December 10, 2003
Texas A&M (23-9), the No. 16 seed in the 64-team NCAA Championship field, meets top-seeded and defending national champion USC (31-0) in a regional semifinal Friday in Lincoln, Neb. First serve is slated for 4:30 p.m. at Nebraska Coliseum. No. 8 UCLA (23-8) takes on No. 9 Nebraska (28-4) in the second match of a doubleheader, and the two winners battle Saturday at 7 p.m. for a spot in the Final Four to be contested at Reunion Arena in Dallas, Dec. 18 and 20. Live scoring of all matches will be available at www.Huskers.com and free video streaming and audio of A&M matches only will be available at www.AggieAthletics.com. The Aggies, who were eliminated by the Women of Troy in the second round of the 2002 NCAA tournament, are making their 11th consecutive and 15th overall appearance in the NCAA Championship. In addition, A&M is advancing to regional play for the sixth time * including the third time in five seasons * after sweeping both Nicholls State and Wisconsin in the first two rounds played in College Station. USC, the Pacific-10 Conference champion and a 3-0 winner against the Aggies earlier this season, is 31-0 after sweeping both New Hampshire and 15th-ranked Loyola Marymount in the first two rounds played in Los Angeles. The Trojans, who have won two NCAA titles (1981, 2002), are making their 13th consecutive and 21st overall appearance in the postseason tournament. UCLA (23-8), ranked seventh in the USA Today/AVCA Top 25 Poll is making its 22nd appearance in the 23-year history of the NCAA tournament after tying for third place in the Pac-10. The Bruins, who have won three NCAA crowns (1984, 1990, 1991) and finished runner-up four times, advanced to the regional after sweeping both San Diego and UC-Irvine. Nebraska also is making its 22nd appearance in the NCAA tournament. The ninth-ranked Huskers, who captured NCAA crowns in 1995 and 2000, swept both Valparaiso and Dayton in East Lansing, Mich., to advance to the third round. They are 2-0 against the Aggies this season.
TEXAS A&M NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES
A&M is making its 11th consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament and its 15th overall appearance (1981, '82, '85, '86, '93, '94, '95, '96, '97, '98,' 99, '00, '01, '02 and '03) since the inception of the tournament in 1981...This is the sixth time ('81, '95, '97, '99, '01, '03) the Aggies have advanced to regional semifinal play. A&M is 2-3 all-time in regional semifinal action with both wins occurring in the Aggies' last two Sweet Sixteen appearances. The Aggies pulled off major upsets by stunning No. 3 Hawaii in Honolulu in 1999, and disposing of No. 6 Wisconsin in three games in Palo Alto, Calif., in 2001...The regional semifinal losses were to Hawaii in '81, Florida in '95 and BYU in '97. None of the three opponents advanced to the Final Four...A&M is 0-2 in the regional finals, having fallen to Long Beach State in '99 and eventual national champion Stanford in '01...The Aggies improved to 10-0 in first-round matches under 11th-year head coach Laurie Corbelli--A&M had a first-round bye in 1995--and 12-2 all-time in first-round matches following this year's opening 3-0 victory over Nicholls State...This marks the 10th year A&M was selected to host a NCAA tournament match, including the fifth time the Aggies have hosted with Corbelli as coach...The home court continues to prove favorable for the Aggies in postseason play as they improved to 14-0 all-time in NCAA matches played at G. Rollie White Coliseum by defeating the Colonels and Wisconsin...The Aggies now sport a 19-14 (.576) all-time record in the NCAA tournament, including a 17-10 (.630) mark during Corbelli's A&M tenure...Last year A&M was sent to Los Angeles where the Aggies defeated 23rd-ranked Utah, 3-0, in the first round and then fell to host and No. 1-seed USC, who went on to capture the national championship. It was the second consecutive year the Aggies were eliminated by the eventual national champion, having fallen to Stanford in 2001...A&M's best finishes in the NCAA tournament were Elite Eight appearances in 1999 and 2001...The Aggies went 8-8 against the tournament field during the regular season...The Big 12 Conference was represented by six teams in the tournament field: No. 6 seed Kansas State, which captured its first conference title in the 30-year history of the program to earn the Big 12's automatic bid, No. 9 seed Nebraska, No. 16 seed Texas A&M, Colorado, Missouri and Kansas, which was making its first trip to the NCAAs...Only the three seeded teams advanced past the second round.
