A&M Volleyball to Host NCAA First and Second Rounds
Nov 26, 2001 | Volleyball
November 26, 2001
The 15th-ranked Texas A&M volleyball team (23-5) received its ninth consecutive at-large berth to the NCAA Championship and will host first and second rounds, the NCAA announced today.
The Aggies, seeded 11th in the 64-team field, face Texas-Arlington (22-11) in first-round action Friday, Nov. 30 at 7 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum. Northeastern University (23-10), from Boston, Mass., and the Texas Longhorns (16-13) also have been sent to College Station and will meet at 5 p.m. Friday. The winners of the first-round matches are slated to meet Saturday at 7 p.m. also at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
The Aggies, making their 13th overall NCAA appearance, enter the tournament riding a two-match winning streak after sweeping both Texas and Texas Tech last week in College Station to finish in second place in the Big 12 Conference with a 16-4 mark.
UTA, which received an automatic berth by winning the Southland Conference tournament, is making its seventh appearance in the NCAAs and its first since 1990. The Mavericks enter postseason play having won 17 of their last 18 matches.
The Northeastern Huskies are headed to their first NCAA Volleyball Championship after receiving an automatic bid by winning the America East Conference tournament. Texas returns to the NCAA tournament after missing the 2000 Championship which snapped a run of 18 consecutive appearances.
The winner of the second round match will advance to regional play, Dec. 6-9, at one of four campus locations yet to be determined.
Live scoring updates of all matches played at G. Rollie White, as well as other tournament information, will be available on the Texas A&M official Website, www.AggieAthletics.com.
TICKET INFORMATION: Tournament ticket packages are available at the Texas A&M Athletic Ticket Office located in G. Rollie White Coliseum or by calling the Texas A&M Ticket Hotline at 1-888-99-AGGIE or 979-845-2311. Prices are $12 for reserved seating, $10 for general admission, $6 for students and senior citizens and $4 for children under 12.
Tickets will be sold as a package until Friday when single session tickets will become available. Prices for single sessions are $7 for reserved seating, $6 for general admission, $5 for students & senior citizens and $3 for children under 12.
A&M season ticket holders have priority until Wednesday at 4 p.m. Ticket office hours are 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.
TEXAS A&M NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES: A&M is making its ninth consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament and its 13th overall appearance (1981, '82, '85, '86, '93, '94, '95, '96, '97, '98,' 99, '00 and '01) since the inception of the tournament in 1981?The Aggies, who have never lost an NCAA first-round match under ninth-year head coach Laurie Corbelli, sport a 13-12 (.520) all-time record in the NCAA tournament?A&M's best finish in the NCAAs was in 1999 when the Aggies advanced to the Elite Eight after sweeping both Stephen F. Austin and North Carolina in College Station and then upsetting No. 3 Hawaii, the top seed in the Mountain Regional, in four games in Honolulu before getting eliminated by sixth-ranked and Final Four-bound Long Beach State?Last year A&M was sent to Stockton, Calif., where the Aggies defeated Houston in the first round and were eliminated by host Pacific in the second round?The Big 12 Conference has the largest representation in the tournament field with a record eight teams receiving bids -- Nebraska, Baylor, Colorado, Kansas State, Missouri, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech?Nebraska, the defending national champion, earned the league's automatic bid?The Aggies are 10-5 against the tournament field?Other than a loss to Stanford, all other matches were against Big 12 foes.
NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES: This is the fourth year the tournament has included 64 teams? Due to the Sept. 11 tragedies, team pairings were determined by geographical proximity with the exception that teams from the same conference were not paired during the first round?The NCAA Division I Championships/Competition Cabinet and Management Council made the changes to help minimize air travel and help to alleviate risk, inconvenience and travel delays to the greatest extent possible?Sixteen first-and second-round matches will be played Nov. 29-Dec. 2 on the campuses of participating institutions?Winners will advance to four regional tournaments, also played on the campuses of participating institutions, Dec. 6-9?The four regional winners will meet at the Final Four (hosted by San Diego University), Dec. 13 and 15 in Cox Arena at the Aztec Bowl in San Diego, Calif?For complete tournament bracket and information, visit the NCAA official Website at www.NCAAVolleyball.net.
