April 09, 2003
A home match against defending national champion Southern California, three tournaments, as well as the constantly challenging Big 12 Conference slate, highlight the 2003 Texas A&M volleyball schedule, announced today by Aggie coach Laurie Corbelli.
A&M is scheduled to play a total of 30 matches -- 13 matches at home and 17 matches on the road -- during the regular season. Twelve of the matches are against teams who participated in the 2002 NCAA tournament, including a home battle against the No. 1 Trojans, who eliminated A&M in the second round of the NCAA tournament en route to their national title. The match against USC will mark the fourth time over the last four seasons that A&M has hosted the defending national champion and/or a team that has gone on to win the national crown.
In addition to the contest against USC, A&M plays six matches against opponents who were ranked in the final 2002 USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Poll and two others who received points in the poll.
"We consider this schedule to be one of the most balanced schedules we've played in a long time," Corbelli said. "The pre-conference tournaments are against a range of opponents from NCAA tournament teams to teams that are finishing in the top two of their respective conferences.
"Knowing the fall schedule has inspired our team to work even harder this spring and to set our sights on the upcoming great competition, which will be here in no time."
The Aggies, who return five starters -- all-Big 12 outside hitters Laura Jones and Melissa Munsch, right side hitter Carol Price, middle blocker Tara Pulaski and setter Lexy Beers -- from last year's squad that advanced to the NCAA second round and finished with a 21-10 record, kick off the season at the Duke Invitational, Aug. 29-30. A&M is slated to face Marquette, Pittsburgh and NCAA tournament participant Duke in the four-team tournament.
A&M then heads to Price's home state as the Aggies partake in a tournament hosted by the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Sept. 5-7. The Aggies face NCAA participants Louisville and Michigan, in addition to Murray State.
A&M makes its home debut Sept. 12-13 when the Aggies host USC, who is coached by former Texas and U.S. Olympic Team head coach Mick Haley, Centenary and Southwest Missouri State in the Texas A&M Invitational. The tournament represents the Aggies' final tune up for the competitive Big 12 Conference season.
"Our own tournament brings in the national champion Trojans to test us early, and we couldn't ask for a better barometer than that," Corbelli said.
The Aggies, who finished fifth in the Big 12 with a 12-8 mark last season, open league play at five-time defending Big 12 champion Nebraska on Sept. 17. Their first home conference match is against Colorado on Sept. 24.
Other home contests against potential Top 25 teams in the Big 12 include tilts against Missouri (Sept. 27), Kansas State (Oct. 4) and Texas (Oct. 25), who all advanced to the second round of the 2002 NCAA tournament. The Aggies conclude the regular season at home against Iowa State on Nov. 29.
"The Big 12 will be very balanced once again, and several teams will be in a real battle for the championship," Corbelli said. "As possibly the toughest conference in the nation, the Big 12 keeps our program striving for the top and allows us to play the highest level of national competition every week. We wouldn't want it any other way."
The 64-team NCAA tournament, to be hosted by the Big 12 Conference, begins Dec. 4 with the championship match slated for Dec. 20 at Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas.
2003 TEXAS A&M VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE
***TENTATIVE***
DATE DAY OPPONENT SITE TIME (Central)
Aug. 29 -30 Fri.-Sat. Duke Invite Durham, N.C.
(Duke, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Texas A&M)
Fri. vs. Marquette 4 p.m.
Sat. vs. Pittsburgh 9 a.m.
vs. Duke 6:30 p.m.
Sept. 5-7 Fri-Sun. Michigan Tournament Ann Arbor, Mich. (Louisville, Michigan, Murray State, Texas A&M)
Fri. vs. Louisville 3:30 p.m.
Sat. vs. Michigan 6 p.m.
Sun. vs. Murray State 10 a.m.
Sept. 12-13 Fri-Sat. TEXAS A&M INVITATIONAL COLLEGE STATION
(Centenary, Southern California, Southwest Missouri State, Texas A&M)
Fri. USC vs. Centenary 4 p.m.
Texas A&M vs. Southwest Missouri State 6 p.m.
Sat. Southwest Missouri State vs. USC 10 a.m.
Texas A&M vs. Centenary 12 p.m.
Centenary vs. Southwest Missouri State 5 p.m.
Texas A&M vs. USC 7 p.m.
Sept. 17 Wed. *Nebraska Lincoln, Neb. 7 p.m.
Sept. 21 Sun. Houston Houston, Texas 2 p.m.
Sept. 24 Wed. *COLORADO COLLEGE STATION 7 p.m.
Sept. 27 Sat. *MISSOURI COLLEGE STATION 7 p.m.
Oct. 1 Wed. *Texas Austin, Texas TBA
Oct. 4 Sat. *KANSAS STATE COLLEGE STATION 7 p.m.
Oct. 8 Wed. *TEXAS TECH COLLEGE STATION 7 p.m.
Oct. 11 Sat. *Iowa State Ames, Iowa TBA
Oct. 15 Wed. *KANSAS COLLEGE STATION 7 p.m.
Oct. 17 Fri. *Oklahoma Norman, Okla. 7 p.m.
Oct. 22 Wed. *Baylor Waco, Texas TBA
Oct. 25 Sat. *TEXAS COLLEGE STATION 7 p.m.
Nov. 1 Sat. *Missouri Columbia, Mo. TBA
Nov. 5 Wed. *NEBRASKA COLLEGE STATION 7 p.m.
Nov. 8 Sat. *OKLAHOMA COLLEGE STATION 7 p.m.
Nov. 12 Wed. *Colorado Boulder, Colo. TBA
Nov. 15 Sat. *Texas Tech Lubbock, Texas TBA
Nov. 19 Wed. *BAYLOR COLLEGE STATION 7 p.m.
Nov. 22 Sat. *Kansas Lawrence, Kan. TBA
Nov. 26 Wed. *Kansas State Manhattan, Kan. 7 p.m.
Nov. 29 Sat. *IOWA STATE COLLEGE STATION 7 p.m.
Dec. 4-7 Thu.-Sun. NCAA First & Second Rounds Campus Sites TBA
Dec. 11-14 Thu.-Sun. NCAA Regionals Campus Sites TBA
Dec. 18 Thurs. NCAA Semifinals Dallas, Texas TBA
Dec. 20 Sat. NCAA Championship, Dallas, Texas TBA
*Big 12 Conference match
Times are Central; All dates and times are subject to change.
updated 4/9/03