TEAM PROFILES
Texas A&M finished the 2003 regular season with a 21-9 record, reaching the 20-victory milestone for the ninth consecutive year and the 10th time overall during Laurie Corbelli's 11-year A&M coaching career... After finishing an all-time low fifth place in the Big 12 race in 2002, the Aggies rebounded to tie Colorado and Kansas for third with a 13-7 league mark in 2003. ...Melissa Munsch, a two-time All-Big 12 first-team selection, leads A&M's balanced squad, averaging team highs of 3.73 kills, 0.38 aces and 4.69 points per game. The junior middle blocker, who hit .403 and averaged 4.67 kills and 1.5 blocks in A&M's first two NCAA matches, ranks second on the squad with 1.06 blocks per game for the full season...Sophomore outside hitter Laura Jones, who earned All-Big 12 honorable mention, ranks second on the team with 3.72 kills, 4.31 points, 2.97 digs and 0.22 aces per game...Senior rightside hitter Carol Price sports a team-leading .298 hitting percentage, and senior outside hitter Beth Skypala averages a team-best 3.48 digs per game... Junior middle blocker Kendra Felder is tops in blocking with a 1.08 average...Junior Lexy Beers averages 8.75 assists and sophomore Kari Kelley averages 6.89 assists per game in A&M's 6-2 offensive scheme as the Aggies lead the Big 12 with a 15.03 assist average.
USC, which went 18-0 in the Pac-10 to claim the league's automatic bid, is 31-0 after sweeping both New Hampshire and 15th-ranked Loyola Marymount in the first two rounds in Los Angeles...The Women of Troy, who have won two NCAA titles (1981, 2002) and have made a total of five Final Four appearances, are the only Division I team to remain undefeated this season. They have lost a total of only six games all season and are 13-0 against ranked opponents with 11 of the victories coming against top 10 opponents. In addition, USC was 17-0 against teams that advanced to the NCAA tournament...USC has won 43 consecutive matches since falling to Stanford in five games on Nov. 2, 2002, and needs one more victory to tie the NCAA record for consecutive victories set by Penn State, Aug. 21 to Dec. 7, 1990...The Trojans are led by two-time All-American and 2003 Pac-10 Player of the Year April Ross. Standing 6-1, the four-year starting outside hitter is hitting .311 while averaging 3.63 kills, 0.56 aces, 3.08 digs and 0.70 blocks per game...All-American Emily Adams, a 6-6 junior middle blocker, is hitting .459 with 3.44 kills and 1.45 blocks per game, and 6-3 sophomore middle blocker Bibiana Candelas is hitting .452 with 3.0 kills and 1.24 blocks per game...Head coach Mick Haley, the former longtime coach of the Texas Longhorns and the head coach of the U.S. Women's Olympic Team at the 2000 Sydney Games, is 87-5 in his third season at the helm of the Trojans.
UCLA has won three NCAA crowns ('84, '90, '91) and has finished runner-up four times ('81, '83, '92, '94), advanced to the regional after sweeping both San Diego and UC Irvine...Last year, the Bruins fell to Pepperdine, 3-1, in the second round...UCLA, which is 6-6 against ranked opponents, went 8-8 during the regular season against teams that advanced to the NCAA tournament...All-Pac 10 selection Brynn Murphy leads the Bruins with a .301 hitting percentage and 3.82 kills per game. The junior middle blocker was joined on the All-Pac-10 first team by teammates Heather Cullen (2.86 kpg, 2.26 dpg) a junior outside hitter, and junior libero Chrissie Zartman (4.51 dpg)...Legendary head coach Andy Banachowski is 962-243 in his 37th year at UCLA and has led the Bruins to six total national titles.
