the first-ever conference championship in program history.
• The Aggies were an all-time high No. 9 in the final NCAA RPI.
• Texas A&M was ranked No. 18 in final AVCA Top 25 poll, the program’s highest final ranking since 2003 when A&M was No. 16. It also marked A&M’s first Top 25 final ranking since 2009 when the Aggies finished No. 21.
• Texas A&M ended SEC play on a 14-match win streak, marking the most consecutive conference matches won in school history. The Aggies extended the win streak to 15 with an NCAA first-round victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
• Texas A&M received an all-time high No. 10 seed in the 64-team NCAA Championship field.
• The Aggies advanced to NCAA second round for fourth time in last five years and the 19^th time overall.
• Texas A&M became one of only 13 teams in the nation to make at least 19 NCAA tournament appearances since Corbelli was hired in 1993,
• The Aggies finished the season 24-7, reaching the 20-victory milestone for the 16^th time under Corbelli and the 27^th time overall.
• The Aggies went 7-0 in 5-set matches.
• Corbelli was named the SEC and AVCA South Region coach of the year.

TEXAS A&M SERIES HISTORY VS. FLORIDA STATE

• The all-time series is tied at 6-6, although FSU has won each of the last three meetings.
• The series is tied at 1-1 at neutral sites.
• The teams most recently met last year in Tallahassee, Fla., where then-No. 18 FSU defeated the Aggies, 3-1 (25-20, 25-12, 21-25, 25-16). With starting setter Stephanie Aiple already out of the lineup after suffering a toe injury in the previous match, the Aggies lost senior co-captain and third-year starting outside hitter Angela Lowak in the first set. Emily Hardesty led A&M with 12 kills and also added 12 digs, and Kiara McGee, who replaced Lowak, finished with 10 kills. Libero Amy Nettles led all players with 16 digs, and middle blocker Jazzmin Babers had a team-high six blocks. Setter Kaysie Shebeneck dished out 38 assists in her first start of the season.
• The Seminoles, who outhit A&M .336 to .228, were led by senior outside hitter Nicole Walch’s 18 kills. Mercedes Vaughn and Katie Horton added 14 and 11 kills, respectively, helping propel the Seminoles to a 61-47 advantage in kills. Melanie Keil had eight blocks as FSU led A&M in team blocks, 12-7.
• A&M’s most recent victory was a 27-25, 27-25, 25-22 nail-biter over then-16th-ranked FSU on Sept. 12, 2013, at Reed Arena.

TEXAS A&M SERIES HISTORY VS. MINNESOTA

• A&M owns a 6-1 lead in the all-time series against Minnesota since the teams first met in 1978. All seven matches were played at a neutral site.
• A&M won the first five meetings of the six-match series and also won the most recent match-up, a tightly contested 26-24, 21-25, 18-25, 25-21, 15-10 victory over the Gophers on Aug. 29, 2015, at Stanford.
• Minnesota got its only win of the series on Aug. 30, 2008, at the Bluejay Invitational in Omaha, Neb.
• The teams last met on Aug. 29, 2015, at Stanford. Making the first start of her young career, then-Aggie sophomore outside hitter Kiara McGee led the Aggies to a 26-24, 21-25, 18-25, 25-21, 15-10 victory, posting team highs in kills (13), aces (4) and points (17.5) and also recording the first double-double of her career with a career-high 14 digs. Libero Amy Nettles led the Aggies in digs with 15, and outside hitter Emily Hardesty scooped up 13 digs after coming off the bench early in the second set for senior starting outside hitter Angela Lowak, who left the match with a mild ankle sprain. Stephanie Aiple dished out 51 assists as A&M outhit the Golden Gophers, .220 to .217. Sarah Wilhite led the Gophers with 17 kills, and Daly Santana, the team’s lone senior, and Paige Tapp added 16 and 13 kills, respectively, as Minnesota led A&M, 68-60, in kills. Molly Lohman had nine blocks to lead the Gophers to a 12-7 advantage in blocks.

TEXAS A&M SERIES HISTORY VS. VIRGINIA TECH

• The all-time series between Texas A&M and Virginia Tech is tied at 1-1.
• Tech won the first-ever meeting, 15-11, 15-13, 12-15, 7-15, 16-14, at the Virginia Tech Allsport Volleyfest in Blacksburg, Va., on Sept. 3, 1994.
• Most recently, Texas A&M defeated the Hokies, 25-22, 25-22, 25-22, en route to the championship title at the 2014 Baymont Inn & Suites Invitational in Athens, Ohio. Aiple dished out 28 assists and registered the first double-double of her young career with a team-high 11 digs. A&M outhit the Hokies, .189 to .151 and led in blocks (7-4) and aces (4-3). Tech led in kills (36-32), assists (32-30) and digs (45-41), as well as service errors (9-5).

SCOUTING FLORIDA STATE

• Florida State is 1-0 after sweeping Central Florida, 25-23, 25-23, 25-13 in Orlando on Aug. 27. Senior middle blocker Mara Green led FSU with 10 kills while hitting .692, and senior middle blocker Melanie Keil had 13 blocks in the sweep as the Seminoles outhit the Knights, .234 to .073 and outblocked them, 19-4.
• FSU is No. 16 in the AVCA Top 25 and No. 19 in the PrepVolleyball.com Top 50 Rankings. The Seminoles are unranked in the FloVolleyball Top 20.
• The Seminoles return eight players, including four seniors from last year’s team that finished 25-8 after reaching the second round of the 2015 NCAA tournament.
• FSU is picked to finish second in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Outside hitters Katie Horton and Milica Kubura were named to the Preseason All-ACC team
• Chris Poole (Arkansas Tech, 1983) is in his ninth season as the head coach of the Seminoles. In the 30th season of his head coaching career, Poole is the seventh winningest active coach in the NCAA with 762 victories.

