Texas A&M Hosts Arkansas to Open SEC Play

Texas A&M (7-5, 0-0 SEC) vs. Arkansas (6-4, 0-0 SEC)

Wednesday, September 19, 7 p.m.

Reed Arena

College Station, Texas

TV: SEC Network (Courtney Lyle, Jenny Hazelwood)

Stats: tamu.statbroadcast.com

Twitter Updates: @AggieVolleyball

Texas A&M (7-5) opens its seventh season in the Southeastern Conference on Wednesday as the Aggies play host to the Arkansas Razorbacks (6-4). First serve is at 7 p.m. at Reed Arena, and the match will be televised on SEC Network with Courtney Lyle and Jenny Hazelwood calling the action.

The Aggies, who went 7-11 in conference matches last season to finish in ninth place in the SEC, were picked to finish eight this year according to a preseason poll of the league’s head volleyball coaches. Arkansas, which finished sixth last season with a 9-9 mark, is picked to finish seventh according to this year’s preseason poll.

Both teams concluded preconference play with a loss. The Aggies fell at Oklahoma, 3-1, on Saturday in Norman, Oklahoma, and the Razorbacks suffered a 3-1 setback against Georgia Tech on Saturday in Atlanta.

promotions

· Season Ticket Holder Bring a Friend Night: Each season ticket holder can bring an additional person to the match for free. Issued GA tickets. Only available as a walk up sale on the day of the event. No advance purchases.

· Student Appreciation Match/WINSDAY: ALL A&M students receive free admission. Only available as a walk up on the day of the event. No advance purchases. A&M student prizes to be awarded throughout the match.

· 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. (Season long)

· Concessions: $1 hotdogs during the match.

· Post-Match Autographs: Fans are invited to the court to get autographs from the team.

TEXAS A&M IN THE SEC

· Texas A&M is 3-3 in SEC season openers since joining the league in 2012.

· The Aggies are 3-1 when opening SEC play at home.

· A&M’s one SEC-opening home loss was against Arkansas in 2015, the same year the Aggies went on to go 16-2 in SEC matches to capture the first conference championship in program history.

· This is the second time A&M will open SEC play against Arkansas.

· The Arkansas match marks the first SEC match of Laura “Bird” Kuhn’s head coaching career.

· The Aggies have dropped their first conference match of the season each of the last three years, including last year when they fell at LSU, 3-0.

· Last year, A&M went 7-11 in conference matches—including 4-5 at Reed Arena—to finish in an all-time low ninth place.

· This is the third consecutive year A&M enters SEC play coming off a loss. Most recently, the Aggies fell at Oklahoma, 3-1. Last year, A&M concluded the preconference schedule with a 3-0 loss to No. 6 Texas at Reed Arena, and in 2016, the Aggies A&M opened league play following a 3-0 setback to No. 6 Wisconsin also at Reed.

· 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 played its 100th SEC match on Oct. 20, 2017, against Arkansas at Reed Arena and fell to the Razorbacks, 3-0.

· Texas A&M is 77-33 all-time in SEC matches only.

· The Aggies are 40-15 all-time in SEC home matches only.

· 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.

· TEXAS A&M-ARKANSAS SERIES HISTORY

· A&M leads the all-time series against Arkansas, 6-4.

· All 10 contests have been as SEC opponents, as the teams had never met until A&M joined the SEC in 2012. (Arkansas did not sponsor volleyball as a varsity sport when both schools were members of the Southwest Conference.)

· Arkansas swept the home-and-home series for the first time in 2017, defeating the Aggies, 3-0, at Reed Arena on Oct. 20 and 3-2 at Barnhill Arena on Nov. 5.

· Last year’s meeting at Reed Arena marked A&M’s 100th SEC match since joining the league in 2012. The Aggies had a then-season-high 12.5 blocks, but Arkansas pulled away in the opening set and rallied late in the second two sets to prevail, 25-20, 25-17, 26-24.

· Both teams have losing records in the series when playing on their home court. A&M is 2-3 against the Razorbacks in College Station and 4-1 when playing at Arkansas.

TEXAS A&M NOTES

· Texas A&M concluded preconference play by going 1-2 at the OU/Nike Invitational in Norman, Oklahoma, last weekend.

· Junior outside hitter Hollann Hans and freshman middle blocker London Austin-Roark were named to the all-tournament team.

· For the season, A&M is 4-2 in three-set matches, 3-1 in four-set matches and 0-2 in five set matches.

· The Aggies are 2-1 in home matches and are still looking for their first true away win of the season after dropping 3-0 matches at both Ohio State and No. 6 Penn State and also dropping two matches against Oklahoma in Norman last weekend.

· For the season, A&M is outhitting its opponents, .233 to .174.