Nebraska, which captured NCAA crowns in 1995 and 2000, swept both Valparaiso and Dayton in East Lansing, Mich., to advance to the third round. The Huskers fell to Hawaii, 3-1, in last year's regional final in Lincoln...Nebraska is 23-11 all-time in NCAA regional action, including 20-4 in regional matches in Lincoln...The Huskers went 11-4 during the regular season against teams in the 2003 NCAA tournament...Nebraska, which placed second in the Big 12 Conference, is led by All-Big 12 first-team selections Melissa Elmer and Jennifer Saleaumua. Elmer, a 6-2 middle blocker, is hitting .360 and averaging 3.07 kills and 1.60 blocks per game. Saleaumua, a sophomore outside hitter, leads the Huskers with 3.28 kills and 3.87 digs per game. Head coach John Cook is 285-81 (.779) in his fourth season at Nebraska.
SERIES RECORDS
USC is 5-0 against A&M, including a 2-0 mark in NCAA tournament play. The Women of Troy eliminated the Aggies in the second round of the both the 1998 and 2002 NCAA tournaments...Earlier this season, USC swept A&M, 30-27, 30-15, 30-22, at G. Rollie White Coliseum en route to the McDonald's/Texas A&M Invitational title...The Trojans hit .397 with 58 kills, 9 aces, 40 digs and 6 blocks, while A&M hit .236 with 43 kills, 1 ace, 35 digs and 4 blocks...Laura Jones hit .346 and led the Aggies with 13 kills and nine digs. Melissa Munsch had 11 kills, and Beth Skypala added 10...Katie Olsovsky had 16 kills and hit at a .714 clip for USC. Keoa Burdine had 13 kills, and Emily Adams added 11. Ross, who finished with 10 kills and five aces, led USC in digs with 10.
UCLA is 3-0 all-time against the Aggies...All three matches have been contested at neutral sites...The teams last met in the season-opening Hawaiian Airlines Wahine Classic on Sept. 3, 2000...The No. 1 Bruins defeated A&M, 15-2, 10-15, 15-11, 15-8.
Nebraska holds a 19-6 lead in the all-time series against Texas A&M, including a 12-0 mark in matches played in Lincoln...In addition, the Huskers have won the last nine meetings...Nebraska went 2-0 against A&M in Big 12 Conference play this season to improve to 14-2 all-time against the Aggies in league matches.
QUICK HITS
- A&M coach Laurie Corbelli and USC assistant head coach Paula Weishoff were teammates on the U.S. Olympic Team that captured a silver medal at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.
- Three A&M players--Lexy Beers (Manhattan Beach/Mira Costa H.S.), Carrie Moreira (Stockton/St. Mary's H.S.) and Tara Pulaski (Encinitas/Torrey Pines) hail from the state of California.
- A&M is 1-7 against No. 1-ranked teams since the AVCA began conducting its poll in 1982. The Aggies' lone victory over a top-ranked opponent was against Stanford on Sept. 8, 1995, as A&M defeated the defending national-champion Cardinal in five games at the USA Mizuno Cup in Chicago.
- Big 12 teams are 2-3 against teams from the Pac-10 this year, and each match was determined in three games. USC and UCLA picked up the two wins as USC swept Texas A&M in College Station and UCLA swept Texas in Austin. Washington State picked up a win against Oklahoma but fell to Missouri, and Oregon fell to Colorado.
- A&M is aiming for its first-ever trip to the Final Four, but history favors the other three teams in the Nebraska regional. USC, UCLA and Nebraska have reached at least the championship semifinal a combined 23 times in the 22-year history of the tournament. Together the three teams have captured seven NCAA titles and seven runner-up trophies.
- In A&M's last two Sweet Sixteen appearances (1999, 2001), the Aggies have recorded the biggest upset each year. In 1999, A&M was the No. 4 seed in the Mountain Region when it stunned No. 1 seed and third-ranked Hawaii, 3-1, in Honolulu...In 2001, No. 11-seed A&M swept No. 6-seed Wisconsin in Palo Alto, Calif., before falling to eventual national champion Stanford.
- Sophomore libero Holly Clay had a career-high 12 digs against Wisconsin, and junior middle blocker Kendra Felder posted a team-season high in hitting percentage (min. 10 kills) for a three-game match with a career-high .588 hitting percentage against the Badgers.