September 03, 2003
The Texas A&M volleyball team aims for its second consecutive tournament title as the Aggies participate in the Michigan/Pepsi Challenge, Sept. 5-7, at Cliff Keen Arena in Ann Arbor, Mich. The tournament will be somewhat of a homecoming for senior outside hitter Carol Price, who is from nearby Fenton, Mich...A&M faces its first ranked opponent of the season when the Aggies open the tournament against No. 16 Louisville Friday at 3:30 p.m. (CDT). The Aggies face the host Wolverines Saturday at 6 p.m. and conclude the tournament against Murray State Sunday at 9 a.m.
Texas A&M is off to a 3-0 start in the 2003 season, having captured the Duke Invitational championship last weekend in Durham, N.C. Sophomore outside hitter Laura Jones was named the tournament MVP after leading the Aggies to victories over Marquette, Pittsburgh and Duke. She was joined on the all-tournament team by Aggie teammates Melissa Munsch and Carol Price...Jones leads the Aggies with 5.7 kills, 4.8 digs and 6.6 points per game, while Price is hitting at a team-best .510 clip. Munsch is the team leader in ace average (0.5) and is second in kills (3.5), digs (4.3) and points (4.5) per game...As a team, A&M is outhitting its opponents, .250 to .149, and leads the Big 12 with 18.6 kills and 20.5 digs per game. In addition, with setters Lexy Beers and Kari Kelley running A&M's newly installed 6-2 offense, the Aggies lead the Big 12 with 17.4 assists per game...A&M, which is picked to finish tied for fourth with Missouri in the Big 12, received points in the first USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Poll of the regular season and is listed 29th.
OPPONENT PROFILES
Louisville (1-2) returns four starters from last year's team that went 28-6 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament...The Cardinals began the season ranked 22nd in the USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Poll but jumped to No. 16 in the first poll of the regular season after upsetting then-No. 6 Minnesota in four games at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic over the weekend. Louisville lost its other two matches, falling to both No. 13 UCLA and eventual tournament champion No. 2 Hawaii in three games each...The Cardinals, who shared the 2002 Conference USA title with South Florida, are picked to win the league according to a preseason poll of the conference coaches. Junior outside hitter Bing Sun is the preseason C-USA player of the year and is joined on the preseason all-league team by teammates Sonja Percan, who was the Cardinals' leading hitter before sitting out the 2002 season due to an ankle injury, and Lena Ustymenko, a 6-3 outside hitter/middle blocker who was named to the all-tournament team at the Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Volleyball Classic last weekend...Leonid Yelin is 171-57 in his eighth season at the helm of the Cardinals and 285-93 in the 13th year of his head coaching career.
Michigan enters the tournament 1-2 after competing in the Florida State Invitational last weekend. The Wolverines were swept by No. 15 Kansas State in the season opener and rebounded to down Florida Atlantic in four games. Michigan then fell to the host Seminoles in four games...The Wolverines are led by senior Erin Moore, a member of the 2003 preseason All-Big 10 team. The 6-0 middle blocker is averaging 3.18 kills and 0.73 blocks per game...As a team, Michigan is being outhit, .211 to .186, outdug, 13.18 to 10.91, and outblocked, 2.27 to 2.14...The Wolverines, who went 16-15 last season and tied for sixth in the Big 10 with a 10-10 conference mark, are picked to place seventh in the league standings...Mark Rosen is 65-60 in his fifth season as head coach of the Wolverines and 274-107 in the 12 years of his head coaching career.
Murray State opens its 2003 season at the Michigan tournament. The Racers went 12-12 last season and finished fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference with a 10-6 mark...MSU returns three starters and four letterwinners and are led by 6-2 sophomore middle blocker Abbi Gui, who hit .358 and averaged 5.12 kills, 3.5 digs and 1.12 blocks per game...David Schwepker is 62-76 beginning his sixth year at the helm of the Racers and 75-151 in the ninth year of his head coaching career.
SERIES RECORDS
Texas A&M holds a 4-1 lead in the all-time series against Louisville and has won the last four meetings...The teams first met Sept. 23, 1983, at the Nebraska tournament in Lincoln, where the Cardinals prevailed in five games...A&M swept the Cardinals at tournament meetings in 1984 and 1985 and won at Louisville in four games in 1986...The teams last met Nov. 10, 1990, in College Station with the Aggies coming back from a two-game deficit to win, 7-15, 14-16, 17-15, 15-5, 15-10.
The Aggies are 2-0 against Michigan...Most recently, the Aggies defeated the Wolverines, 16-14, 15-17, 15-5, 15-8, to win the 1998 Michigan All Sport Challenge title with a 3-0 record...The teams first met in the second round of the 1997 NCAA tournament. A&M defeated Michigan, 15-10, 15-6, 15-6, at G. Rollie White Coliseum.
A&M and Murray State will be meeting for the first time.
NOTES AND TIDBITS
- This will mark the second time A&M has participated in the Michigan tournament. The then-19th ranked Aggies won the 1998 Michigan Challenge by sweeping both North Carolina and LSU and downing the host Wolverines in four games at Cliff Keen Arena. Stacy Sykora was named MVP and was joined on the all-tournament team by then-freshman setter Jenna Moscovic and junior middle blocker Amber Woolsey.
- Michigan native Carol Price returns to her home state this weekend. The 6-2 outside hitter is from Fenton, Mich., and attended Fenton High School where she led the Tigers to three consecutive Metro League titles in volleyball and twice earned league MVP honors...She also was a member of the basketball team and earned all-league honors every year...Price did make an official visit to nearby University of Michigan but decided to sign with the Aggies because she wanted to be "adventurous and go out of town" and she loved the A&M traditions.
- Sophomore outside hitter Laura Jones has posted three consecutive double-double performances. Last season, the Arlington, Texas, native recorded 10 double-doubles in 31 matches and 112 games but never posted a double-double in three or more consecutive matches.
- Sophomore setter Kari Kelley made the first start of her career against Pittsburgh, posting career-highs of 34 assists and seven digs in A&M's newly installed 6-2 offense. Junior middle blocker Kendra Felder also made her first start of her career against the Panthers and responded with career highs of seven kills and four digs.
- 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 defending national champion USC. 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.
UPCOMING
The Aggies make their home debut, Sept. 12-13 at the McDonald's/Texas A&M Invitational. The tournament represents A&M's final tune-up for Big 12 Conference play as the Aggies open league play at No. 7 Nebraska on Sept. 17...The Aggies open the McDonald's tournament against Southwest Missouri State Friday at 6 p.m. at G. Rollie White Coliseum. A&M meets Centenary Saturday at 12 p.m. and then and concludes the tournament that evening against defending national champion and No. 1-ranked USC at 7 p.m...USC, which is coached by former longtime Texas coach and 2000 USA Olympic coach Mick Haley, eliminated the Aggies in the second round of the 2002 NCAA tournament.