August 28, 2003
The Texas A&M volleyball team begins the 2003 campaign at the Duke Invitational, Friday and Saturday, Aug. 29-30, in Durham, N.C. The Aggies are slated to open against Marquette Friday at 4 p.m. (CDT) at Cameron Indoor Stadium. They face Pittsburgh Saturday at 9 a.m. and conclude the tournament against the host Blue Devils at 6:30 p.m. Live scoring of all matches will be available at www.AggieAthletics.com.
THE 2003 OUTLOOK
Texas A&M, which received points and is listed 31st in the preseason USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Poll, returns five starters and 12 letterwinners from last year's team that went 21-10 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament before being eliminated by eventual national champion USC. Starters returning include preseason all-Big 12 honorees Laura Jones and Melissa Munsch. Jones, a 6-2 outside hitter, earned 2002 AVCA all-Central Region and all-Big 12 accolades, as well as AVCA Central Region and Big 12 Freshman of the Year laurels after leading the Aggies in kills and points. Munsch, a 6-1 junior, earned all-Big 12 honors last season as an outside hitter after leading the Aggies in digs and aces and ranking second in kills and points. The other returning starters are junior setter Lexy Beers, who shared team co-MVP honors last year with Munsch, as well as seniors Carol Price, a 6-2 right-side hitter, and Tara Pulaski, a 6-2 middle blocker. Highly touted freshman Christi Hahn, as well as junior Kendra Felder, also are projected to contend for a starting role in the middle...The Aggies, who have made 10 consecutive trips to the NCAA tournament, are picked to finish tied for fourth with Missouri in the Big 12 Conference.
OPPONENT PROFILES
Duke returns five starters and 12 letterwinners from last year's team that went 24-10 and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the third consecutive year. The Blue Devils, who lost to Miami - coached by former A&M assistant coach Nicole (Lantagne) Welch - in the first round of the NCAA tournament, also experienced their third straight 20-win season in 2002...Highlighting the list of returners are seniors Krista Dill and Katie Gilman, who both earned AVCA All-East Region honors last year...Dill, a 6-3 middle blocker, led the Blue Devils in hitting percentage (.294) and is the top returning blocker after averaging 1.11 blocks per game last season...Gilman, a 6-0 outside hitter, is the team's top returning kill and dig leader after averaging 3.3 kills and 2.88 digs per game...Duke received points in the USA Today/AVCA preseason Top 25 Poll and is tied for No. 38. In addition, the Blue Devils are picked to finish second in the Atlantic Coast Conference preseason poll behind defending ACC champion Georgia Tech...Head coach Jolene Nagel (Edinboro '83) is beginning her fifth season at the helm of the Blue Devils and sports a 81-42 record at Duke and a 285-178 mark entering the 16th year of her head coaching career.
Marquette returns five starters and seven letterwinners from last year's squad that went 13-16 and finished 12th in Conference USA with a 3-10 mark...The Golden Eagles, who are picked to finish eighth out of 14 teams in the C-USA preseason poll, are led by senior Gemma Greer, a 5-9 setter who ranks third on the Marquette career list for assists. Also returning is 5-11 sophomore outside hitter Theresa Coughlin, who was named to the 2002 Conference USA All-Freshman team after leading the Golden Eagles with 3.68 kills per game...Pati Rolf (North Dakota State '92) is entering her second season as head coach of the Golden Eagles and is 323-185 entering the 14th year of her head coaching career.
Pittsburgh returns six starters and 12 letterwinners from last year's squad that went 20-9 and finished tied for fourth in the Big East Conference with a 9-4 record...The Panthers got a head start on the 2003 season as they spent much of their preseason overseas competing against teams in Hungary, Austria, Czech Republic and Slovakia while on a 12-day European tour...Pittsburgh is picked to place third in the Big East Conference according to a preseason poll of the league coaches. In addition, junior middle blocker Megan Miller was chosen as a member of the preseason All-Big East team. As a sophomore Miller ranked ninth in the nation with a school-record .400 hitting percentage...Head coach Chris Beerman (Ball State '91) is 53-35 entering his fourth year at Pitt and 143-71 beginning the eighth year of his head coaching career.
SERIES RECORDS
Texas A&M and Marquette will be meeting for the first time.
Pittsburgh holds a 3-1 lead in the all-time series against the Aggies...The teams last met Nov 26, 1988, at the UTA Invitational in Arlington, Texas, where the Panthers prevailed, 15-8, 17-15, 15-4, 14-16, 15-8...After dropping the first two meetings in 1979 and 1981, A&M collected its only win against Pitt with a 18-16, 12-15, 15-4, 15-5 victory on Nov. 2, 1985, at the Tennessee Tournament in Knoxville.
The series between A&M and Duke is tied at 1-1 with neither team able to protect its home court. The teams first met Oct. 17, 1994, with the No. 21 Blue Devils escaping with a 10-15, 11-15, 15-4, 15-13, 15-9 come-from-behind win at G. Rollie White Coliseum. A&M evened the series with a 17-15, 14-16, 17-15, 15-7 victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Sept. 16, 1995.
NOTES AND TIDBITS
- The Aggies are 18-9 in season openers since 1976 and 6-4 in openers under head coach Laurie Corbelli. Last year, A&M swept Alcorn State in the season opener en route to the championship title at the McDonald's/Texas A&M Invitational I.
- 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 No. 1 USC, who eliminated A&M in the second round of the NCAA tournament en route to the national title. The match against the Trojans 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.
UPCOMING
The Aggies stay on the road next weekend as they travel to Carol Price's home state to participate in the Michigan Pepsi Challenge, Sept. 5-7, in Ann Arbor, Mich. A&M opens the tournament against No. 22 Louisville Friday at 3:30 p.m. (CDT) at Cliff Keen Arena. The Cardinals, who have been picked to win the Conference USA title, advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament last year...A&M faces the host Wolverines Saturday at 6 p.m. and concludes the tournament Sunday against Murray State at 10 a.m...The Aggies last participated in this tournament in 1998 and captured the tournament title.
A&M makes it home debut, Sept. 12-13 at the McDonald's/Texas A&M Invitational. The Aggies face Southwest Missouri State Friday at 6 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum and then meet Centenary and No. 1 USC at 12 p.m. and 7 p.m., respectively, on Saturday.