Laurie Corbelli sizes up next leg of Aggies' ongoing run

Texas A&M Volleyball Coach Laurie Corbelli

On how the team handled the pressure of close sets in the 3-1 win over Kentucky...

"Well, we have prepared for that to happen all week long because that's what has happened there the last three or four years. We would get to a tight set of 23-all and someone had to win in the next minute or two and it was never us and that got it. We reminded the players that that is when we have to take control and make sure this year that is not happening. We focused on that in a lot of our drills and a lot of our training, we talked about it a lot and they didn't forget it.

"By the time we were at 23-all for some of those sets, we had already come back from being down eieght or 10 points. We had a lot of momentum and we had a lot of belief and we saw things falling apart on their side and that happens in volleyball. A lot of luck is involved in volleyball, a lot of momentum is involved in volleyball, but also a lot of belief — and you have to execute at those times and I was so proud that we did."

On Shelby Sullivan and Stephanie Aiple...

"Those two are necessary for our success in so many ways. Steph has been battling back from injuries. I think the list of her injury report daily is the longest, yet she is all over the court and getting better and better with not only in-system passes that are coming to her more often, luckily, but also on those passes that are making her chase down and deliver at an attacker. She is better at it, she is more consistent at it, she's just an excellent volleyball player. She leads very consistently. It's not very vocal, but she is reliable, dependable and consistent and you know what you are going to get.

"Sullivan is just a flat-out fighter. She refuses to lose in so many ways and she didn't make one error at Tennessee. After Kentucky she took the team and said, 'We are out here and we are going to win; no matter where they are in the standings, we are going to give them our stuff.' She leads with such commitment and loyalty to her goals and the team's goals that it is evident in her play every day, it doesn't change, and that is so hard to find.

"I think any coach out there would tell you, at any level, to have a kid that comes every day to practice and every day to matches with a smile, with hard work and with the willingness to give and just give to the team is a treasure. A lot of my players are treasures, but I think Sullivan is a great example of a treasured player."

On the Aggies' mentality going into Wednesday's game against 20-3 Missouri...

"You know, I think I would just say that we are focused on playing Aggie Volleyball and work. We just want to work on the court and there are so many things that distract players — from the crowd to the opponents to you name it — that when we really talk about playing Aggie Volleyball and putting in the work during the the match, it seems to really click with them and help them focus on what that word means to them and that is their job.

"We talk all the time about being on a team and having to take care of your job, and it is really coming through clearly to most of them now — and it's kind of happening right in front of our eyes, where I am not having players that are completely off. I have had some that are a little bit off and that's okay and that is going to happen, but to be absent mentally is just not happening. I think our mindset is just to engage, work hard and play Aggie Volleyball and that is what has been working for us."