SCOUTING MINNESOTA

• Minnesota enters the tournament 1-1, having defeated San Diego, 3-1, on Aug. 27 and falling at No. 11 Stanford, 3-1, on Aug. 28.
• The Gophers have three players averaging 3-plus kills per set, including Sarah Wilhite who leads the team with 3.88 kills per set.
• Minnesota returns the libero and five starters — including three All-Americans– from last year’s team that went 30-5 and reached the NCAA semifinals. They lose Big Ten player of the year Daly Santana.
• Two-time All-American middle blocker Paige Tapp returns for her senior year, as does her sister, Hannah Tapp, who earned first-team All-America honors as a junior. Also returning is last year’s Big Ten Freshman of the Year and second-team All-American setter Samantha Seliger-Swenson
• Hugh McCutcheon is in his fifth season as head coach of the Gophers.

SCOUTING VIRGINIA TECH

• Virginia Tech is off to a 3-0 start in 2016, having defeating Appalachian State, 3-2, in the season opener and then sweeping both Siena and UMBC.
• Senior Lindsey Owens, a Preseason All-ACC selection, is averaging a team-best 4.82 kills per set as well as 3.45 digs per set while hitting .376 over the three matches.
• The Hokies are outhitting their opponents, .270 to .152.
• Tech returns its top hitter, middle blocker and setter from last season’s squad that went 19-13 overall and 10-10 in the ACC last season.

RECENT RESULTS
Texas A&M vs. Nevada, August 26

• Then-No. 16 Texas A&M notched a season-opening 25-14, 25-23 30-28 victory over Nevada at the North Texas Challenge last Friday in Denton, Texas. It marked the Aggies’ 15th consecutive win in a regular season match, a streak which began with a 3-2 victory at South Carolina on Oct. 11, 2015.
• Kiara McGee led the Aggies with 14 kills while hitting .300, and Jazzmin Babers pitched in 10 kills.Kaitlyn Blake, who is being counted on to take over for three-year starting middle blocker Shelby Sullivan who completed her eligibility last season, also hit .571 with eight kills and posted a match-high five blocks.
• Emily Hardesty drew the start at the other outside hitter position and finished with a team-high 10 digs. Ashlie Reasor started the first two sets at the opposite hitter position, with freshman Hollann Hans starting the third set in what marked her official Texas A&M debut. Hans, Texas A&M’s only freshman to see playing time in the match, was impressive, posting four kills in six attempts without an error and also tallying a solo block.
• Reigning SEC Player of the Year Stephanie Aiple had 33 assists while directing the Aggies to a .370 to .155 hitting percentage advantage.
• Amy Nettles was the designated libero in all three sets and finished with seven digs. SeniorsVictoria Arenas and Katelyn Labhart each appeared in a set as a defensive specialist, as did sophomore Amy Houser to round out the 11 A&M players who made appearances on opening day.

Texas A&M vs. No. 15 Ohio State, August 27

• In a back-and-forth slugfest between top 20 teams, No. 15 Ohio State held off No. 16 Texas A&M, 21-25, 32-30, 21-25, 25-18, 15-13, at the North Texas Challenge. The Buckeyes got the win despite the Aggies having the favorable numbers in most of the final statistical categories.
• Texas A&M led in kills, 65-61 with four Aggies posting double-figure kills. Kiara McGee had a team-high 17 kills, and Emily Hardesty pitched in 14. Ashlie Reasor contributed 11 kills, and Kaitlyn Blakeadded 10 while hitting .471 in the loss.
• As a team, the Aggies outhit the Buckeyes, .278 to .192, with Stephanie Aiple dishing out 50 assists.
• Blake, Aiple and Jazzmin Babers tallied six blocks apiece as Texas A&M outblocked Ohio State, 12.5 to 11, and libero Amy Nettles had 10 digs to help lead the Aggies to a 45-44 advantage in team digs.
• The Aggies, however, were unable to stop Buckeye All-American middle blocker Taylor Sandbothe, who carried her team to the victory with 26 kills while hitting at a .605 clip.
• Another notable difference was at the service line, where Sandbothe had three of Ohio State’s 10 aces. The Aggies managed only three aces and also committed 13 service errors while the Buckeyes had 12 service errors.

Texas A&M vs. North Texas, August 27

• Middle blocker Kaitlyn Blake had a career-high 13 blocks and added 12 kills while hitting .455 to help lead No. 16 Texas A&M to a 25-21, 23-25, 28-26, 25-19 victory over North Texas.
• Kiara McGee tied for match-high honors with a team-leading 16 kills. Jazzmin Babers finished with 13 kills, and Ashlie Reasor added 12 kills as A&M had a 61-51 advantage in team kills and outhit the Mean Green, .216 to .189.
• Amy Nettles led the Aggies in digs with 13, helping A&M to a 58-48 lead in team digs. A&M also outblocked UNT, 16.5 to 9.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

• Texas A&M plays an exhibition game against a Chinese travel team on Monday, Sept. 5. The match will be played at A&M Consolidated High School and begins at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free.
• The Aggies, who face five top-20 teams during their 11-match preseason schedule, return to the road next weekend, taking on both Arizona and New Mexico State on Friday, Sept. 9, in Las Cruces, N.M. Match times are 11 a.m. 8 p.m. (CT), respectively.
• Texas A&M then travels to El Paso, Texas, to face UTEP on Saturday, Sept. 10 at 1 p.m.

 

Head Coach Laurie Corbelli