· The Aggies are third in the SEC in assists (12.66), fourth in aces (1.52) and fifth in kills (13.48) per set.

TEXAS A&M PLAYER NOTES

· Hollann Hans leads A&M and is fourth in the SEC with 5.01 points and 4.44 kills per set, ranking 19th and 20th, respectively, in the nation.

· Hans has posted double-figure kills in each of the last four matches and in 10 of 11 matches played overall, including four matches in which she has recorded 20 or more kills.

· She leads the team with four double-doubles, including three double-doubles over the last four matches.

· Hans also leads A&M and is sixth in the SEC with 0.39 aces per set. She has had at least one ace in eight of 11 matches played and has posted three aces three times.

· Hans needs five aces in SEC matches to tie the A&M SEC record of 46 career aces set by Shelby Sullivan in 2015.

· Camille Conner is fourth in the SEC with 10.34 assists per set.

· Conner, junior outside hitter Brookah Palmer and freshman middle blocker London Austin-Roark have started every match this season and Conner has appeared in all 44 sets.

· Palmer is second on the team with 2.38 kills and 2.77 points per set.

· Senior Amy Houser, who has been the libero in 43 of 44 sets, leads the team and is seventh in the SEC with 3.93 digs per set.

· Houser has tallied 20 or more digs in three of the last four matches, including a career-high 24 digs at Oklahoma on Sept. 14.

· Houser, the only senior on the team, has a team-best .976 service reception among players who have had at least 10 reception attempts.

· Freshman defensive specialist Allison Fields, who played libero in the final set in the sweep against Nicholls, has started 10 of 12 matches and has posted double-figure digs five times, including 20 digs against Missouri State.

· Fields is second on the team with 2.59 digs per set.

· Freshman middle blocker Mallory Talbert, who has started five matches and appeared in eight matches overall, leads the Aggies with 0.94 blocks per set.

· Sophomore middle blocker Makena Patterson and Arkansas sophomore outside hitter Hailey Dirrigl are both from Phoenix, Arizona, and are good friends and former teammates at Aspire Volleyball Club. The two were rivals in high school, with Dirrigl’s Desert Vista High School defeating Patterson’s Xavier College Preparatory in the finals of the 2015 state championship.

· Sophomore opposite hitter Samantha Sanders had played in only one match going into last weekend’s OU/Nike Invitational, but came off the bench to play in 11 of 13 sets in Norman. She had a season-high 11 kills while hitting .308 in four sets played in the 3-2 loss to Oklahoma on Sept. 14.

· Freshmen defensive specialists Sydney Little and Taylor Voss have seen significant playing time as of late, with Voss seeing action in 9 matches and 26 sets typically as a server and Little playing in 10 matches and 21 sets.

· Others who made contributions coming off the bench last weekend include juniors Haley Slocum and Maddie Douglas and sophomore Morgan Davis.

ARKANSAS QUICK HITS

· Arkansas is 6-4 overall and riding a two-match losing skid for the first time this season after dropping a 3-2 match to North Carolina State and a 3-1 decision to Georgia Tech last weekend in Atlanta.

· Logan Brown led the Razorbacks with 20 kills while hitting .280 in the loss to the Yellow Jackets, and Hailey Dirrigl also reached double-figure kills with 16 but was held to a .160 hitting efficiency.

· The Razorbacks are 1-2 in true away matches this season.

· They are 4-1 in 3-set matches, 2-1 in 4-set matches, and like A&M, they are 0-2 in 5-set matches.

· Arkansas is outhitting its opponents, .216 to .172.

· The .172 opponent hitting efficiency ranks fifth in the SEC.

· Junior setter Rachel Rippee is second in the SEC and 27th in the nation with 10.89 assists per set.

· Sophomore outside hitter Hailey Dirrigl, who is coming off the first double-double of her career, leads Arkansas with 3.53 kills and 3.90 points per set, ranking seventh and ninth, respectively, in the SEC.

· Senior libero Okiana Valle is averaging a team-leading 4.41 digs per set, ranking third in the SEC. She had a team-high 20 digs against Georgia Tech, marking her fourth match of the season with at least 20 digs.

· Jason Watson is 34-36 in his third year as head coach of the Razorbacks.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

· The Aggies play host to the Georgia Bulldogs on Sunday, Sept. 23 at Reed Arena. First serve is at 2 p.m., and the match will be broadcast on SEC Network +.

· Several promotions will be offered, including First Responders Appreciation Day (Two FREE tickets for active and retired first responder personnel in advance and on game day. Additional tickets $3 each.

· Free popcorn for the first 100 kids in the Kids Zone.

· Autograph session for kids 12 & under following the match.

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.